c3500BC
The invention of the wheel
Stonehenge stone circle started
c2600
c2590
Great pyramid built in Egypt
Fall of Troy
c1180
c800
Iron Age fort at Malmesbury
Foundation of Rome
753
c563
Birth of Buddha
Birth of Christ
c5AD
43
England invaded by Romans
Fall of Rome
476
596
St Augustine brings Christianity to Anglo-Saxons
Birth of Muhammad
c570
c650
Maildulph establishes his hermitage
Foundation of the Abbey
675
709
Death of Aldhelm 639 – 709, Abbot of Malmesbury, Bishop of Sherborne
Alfred builds burhs, including Malmesbury
c880
924
Athelstan became King of the Anglo Saxons
Athelstan King of All England died in Gloucester and buried in Malmesbury
939
c. 1010
Eilmer’s flight from a tower of Malmesbury Abbey
Norman conquest
1066
1095
William of Malmesbury born
Malmesbury attacked by future Henry II during the war of Anarchy between Stephen and Matilda
1139
c. 1180
Norman Abbey at Malmesbury completed
Muslims capture Jerusalem
1187
1206
Genghis Khan and his hordes move out of Mongolia
Magna Carta signed at Runnymede
1215
1258
Salisbury Cathedral finished
Running water in Malmesbury Abbey lavatorium
1284
1295
Model parliament; Malmesbury has 2 members
Black death reaches England
1348
1415
Battle of Agincourt
Columbus discovers America
1492
1539
Dissolution of Malmesbury Abbey. William Stumpe buys Malmesbury Abbey from Henry VIII
Thomas Hobbes born
1588
1588
Spanish Armada
Death of Elizabeth I
1603
1605
Gunpowder plot
Malmesbury changes hands 6 times in Civil War
1643
1651
Thomas Hobbes publishes Leviathan
Great Fire of London
1666
1679
Thomas Hobbes died
Dodo becomes extinct
1681
1687
Foundation of physics today;
Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica
William III gives charter to Malmesbury following first charter of incorporation granted by Charles I
1696
1706
Cooke discovers Australia
Battle of Culloden. Last battle on British soil
1746
1776
American revolution
James Harris made first Earl of Malmesbury
1800
1801
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland formed
Battle of Trafalgar
1805
1807
Slave trade abolished
Battle of Waterloo
1815
1832
Great Reform Act reduces Malmesbury’s MPs from two to one
Queen Victoria ascends the throne
1837
1851
Great Exhibition
Malmesbury Railway line opened
1877
1884
Third Reform Act resulting in Malmesbury losing its MP in 1886
Einstein’s theory of relativity E = mc²
1905
1914
Start of World War I
Women get the vote
1919
1939
Start of World War II
Queen Elizabeth II crowned
1953
1962
Last train to Malmesbury (freight only)
Moon landing
1969
1972
Malmesbury loses independent Borough Status
Dyson comes to Malmesbury
1993
2001
Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh visit Malmesbury
Malmesbury Roman Coin Hoard found in a field in Milbourne, Malmesbury
2012
8th September 2022
Death of Queen Elizabeth II
Charles III proclaimed King
1100th anniversary of Athelstan becoming King of Anglo Saxons
2024
Putting Malmesbury’s history into context, events shown with a blue icon are of national significance, those with a red icon relate specifically to Malmesbury and the rest have international relevance.
