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.
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 England
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
937
Athelstan first king of all England
Norman conquest
1066
1095
William of Malmesbury born
Malmesbury taken in war between Stephen and Matilda
1139
1187
Muslims capture Jerusalem
Genghis Khan and his hordes move out of Mongolia
1206
1215
Magna Carta signed at Runnymede
Salisbury Cathedral finished
1258
1284
Running water in Malmesbury Abbey lavatorium
Model parliament; Malmesbury has 2 members
1295
1348
Black death reaches England
Battle of Agincourt
1415
1492
Columbus discovers America
Dissolution of Malmesbury Abbey
1539
1588
Thomas Hobbes born
Spanish Armada
1588
1603
Death of Elizabeth I
Gunpowder plot
1605
1643
Malmesbury changes hands 6 times in Civil War
Thomas Hobbes publishes Leviathan
1651
1666
Great Fire of London
Thomas Hobbes died
1679
1687
Foundation of physics today;
Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica
Battle of Culloden. Last battle on British soil
1746
1681
Dodo becomes extinct
William III gives charter to Malmesbury
1690
1706
Cooke discovers Australia
American revolution
1776
1800
James Harris made first Earl of Malmesbury
Act of Union. United Kingdom formed
1801
1805
Battle of Trafalgar
Slave trade abolished
1807
1815
Battle of Waterloo
Queen Victoria ascends the throne
1837
1851
Great Exhibition
Malmesbury Railway line opened
1877
1884
Malmesbury loses their M.P.
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
