From Pig Hill to Boom Town: A Brief History of Swindon

Before the railway: Suindune and the medieval town

Human habitation on Swindon Hill dates back much further than the Anglo-Saxons. Archaeological finds suggest Neolithic activity, and there is evidence of continuous settlement from Roman times. The name "Swindon" itself first appears in historical records in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is recorded as "Suindune" – from the Old English swīne (pig) and dūn (hill). The name likely refers to a hill where pigs were bred or foraged, a common practice in Anglo-Saxon agriculture.

By the late 13th century, Swindon had developed from a tiny village into a small market town with a weekly market. It remained modest in size – perhaps 600 inhabitants – and kept this character for centuries. Four annual fairs brought livestock and goods from across Wiltshire.

The Market Square was the heart of town life, hosting bull-baiting and backsword-playing until the early 19th century. For visitors standing on Swindon Hill today, it is still possible to sense the scale of that older world: a quiet country town where most people worked in agriculture or served the local gentry.

The railway arrives: 1840–1843

Everything changed when the Great Western Railway chose Swindon as the site for its locomotive works. The London to Bristol line had opened in June 1841, and engineer Sir Daniel Gooch identified Swindon as the ideal midway point for maintenance. Legend has it that the decision was sealed when Gooch and Isambard Kingdom Brunel stopped at Swindon Junction for a ham sandwich – and realised the junction with the Golden Valley line made it perfect for a centralised repair facility.

Whether or not the sandwich story is strictly true, the facts are clear: on 25 February 1841, the GWR directors approved Swindon as the location, and by 2 January 1843 the works were operational. Before the railway, Swindon's population was around 2,500. The works employed about 180 men at first.

The first locomotive built entirely at Swindon – The Great Western – emerged in 1846. Employment grew rapidly. By the early 20th century, over 14,000 people worked at the site. Swindon had become a railway town, and the valley below the old hill settlement was transformed into a vast industrial complex.

Brunel's Railway Village

The GWR did not simply build a factory. Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed a whole community for the workforce: the Railway Village. Around 300 stone cottages were built from the mid-1840s, creating one of Britain's earliest and most influential model industrial communities. Workers had access to a Mechanics' Institution with a library, baths, and lecture halls – a forerunner of modern worker welfare that would later influence the creation of the NHS. The Railway Village remains one of the best-preserved railway complexes in England and is at the heart of Swindon's Heritage Action Zone.

Twentieth-century Swindon

The works continued through two world wars, producing munitions and specialised railway equipment. Nationalised as part of British Rail in 1948, the works eventually closed on 27 March 1986 – a watershed moment for the town. But Swindon had already begun to diversify. From the 1960s, ambitious expansion plans – the "Silver Book" – envisaged Swindon growing from 100,000 to 400,000 people. West Swindon, Toothill, and new housing estates gradually took shape. Companies like Nationwide, Honda (later closed), and numerous logistics and technology firms established a new economic base.

Swindon today

Modern Swindon is a town of contrasts: the historic Old Town on the hill, the former Railway Village and STEAM Museum in the valley, and sprawling suburbs that reflect decades of planned growth. The past is never far away – from Lydiard Park's 500-year story to the Magic Roundabout's 1972 origins. Understanding that history helps explain why Swindon looks and feels the way it does: a place built by railways, shaped by Victorian vision, and continually reinventing itself.