Highworth

Sitting atop a hill and situated just to the north east of urban Swindon, is Highworth, which was immortalised by the words of the poet John Betjeman who said “When I am abroad and want to recall a typically English town, I think of Highworth. One of the most charming country towns in the West of England.”

Highworth still contains many 17th and 18th century buildings in the High Street and Square, reminiscent of time when it was a larger and more important market town than Swindon. It remains a vibrant settlement with its own community and way of life and has four primary schools and Highworth Warneford secondary school as well as some excellent sports facilities.

The town may have lost some of its political and economic importance, but not the sense of its history. It recently celebrated its 800th anniversary as a market town. A cannonball fired at the besieged Royalist stronghold in the English civil war by the surrounding Parliamentarians still hangs inside the church.