POLICE are appealing for information after shops in Melksham were burgled last month and over £1,000 stolen.
Two charity shops and a butchers were robbed on the weekend of 11th February, and other shops in Chippenham and Corsham were also ransacked.
Dorothy House and Wiltshire Mind on Church Street, and W J Beaven butchers in Avon Place were all robbed for a total of approximately £1,200.
Community coordinator PC Hazel Anderson said, “All of these incidents happened within the same time frame and we are keeping an open mind as to whether they are linked.
“We are carrying out a number of enquiries and would like to hear from anyone who saw or heard any suspicious activity in or around any of these premises during these times.
“I’d also like to encourage all retail premises to ensure they have taken the necessary steps to secure their businesses. These incidents have no doubt been extremely upsetting for the shop owners and the fact that so many charity shops have been targeted is both heartless and cruel.”
Beaven Butchers in Melksham High Street was broken into overnight between 12th and 13th February and £80 was stolen from the till.
Wiltshire Mind was broken into during the same time period and a safe containing approximately £300 was stolen.
Dorothy House on Church Street was broken into between 11pm on 12th February and 12.15am on 13th February and approximately £800 cash and jewellery was stolen.
The Little Kitchen and the British Red Cross in Corsham were also robbed, as well as Jolly’s Cafe and Dorothy House in Chippenham.
Anyone with information is urged to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
![Melksham Times Past
A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis
The Independent Chapel and Women’s Rights in the 1840s
A document I recently transcribed lists the baptisms performed at the Independent Chapel. This record is especially helpful in that, along with baptisms, a lot of them include birth dates - one of the ways I discover which day someone was born.
The following is taken from a Wiltshire Times article published on 9th November 1878 which reports a speech given during the 100-year services and to celebrate their renovations (what we now know to be the Rachel Fowler Centre).
One speaker, Rev. T. Mann, minister in Trowbridge, talked about the Chapel’s origins when he related how Rev. Honywill came to Melksham and how he’d gone on to remain as the minister for the Independent Chapel for almost 60 years. [Honywill and his family lived on King Street in what we now call “Legion House”.]
Read more on our website, the link is in our bio.](https://scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.75761-15/505444438_18038424887647822_3264519508333556874_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&_nc_ohc=gXZQJoHTNiEQ7kNvwHezuPI&_nc_oc=AdlrJvMDapuork_EjycPOcegNeMnCA37GEIudkxkTeCfTgvB5iijE05ojpwlYCd5gN8&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=0ZY31jxOGx2M8z1ZqYNvEg&oh=00_AfPY_C0B8EndpVcx78sVp9qVJgtm368WREf36ZX1_jO3mg&oe=6855C74A "Melksham Times Past
A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis
The Independent Chapel and Women’s Rights in the 1840s
A document I recently transcribed lists the baptisms performed at the Independent Chapel. This record is especially helpful in that, along with baptisms, a lot of them include birth dates - one of the ways I discover which day someone was born.
The following is taken from a Wiltshire Times article published on 9th November 1878 which reports a speech given during the 100-year services and to celebrate their renovations (what we now know to be the Rachel Fowler Centre).
One speaker, Rev. T. Mann, minister in Trowbridge, talked about the Chapel’s origins when he related how Rev. Honywill came to Melksham and how he’d gone on to remain as the minister for the Independent Chapel for almost 60 years. [Honywill and his family lived on King Street in what we now call “Legion House”.]
Read more on our website, the link is in our bio.")
