Flags celebrating Melksham’s industrial heritage are now on display in the Market Place, showcasing some of the industries and events that have shaped the town’s identity.
Created by the Melksham Flag team, each flag depicts a scene from the town’s history — ranging from the granting of the Market Charter in 1219 to the closure of Avon Tyres in 2023.
“They show businesses that are now only marked by road names and remembered by long-time residents,” said organiser Terri Welch.
The group is made up of a core team of eight women who began work last October. “We met to decide the next theme,” said Terri. “We looked at major national events, but there didn’t seem to be any sporting ones this year. In the past, we’ve marked events like the Women’s World Cup, the Olympics and others. We felt that the VE Day commemorations this year were best marked by the town itself.
“In the past, we made flags to celebrate the 900th anniversary of our Market Charter. That led us to the idea of focusing on Melksham’s past and framing the designs to resemble old photographs. Hence this year’s flags — we hope they will draw attention to the past events and businesses that made Melksham what it is.”
This year, the group was delighted to have input from Melksham Oak Community School, which designed the flag representing Melksham Spa.
When the flags are taken down in the autumn, they will be given to the Melksham and District Historical Association to be kept as a reminder of Melksham’s past.
