MORE independent shops, a shoe shop and more places to buy clothes for all ages are just some of the ideas that the Melksham community has, to fill the vacant shops in the town centre.
With the news that Barclays Bank is to leave the town centre in November, the recent closures of The Old Bakery and Buttylicious, and the former sites of NatWest and HSBC standing empty, there is ample opportunity for new businesses to come to the area.
To find out what residents would like to see move into the vacant shops and to hear their thoughts in general about the town centre, Melksham News took to the streets to hear what people had to say. A greater variety of shops was a recurring theme, with many people calling for a shoe shop and more clothes shops in the town to stop people travelling elsewhere to do their shopping.
Some residents expressed an interest in there being more independent shops in the town, whilst others felt big high street brands would bring a welcome boost to the town.
There was praise for the efforts of shopkeepers and the town council to beautify the town, with many highlighting the flowers that line the streets. However, there was some criticism about the town centre’s appearance, with one visitor describing it as ‘dated’ and another suggesting that the town needs ‘sprucing up’.
• Do you agree or disagree? What do you think could be done to increase the number of visitors to Melksham’s town centre? Email us your thoughts and opinions to news@melksham news.co.uk or send them by post to 31 Market Place, Melksham, SN12 6ES.
![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=2ejTZ6D9dPXIFkdtQ-bGfg&oh=00_AfMePUYDK6PXDzeUYs-aKY4wfMPOaURY8Z6OwO7o8TXJSA&oe=685718CA "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.")
