A town is a type of a human settlement . Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities , though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
93-479: Malmesbury ( / ˈ m ɑː ( l ) m z b ər i / ) is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire , England, which lies approximately 14 miles (23 km) west of Swindon , 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Bristol , and 9 miles (14 km) north of Chippenham . The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upper waters of the Bristol Avon and one of its tributaries. Once
186-408: A Millionenstadt , a city with anywhere between one and five million inhabitants (such as Cologne , Munich , Hamburg and Berlin ). Also, a city with more than five million inhabitants is often referred to as a Megastadt (commonly translated as megacity ). Historically, many settlements became a Stadt by being awarded a Stadtrecht in medieval times. In modern German language use,
279-537: A further 17 towns , which have merged with a municipal parish ( vallasisene linn ). In Finland, there is no distinction between a town and a city as the word kaupunki is used for both bigger and smaller settlements, which are bigger than villages and boroughs; although when talking about the word town , the word pikkukaupunki is used ( pikku means 'little' or 'small'). There are over one hundred municipal towns in Finland. From an administrative standpoint,
372-519: A palisade or stockade instead. In the Netherlands, this space was a garden, more specifically those of the wealthy, which had a high fence or a wall around them (like the garden of the palace of Het Loo in Apeldoorn , which was the model for the privy garden of William III and Mary II at Hampton Court ). In Old Norse tún means a (grassy) place between farmhouses, and the word is still used with
465-568: A public library , both of which are managed by Wiltshire Council . A mobile library also services the town. Malmesbury has a non-League football team Malmesbury Victoria F.C. , who play at The Flying Monk Ground. The team plays in the Hellenic Football League . A swimming club, 'Malmesbury Marlins', train at The Activity Zone leisure centre. Malmesbury Cricket Club are an ECB Clubmark accredited sports club who play at The Wortheys sports ground, with adult and junior teams playing in
558-587: A centre of the lace -making industry. But, what had made it successful and important as a religious and strategic defensive centre—water on three sides and steep cliffs—precluded easy access for the modern bulk transport methods of canals and railways. Hence the Kennet and Avon Canal and the later Great Western Railway passed well to the south of the town; while local quarrying of cotswold stone provided often transient booms in employment, Malmesbury saw little expansion compared to, for example, Gloucester , by not being
651-688: A commuter suburb or major production centre of the Industrial Revolution . The town's main employer today is Dyson , which has a site on the edge of the town which employs around 4,000. This is mainly a research, development and design site; manufacturing is carried out in Malaysia . The site was the company's headquarters until 2019, when it was announced that the company registration would be moved to Singapore . The town's economy profits from tourism, divided among Cotswold Hills retreats (ranging from B&Bs to golf/spa resorts), visits and tours of
744-556: A higher degree of services . (There are a few exceptions, when towns of fewer than 50,000 people gained the status: Érd , Hódmezővásárhely , Salgótarján and Szekszárd ) As of middle 2013, there are only 23 such towns in Hungary. The 2011 Census of India defines towns of two types: statutory town and census town . Statutory town is defined as all places with a municipality , corporation , cantonment board or notified town area committee. Census towns are defined as places that satisfy
837-590: A higher tier of local government, larger towns and cities may have the status of a kreisfreie Stadt , combining both the powers of a municipality and a district. Designations in different states are as diverse as e.g. in Australian States and Territories, and differ from state to state. In some German states, the words Markt ('market'), Marktflecken (both used in southern Germany) or Flecken ('spot'; northern Germany e.g. in Lower Saxony ) designate
930-686: A larger area than the Church of England parish, and falls within the St Aldhelm pastoral area of the Diocese of Clifton . The church is dedicated to St Aldhelm , who lived in Malmesbury. Malmesbury is also home to Malmesbury United Reformed Church and The King's Church . There are also a number of former churches in the town, including an old Moravian church which is now owned by Athelstan Museum and called The Julia & Hans Rausing Building. In 2011 Malmesbury
1023-426: A municipality must have at least 3,000 inhabitants to have the right to request the town title. Market towns usually have between 500 and 4,000 inhabitants, with median and average both around 1,000. In Denmark, in many contexts no distinction is made between "city", "town" and "village"; all three translate as by . In more specific use, for small villages and hamlets the word landsby (meaning 'country town')
SECTION 10
#17328372001501116-430: A new technology. The factory continued production after the war, was taken over by Pye TMC and then Philips , and later became part of AT&T . The site was in use as offices until 2004 when the owners, Lucent Technologies , moved their operations to Swindon and the building was converted to housing. Malmesbury has an annual carnival , which takes place throughout August. This consists of various events throughout
1209-452: A regional market town. At the Battle of Brunanburh in 937, King Æthelstan of Wessex defeated an army of northern English and Scots and made a claim to become the first 'King of All England'. Helped by many men from Malmesbury, in gratitude he gave the townsfolk their freedom, along with 600 hides of land to the south of the town. The status of freemen of Malmesbury was passed down through
1302-414: A separate village and is not named on modern maps. The built-up area was incorporated in the borough of Malmesbury in 1934, and the rural parts of the parish were incorporated in 1896 into the parish of St Paul Malmesbury Without . Malmesbury was a municipal borough until 1974, when Malmesbury Town Council was formed as a successor to it. The council is made up of sixteen councillors, who annually elect
1395-622: A similar meaning in modern Norwegian. Old English tūn became a common place-name suffix in England and southeastern Scotland during the Anglo-Saxon settlement period. In Old English and Early and Middle Scots , the words ton , toun , etc. could refer to diverse kinds of settlements from agricultural estates and holdings, partly picking up the Norse sense (as in the Scots word fermtoun ) at one end of
1488-823: A single unitary councillor. Gavin Grant , a Liberal Democrat , was re-elected in 2021 , following his initial election in 2017 . At UK Government level in the House of Commons , Malmesbury is part of the South Cotswolds constituency, represented since 2024 by Roz Savage for the Liberal Democrats . Malmesbury is policed by the Wiltshire Police force and is in the Royal Wootton Bassett Community Policing Team area. Fire services are provided by
1581-488: A small city or large village; and occasionally even hamlets ). Sometimes, the word town is short for township . In general, today towns can be differentiated from townships, villages, or hamlets on the basis of their economic character, in that most of a town's population will tend to derive their living from manufacturing industry, commerce , and public services rather than primary sector industries such as agriculture or related activities. A place's population size
1674-533: A social and technical infrastructure, as well as a population of no fewer than 3500 people. For resort settlements the requirements are lower with the population needing to be no fewer than 1000 people but infrastructure requirements remain. The legal definition of a town in Canada varies by province or territory , as each has jurisdiction over defining and legislating towns, cities and other types of municipal organization within its own boundaries. The province of Quebec
1767-554: A town mayor and deputy town mayor from their number. The town council meets at Malmesbury Town Hall . Malmesbury was in the area of Wiltshire County Council from its creation in 1889 until it was disbanded in 2009. In 1974, the municipal borough was merged into the North Wiltshire district . In 2009, Wiltshire Council succeeded the county council and district council as a unitary authority . For elections to Wiltshire Council, Malmesbury forms one electoral division , returning
1860-408: A town such as Parun , the capital of Nuristan Province , whose population is less 20,000 people. In Albania and Kosovo qytezë means 'town', which is very similar to the word for city ( qytet ), although there is no official use of the term for any settlement. In Albanian qytezë means 'small city' or 'new city', while in ancient times it referred to a small residential center within
1953-563: A town-like residential community between Gemeinde and Stadt with special importance to its outer conurbation area. Historically those had Marktrecht (market right) but not full town privileges; see Market town . The legal denomination of a specific settlement may differ from its common designation (e.g. Samtgemeinde – a legal term in Lower Saxony for a group of villages [ Dorf , pl. Dörfer ] with common local government created by combining municipalities [ Gemeinde , pl. Gemeinden ]). In ordinary speech, Greeks use
SECTION 20
#17328372001502046-690: Is Stadt , as it is the case in many other languages that do not differentiate between these concepts. The word for a 'village', as a smaller settlement, is Dorf . However, the International Statistics Conference of 1887 defined different sizes of Stadt , based on their population size, as follows: Landstadt ('country town'; under 5,000), Kleinstadt ('small town'; 5,000 to 20,000), Mittelstadt ('middle town'; between 20,000 and 100,000) and Großstadt ("large town"; 100,000 to 1,000,000). The term Großstadt may be translated as 'city'. In addition, Germans may speak of
2139-467: Is a de facto statutory city. All the Czech municipalities with more than 40,000 inhabitants are cities. Town and market town are above all ceremonious honorary degrees, referring to population, history and regional significance of a municipality. As the statistics of Czech municipalities shows, towns usually have between 1,000 and 35,000 inhabitants, with median around 4,000 and average around 6,500. Nowadays
2232-422: Is commonly referred to as a city or as a town, no distinction and no objective legal criteria exist to make such a distinction under law. Ontario allows municipalities to select whichever administrative term they like with no legal distinction existing between towns, townships, cities, and villages. Instead all municipalities, with the exception of Toronto and Ottawa, fall into one of three legal categories under
2325-520: Is difficult to call the remaining provincial capitals "large towns" as, in general, they are less developed and have shrinking population, some with as few as 30,000 inhabitants. In Bulgaria the Council of Ministers defines what constitutes a settlement, while the President of Bulgaria grants each settlement its title. In 2005 the requirement that villages that wish to classify themselves as town must have
2418-550: Is not a reliable determinant of urban character. In many areas of the world, e.g. in India at least until recent times, a large village might contain several times as many people as a small town. In the United Kingdom, there are historical cities that are far smaller than the larger towns. The modern phenomenon of extensive suburban growth, satellite urban development, and migration of city dwellers to villages has further complicated
2511-420: Is partitioned into 2098 municipalities ( German : Gemeinden ) of fundamentally equal rank. Larger municipalities are designated as market towns ( German : Marktgemeinden ) or cities ( Städte ), but these distinctions are purely symbolic and do not confer additional legal responsibilities. There is a number of smaller communities that are labelled cities because they used to be regional population centers in
2604-541: Is reported to be within the Hundred (county division) of Cicementone. Alfred's grandson, Æthelstan , the first king of England, was buried in Malmesbury Abbey in 939. The Abbey was founded in 675 by Maildubh , Mailduf or Maelduib, an Irishman. The town came to be named after Maildubh; the name Malmesbury is a combination of Maildubh and burh, meaning Maildubh's fortification. After his death around 700, St Aldhelm became
2697-417: Is retained in the centre today. The geography also precluded easy development for mass transport and hence hindered industrial development, leaving the architecture and ancient buildings largely untouched. The result is a higher proportion of Grade I and Grade II buildings than in many other English towns. The parish has six Grade I listed structures, all of them within the hilltop town. The surviving nave of
2790-427: Is the electricity distribution network operator which supplies the area. Wessex Water is responsible for the provision of drinking water and sewerage in the area. Malmesbury sits on a flat Cotswolds hilltop at the convergence of two rivers. The town has a maximum elevation of 146 metres (479 ft) and a minimum of 56 metres (184 ft); the average elevation is 92 metres (302 ft) above sea level. From
2883-545: Is the former Abbey Brewery opposite. Town The word "town" shares an origin with the German word Zaun , the Dutch word tuin , and the Old Norse tún . The original Proto-Germanic word, * tūnan , is thought to be an early borrowing from Proto-Celtic * dūnom (cf. Old Irish dún , Welsh din ). The original sense of the word in both Germanic and Celtic
Malmesbury - Misplaced Pages Continue
2976-464: Is unique in that it makes no distinction under law between towns and cities. There is no intermediate level in French between village and ville ( municipality is an administrative term usually applied to a legal, not geographical entity), so both are combined under the single legal status of ville . While an informal preference may exist among English speakers as to whether any individual ville
3069-488: Is used, while the Danish equivalent of English city is storby (meaning 'large town'). For formal purposes, urban areas having at least 200 inhabitants are considered by . Historically some towns held various privileges, the most important of which was the right to hold market. They were administered separately from the rural areas in both fiscal, military and legal matters. Such towns are known as købstad (roughly
3162-488: The Civil War the town changed hands seven times; the south face of Malmesbury Abbey still today bears pock-marks from cannon and gunshot. In 1646 Parliament ordered that the town walls be destroyed. As peace came to inland England, and the need to defend the developing coastal port towns became more important, Malmesbury, without its Abbey, lost its importance. As developing transport and trade routes passed it by, it regressed to
3255-1058: The Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service , and ambulance services by the South Western Ambulance Service . Malmesbury is also served by the charity-funded Wiltshire Air Ambulance . A GP surgery —Malmesbury Primary Care Centre—is located in the town and is overseen by the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board . The NHS hospitals overseen by the board are Great Western Hospital in Swindon , Royal United Hospital in Bath , and Salisbury Hospital . There are also nearby minor injuries units in Tetbury and Chippenham . Waste management services are overseen by Wiltshire Council , which provides recycling, refuse and garden waste collection. Western Power Distribution
3348-465: The 12th-century abbey church , built in limestone ashlar with stone tiles, serves as the parish church . In the period 1350–1450 the building was enlarged and a clerestory, crossing spire and west towers were added; the spire fell in 1479. After the Dissolution, William Stumpe reduced and altered the building to form the parish church. The west tower fell c. 1662. Features of the building include
3441-484: The 1950s, to accommodate exponential population increase. The first new towns included Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong . In the late 1960s and the 1970s, another stage of new town developments was launched. Nine new towns have been developed so far. Land use is carefully planned and development provides plenty of room for public housing projects. Rail transport is usually available at a later stage. The first towns are Sha Tin , Tsuen Wan , Tuen Mun and Tseung Kwan O . Tuen Mun
3534-533: The 21st century, merged most κοινότητες with the nearest δήμοι , dividing the whole country into 325 self-governing δήμοι . The former municipalities survive as administrative subdivisions ( δημοτικά διαμερίσματα , δημοτικές ενότητες ). Cyprus, including the Turkish-occupied areas, is also divided into 39 δήμοι (in principle, with at least 5,000 inhabitants, though there are exceptions) and 576 κοινότητες . Hong Kong started developing new towns in
3627-647: The Minister of Internal Affairs selects candidates from a committee-screened list of applicants, whom the President of Republic usually affirms by issuing a bill of town's rank to them. Since being a town carries extra fiscal support from the government, many relatively small villages try to win the status of városi rang ('town rank') nowadays. Before the fall of communism in 1990, Hungarian villages with fewer than 10,000 residents were not allowed to become towns. Recently some settlements as small as 2,500 souls have received
3720-504: The Municipalities Act: Single-tier (I.e. towns that are located within a region or county but that are considered separate for municipal purposes such as Hamilton ), lower-tier (i.e. municipalities that are part of a region or county such as St. Catharines ), or upper-tier (i.e. regional municipalities such as Niagara ). Accordingly, many larger municipalities continue to use the title of town due to it better reflecting
3813-715: The National Statistics Institute (INE) as an urban entity with a population from 2001 to 5000 or an area with a population from 1001 to 2000 and an established economic activity. In Czechia , a municipality can obtain the title of a city ( Czech : statutární město ), town ( Czech : město ) or market town ( Czech : městys ). The title is granted by law. Statutory cities (in English usually called just "cities"), which are defined by law no. 128/2000 Coll., can define their own self-governing municipal districts. There are 26 such cities, in addition to Prague , which
Malmesbury - Misplaced Pages Continue
3906-475: The River Avon's Sherston branch via the footpath by 18 Gloucester Street (leading south-west) is a depression called Daniels Well, and a farm beyond it is named after this. This derives from a monk called Daniel named after an earlier Daniel of Winchester . This former bishop, on losing his sight, lived at the abbey briefly until death in 745 and was educated there. The later monk is said to have submerged himself in
3999-522: The Wiltshire Leagues. Malmesbury is twinned with the following places: Malmesbury also has friendship agreements with three other towns and cities: In the Church of England , Malmesbury Abbey has served as the parish church since 1541, following on from the former parish church of St Paul. Malmesbury forms part of the modern ecclesiastical parish of Malmesbury and Brokenborough, which joins with
4092-517: The abbey adjacent to the church. In 1139 King Stephen of England had become concerned about the loyalty of Roger and several other bishops and seized their castles, including Malmesbury. The civil war of the Anarchy broke out shortly afterwards between Stephen and the rival claimant for the throne, the Empress Matilda , in which Malmesbury Castle played an active part. At the start of the Anarchy,
4185-670: The abbey, nearby landmarks and festivals or by interest in the counter-modernism 1960s work of poet laureate , John Betjeman . Malmesbury had a nine-day wonder media event in January 1998, when two Tamworth pigs known as the Tamworth Two escaped from the town's abattoir. They swam the Tetbury branch of the River Avon, across a few fields and lived in an orchard for a week. The story made international headlines with tabloid newspapers and TV news stations fighting each other to sight and then capture
4278-478: The abbey. In modern times, Malmesbury is best known for its abbey, the bulk of which forms a rare survival of the dissolution of the monasteries . The economy benefits mostly from agriculture, as well as tourism to the Cotswolds ; Dyson is the town's main employer. At the 2021 census , the population of the parish was almost 6,000. The hilltop contains several freshwater springs, which helped early settlements. It
4371-457: The abbey. It was described by John Leland , writing in the 1540s, as a "right fair and costely peace of worke", which was built to shelter the "poore market folkes" when "rayne cummith". An elaborately carved octagonal structure, it is recognised as one of the best preserved of its kind in England. It still serves as a public shelter today, nicknamed "The Birdcage" because of its appearance. Numbers 1 and 3 Market Cross are also listed buildings, as
4464-468: The appurtenances of local government (e.g. a police force). In the United States these are referred to as "incorporated towns". In other cases the town lacks its own governance and is said to be "unincorporated". The existence of an unincorporated town may be legally set out by other means, e.g. zoning districts. In the case of some planned communities , the town exists legally in the form of covenants on
4557-469: The beginning of the root word (e.g. nagyváros ) have been normalized to differentiate between cities and towns (towns being smaller, therefore bearing the name kisváros .) In Hungary, a village can gain the status of város ('town'), if it meets a set of diverse conditions for quality of life and development of certain public services and utilities (e.g. having a local secondary school or installing full-area sewage collection pipe network). Every year
4650-399: The character of the municipality. For example, Oakville (2021 Population: 213,759) is the largest municipality to use the title of town to reflect its largely suburban character while other municipalities such as Richmond Hill (2021 Population: 202,022) have opted to change their status from "town" to "city" to encourage investment. In Chile , towns (Spanish: pueblos ) are defined by
4743-447: The cold water every day for decades to quell fiery passions. The Abbey was the site of an early attempt at human flight in 1010, when, as noted by historian William of Malmesbury , the monk Eilmer of Malmesbury flew a primitive hang glider from a tower. Eilmer flew over 180 metres before landing, breaking both his legs. By the time of the Norman invasion in 1066, Malmesbury was one of
SECTION 50
#17328372001504836-464: The consolidation of large estates during the Roman Empire , the town became the center of large farms. A distinction was created between rustic and urban settlements: In Afghanistan , a city and a town are both referred to as shār ( Dari : شهر ; Pashto : ښار ). The capital of each of its 34 provinces may include a major city such as Kabul whose population is over five million people or
4929-414: The definition of towns, creating communities urban in their economic and cultural characteristics but lacking other characteristics of urban localities. Some forms of non-rural settlement, such as temporary mining locations, may be clearly non-rural, but have at best a questionable claim to be called a town. Towns often exist as distinct governmental units, with legally defined borders and some or all of
5022-609: The distant past. The city of Rattenberg for example has about 400 inhabitants. The city of Hardegg has about 1200 inhabitants. There are no unincorporated areas. Of the 201 cities in Austria, 15 are statutory cities ( Statutarstädte ). A statutory city is a city that is vested, in addition to its purview as a municipality, with the duties of a district administrative authority . The status does not come with any additional autonomy: district administrative authorities are essentially just service centers that citizens use to interact with
5115-521: The ecclesiastical parish of Corston with Rodbourne to form the benefice of Malmesbury and Upper Avon. The parish is in the Deanery of North Wiltshire, a sub-division of the larger Archdeaconry of Malmesbury in the Diocese of Bristol . The Abbey is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul . The local Roman Catholic church in Malmesbury is St Aldhelm's Church , which serves the ecclesiastical parish of St Aldhelm, Malmesbury . The Catholic parish covers
5208-406: The first abbot and built the first church organ in England, which was described as a "mighty instrument with innumerable tones, blown with bellows, and enclosed in a gilded case." Having founded other churches in the area, including at Bradford on Avon , he died in 709 and was canonised . The Abbey's architecture is listed in the highest category and it is a Scheduled Ancient Monument . Across
5301-474: The following criteria: Malmesbury Castle Malmesbury Castle was a castle in the town of Malmesbury , Wiltshire , England . The town of Malmesbury was an important settlement in the early medieval period, both as a trading centre and as the site of Malmesbury Abbey . Early in the 12th century the Abbey came under the control of Bishop Roger of Salisbury who built a motte and bailey castle close to
5394-552: The former Abbey library. Malmesbury natives are sometimes nicknamed Jackdaws , originating from the avian colony of these that inhabit the Abbey walls and roof. The community was the ancient frontier of two kingdoms— Tetbury 5 miles (8.0 km) to the north was in Mercia , while Malmesbury was in the West Saxon Kingdom —resulting in centuries of animosity between the two towns. The location and defensive position of Malmesbury on
5487-404: The generations and remains to this day. Since at least the 17th century, the right has been only handed down from father to son or son-in-law. There is a maximum of 280 commoners. To be a commoner, one has to be born to a freeman or marry the daughter of one. Since 2000, women were admitted for the first time—the daughters of freemen. The organisation, The Warden and Freemen of Malmesbury, still owns
5580-421: The historical importance, the existence of central functions (education, retail etc.) and the population density of an urban place might also be taken as characteristics of a Stadt . The modern local government organisation is subject to the laws of each state and refers to a Gemeinde ( municipality ), regardless of its historic title. While most Gemeinden form part of a Landkreis ( district ) on
5673-530: The land to the south of the town, along with dozens of properties, pubs and shops within the town itself, providing affordable housing to townsfolk. Westport, sometimes called Westport St. Mary, was a village and civil parish immediately west of Malmesbury, outside the confines of the hilltop. The philosopher Thomas Hobbes was born in Westport in 1588; his father, also Thomas, lived at Westport while serving as curate of Brokenborough . Westport no longer exists as
SECTION 60
#17328372001505766-532: The last weekend of July, spanning approximately three and a half days from the Thursday evening to Monday morning. Malmesbury has a number of public parks and gardens. Three of these (St Aldhelm's Mead, Cuckingstool Mead and White Lion Recreation Park) were registered in 2013 as Fields in Trust , giving them long-lasting protection as free, open recreational spaces. Malmesbury also has a leisure centre (The Activity Zone) and
5859-429: The latterly important Oxford to Bristol route made it a strategic military point. During the 12th century civil war between Stephen of England and his cousin the Empress Matilda , the succession agreement between Stephen and Henry of Anjou (later Henry II) was reached after their armies faced each other across the impassable River Avon at Malmesbury in the winter of 1153, with Stephen losing by refusing battle. During
5952-406: The local baron Robert fitz Hugh seized Malmesbury Castle from Stephen in 1139, but the king recaptured it shortly afterwards, sacking the town in the process. The castle became used by local royal forces to raid the surrounding countryside, much to the complaint of contemporary chroniclers. In 1144 Robert of Gloucester unsuccessfully besieged the castle, and it remained in royal hands until taken by
6045-548: The month, culminating in a procession through the town, typically held on the last Saturday. Since its inception in 1917, it has grown to include more than 30 events, ranging from music events to an attempt on the world record for the largest pillow fight . A new Carnival Committee was formed in 2019 with the aim of raising money for the local community. Since 2007, the annual world music festival WOMAD Charlton Park has been held in Charlton Park. This usually takes place over
6138-509: The most significant towns in England. It is listed first (thus most important) in the Wiltshire section of the Domesday Book. King Henry I 's chancellor, Roger of Salisbury , seized the monastery under his bishopric in 1118, and held it for 20 years. Renowned as a great builder, he rebuilt the wooden town walls wholly in stone rather than wood, constructing the short-lived Malmesbury Castle at
6231-555: The municipal borough, and after 1961 for the ward . Traditionally a market town serving the rural area of north west Wiltshire, farming has been the main industry. Even today, the High Street has numerous independent shops and a weekly farmers' market . The Reformation of 1539 brought about a change in the economy of Malmesbury: having no income from the Abbey, the town turned to the wool spinning and weaving industry , having access to large quantities of wool and water. It then became
6324-542: The name of their respective seats, and if they were not municipal seats, they would have the category of village. Bulgarians do not, in general, differentiate between 'city' and 'town'. However, in everyday language and media the terms "large towns" and "small towns" are in use. "Large towns" usually refers to Sofia , Plovdiv , Varna and Burgas , which have population over 200,000. Ruse and Stara Zagora are often included as well due to presence of relatively developed infrastructure and population over 100,000 threshold. It
6417-418: The national government, for example to apply for driver licenses or passports. The national government generally uses the provinces to run these points of contact on its behalf; in the case of statutory cities, the municipality gets to step up. In Brazil, since 1938, it was defined that the seat of the municipalities would pass to the category of city and give it the name and the districts would be designated by
6510-399: The oldest hotel in England. The Abbey's spire collapsed in either the late 15th or early 16th century. Under his English Reformation , King Henry VIII , sold the substantial land, but retaining a minor choice portion, to a local clothier William Stumpe . The extant part of the Abbey is now the parish church; the remains containing a parvise which still holds some fine examples of books from
6603-466: The pigs. The pigs were recaptured, and lived out their lives in an animal rescue centre. At the beginning of the Second World War , the electronics company EKCO moved part of its operations from Southend-on-Sea to Cowbridge House , 3 ⁄ 4 mile (1.2 km) southeast of the town, to avoid the danger of bombing. The company established a shadow factory to produce radar equipment, then
6696-476: The properties within the town. The United States Census identifies many census-designated places (CDPs) by the names of unincorporated towns which lie within them; however, those CDPs typically include rural and suburban areas and even surrounding villages and other towns. The distinction between a town and a city similarly depends on the approach: a city may strictly be an administrative entity which has been granted that designation by law, but in informal usage,
6789-417: The rank of town (e.g. Visegrád, Zalakaros or Gönc) and meeting the conditions of development is often disregarded to quickly elevate larger villages into towns. As of middle 2013, there are 346 towns in Hungary, encompassing some 69% of the entire population. Towns of more than 50,000 people are able to gain the status of megyei jogú város (town with the rights of a county ), which allows them to maintain
6882-557: The same meaning as borough albeit deriving from a different etymology) and they retain the exclusive right to the title even after the last vestiges of their privileges vanished through the reform of the local administration carried through in 1970. In Estonia , there is no distinction between a town and a city as the word linn is used for both bigger and smaller settlements, which are bigger than villages and boroughs. There are 30 municipal towns ( omavalitsuslik linn ) in Estonia and
6975-489: The same time. By the Middle Ages , the north of the town was heavily developed as a religious centre, resulting in the construction of the third Abbey on the site, the 12th-century Malmesbury Abbey , which had a spire 7 metres (23 ft) taller than the 123 metres (404 ft) one of Salisbury Cathedral . In 1220 this resulted in the construction of the Abbey guest house, which is now The Old Bell hotel and claims to be
7068-404: The scale, to fortified municipalities. Other common Anglo-Saxon suffixes included ham 'home', stede 'stead', and burh 'bury, borough, burgh'. In toponymic terminology, names of individual towns and cities are called astyonyms or astionyms (from Ancient Greek ἄστυ 'town, city', and ὄνομα 'name'). In some cases, town is an alternative name for "city" or "village" (especially
7161-540: The site of an Iron Age fort, in the early medieval period Malmesbury became the site of Malmesbury Abbey , a monastery famed for its learning. It was later home to one of Alfred the Great 's fortified burhs for defence against the Vikings. Æthelstan , the first king of all England, was buried in the abbey when he died in 939. As a market town , it became prominent in the Middle Ages as a centre for learning, focused on and around
7254-430: The smallest level of local authorities are all called communes . They can have anywhere from a handful to millions of inhabitants, and France has 36,000 of them. The French term for town is bourg but French laws generally do not distinguish between towns and cities which are all commonly called villes . However, some laws do treat these authorities differently based on the population and different rules apply to
7347-476: The south porch, richly carved with Biblical scenes, which Pevsner describes as "among the best pieces of Norman sculpture and decoration in England". The abbey was placed on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register in November 2022, owing to the condition of its roofs. In the centre of the town stands the market cross , built c. 1490 , possibly using stone salvaged from the recently ruined part of
7440-421: The term is also used to denote an urban locality of a particular size or importance: whereas a medieval city may have possessed as few as 10,000 inhabitants, today some consider an urban place of fewer than 100,000 as a town, even though there are many officially designated cities that are much smaller than that. 193 countries have been involved in a common effort to agree on a common statistical definition of
7533-607: The three big cities Paris , Lyon and Marseille . For historical reasons, six communes in the Meuse département exist as independent administrative entities despite having no inhabitants at all. For statistical purposes, the national statistical institute ( INSEE ) operates a distinction between urban areas with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants and bigger communes, the latter being called villes . Smaller settlements are usually called villages . Germans do not, in general, differentiate between 'city' and 'town'. The German word for both
7626-455: The three categories: cities, towns and rural areas. Australian geographer Thomas Griffith Taylor proposed a classification of towns based on their age and pattern of land use . He identified five types of towns: Through different periods of recorded history, many towns have grown into sizeable settlements, with the development of properties, centres of culture, and specialized economies. Çatalhöyük , currently an archaeological site,
7719-414: The two rivers meet on the southern edge of the town. With steep sides, in places cliff-like, the town was described by Sir William Waller as the best naturally defended inland location he had seen. In the 19th and 20th centuries the town expanded to the northwest, occupying land between the two rivers which was formerly in Westport and Brokenborough parishes. In the later 20th and early 21st, development
7812-675: The walls of a castle. In Australia, most rural and regional centres of population can be called towns; many small towns have populations of less than 200. The smallest may be described as townships. In addition, some local government entities are officially styled as towns in Queensland , South Australia , Western Australia and the Northern Territory , and formerly also (till the 1990s) in Victoria . The Austrian legal system does not distinguish between villages, towns, and cities. The country
7905-598: The west, the infant (Bristol) Avon flows from Sherston , and from the north west, a tributary either known as the Tetbury Avon , River Avon (Tetbury branch), or—locally—The Ingleburn. They flow within 200 metres (660 ft) of each other but are separated by a narrow and high isthmus which forces the Bristol Avon south and the Tetbury Avon east. This creates a rocky outcrop as a south-facing, gently sloping hilltop, until
7998-471: The wider national debate about changes to the planning system and the balance of power between communities and developers. What made Malmesbury successful as a town—water and excellent defences—led to its current layout and the presence of over 300 listed buildings within its boundaries. Roger of Salisbury reconstructed the town after his accession to Bishop of Salisbury in 1102, and the Saxon layout he rebuilt
8091-617: The word χωριό ('village') to refer to smaller settlements and the word πόλη or πολιτεία ('city') to refer to larger ones. Careful speakers may also use the word κωμόπολη to refer to towns with a population of 2,000–9,999. In Greek administrative law there used to be a distinction between δήμοι , i.e. municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants or considered important for some other geographical (county seats), historical or ecclesiastical (bishops' seats) reason, and κοινότητες, referring to smaller self-governing units, mostly villages. A sweeping reform, carried out in two stages early in
8184-609: Was chosen by the Department for Communities and Local Government as a "front-runner" area to test Neighbourhood Planning powers introduced in the Localism Act 2011 . As part of the neighbourhood planning process in February 2012 a series of seminars and workshops involving residents and stakeholders were run in Malmesbury by The Prince's Foundation for Building Community . In March 2012 issues of planning in Malmesbury were featured as part of
8277-498: Was considered to be the oldest inhabited town, or proto-city , that existed from around 7500 BC. Inscribed as a World Heritage Site , it remains a depopulated town with a complex of ruins. In Roman times , a villa was a rural settlement formed by a main residential building and another series of secondary buildings. It constituted the center from which an agricultural holding was administered. Subsequently, it lost its agricultural functions and reduced its activity to residential. With
8370-534: Was intended to be self-reliant, but was not successful and turned into a bedroom community like the other new towns. More recent developments are Tin Shui Wai and North Lantau (Tung Chung-Tai Ho) . In Hungary there is no official distinction between a city and a town (the word for both in Hungarian is város ). Nevertheless, the expressions formed by adding the adjectives kis ('small') and nagy ('large') to
8463-405: Was that of a fortress or an enclosure. Cognates of town in many modern Germanic languages designate a fence or a hedge. In English and Dutch, the meaning of the word took on the sense of the space which these fences enclosed, and through which a track must run. In England, a town was a small community that could not afford or was not allowed to build walls or other larger fortifications, and built
8556-521: Was the site of an Iron Age fort , and in the Anglo-Saxon period it had a monastery famed as a centre of learning. The town is listed in the Burghal Hidage as one of Alfred the Great 's defended burhs assessed at 1200 hides , its Iron Age defences helping to provide protection against Viking attack. The town was described in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a borough. Also within the Domesday Book it
8649-478: Was to the north, as far as the area known as Filands which is bounded by the B4014 road. At the 2011 census the population was 5,380 in 2,280 homes. In the table below, the additional figures in the 19th century are for The Abbey, the supplemental ecclesiastical parish added to that of St Paul. Figures for 1901 are for the parishes of St Paul Within, St Paul Without and Abbey, respectively. Figures from 1911 are for
#149850