Calne is a town in Wiltshire, England. It lies on the River Marden , the Wilts and Berks Canal and the A4 road about 25 miles east of Bath or 95 miles West of London. It is a small (though expanding) town of approximately 12,000 inhabitants. It is located in the Devizes constituency and governed by Calne Town Council [1], North Wiltshire District Council [2] and Wiltshire County Council [3]
Calne's best known industry was Harris Pork factory that dominated the centre of the town until the early 1980s. This has now been fully demolished and the area where it used to be located redeveloped as shops, housing and a library. As a result of the closure of the factory unemployment in the town increased and for much of the 1980s Calne suffered many of the problems more normally associated with large cities.
Calne used to be on the railway but the branch line was cut in the 1960s in the Beeching Axe.
The country estate of Bowood House lies near Calne. It was here that Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen in 1774; there is a plaque in the town centre commemorating this.
Notable people from Calne include Saint Edmund and John Pym.
Notable buildings in the town include St Mary's Church and the houses on the Green.
External link
calne.org.uk
