Chippenham Museum and Heritage Centre in the Market Place celebrates the town's rich and diverse history.

As Chippenham has grown over the past ten years, the heritage centre has served as a focus for a growing fascination and pride in the town's 6,000 years.

The centre, which is free to enter, offers eight galleries of exhibits, education, a reference room and shop. Temporary exhibitions and special events are held throughout the year to link with events in the town.

Visitors can journey through time, starting with a Neolithic cooking pit which was discovered under the floorboards of the centre itself, with a flint blade, flakes and ash.

The historic journey continues through innovative displays on Saxon, Georgian and Victorian times while the first floor galleries show aspects of trade and industry and the effects of war on the towns from the Civil War through to the Second World War.

Other displays investigate the connections Chippenham had with Brunel and the Great Western Railway.

The centre also runs activities for children of all ages, including quizzes, holiday activities and a monthly Saturday morning club.

The heritage centre is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm and all Bank Holidays except Christmas. Telephone (01249) 705020 for further information.