PHOTOS charting the history of Chippenham through the decades were on display earlier this month in an exhibition held by developers McCarthy and Stone, to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday.

Residents were taken down memory lane at the event, which had photos dating back to 1926 – the year Her Majesty was born.

Almost 30 pictures were at the event – held at Bowles Court on Westmead Lane – including a view of the High Street before World War Two, an aerial view from the top of St Andrew’s Church in the 1980s and the interior of the Talbot Hotel from the 1950s.

“The Talbot was in the Market Place and it’s now a bank,” said local historian Mike Stone, who was on hand at the exhibition to talk about the history of the town.

“That was one of the public houses around the market place. People coming to the market would go in them.

“There’s so few of them left though – only about three.

“In the High Street picture, the main thing that’s changed is that it used to be the main road through Chippenham and it had quite a big effect on the town.

“It doesn’t show it in the picture but normally it was a busy through road. People would come down the A4 and that was the only route through.

“Many of the buildings have remained the same although there have been a few rebuilds.

“In the picture from the top of St Andrew’s, the Yelde Hall at the front of the picture has gone through changes from being a fire station. It was used as the original town museum.”

“That whole area of The Shambles, the butchers used to set up on market day there and much of it has remained the same.”