Melksham is a medium-sized English town, lying on the River Avon. It lies in the north of the West Wiltshire district, in the county of Wiltshire. Melksham is situated 19 km (12 miles) southeast of the city of Bath, 11 km (7 miles) south of Chippenham, 13 km (8 miles) west of Devizes and 21 km (14 miles) north of Warminster on the A350 national route. The 2001 UK census cited Melksham as having 20,000 inhabitants, including sizeable environs such as Bowerhill and Berryfield. As such it is Wiltshire's fifth-largest town by population after Swindon, Salisbury, Chippenham and Trowbridge.
The town has a thriving business district and is also close to the retail centres of Bath, Bristol, Chippenham, Trowbridge and Swindon and is surrounded by beautiful villages such as Lacock, Holt, Seend and Semington. Substantial funding has allowed a variety of dynamic expansion and enhancement programmes, including improvement of the town centre. To cater for the unprecedented growth and attraction in recent years, there are new schools and improved infrastructure although small pockets of Melksham town centre, including an unsightly 1960's shopping parade, await redevelopment. Famous residents in the area include Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall, who has a private residence in nearby Lacock, and the singer-songwriter Midge Ure, who lives in nearby Box. Melksham Assembly Hall was the location for the first stage performance by the pop singer Gary Glitter and his Glitter Band on 15th July 1972. Melksham has been commended for a high level of social solidarity and community coherence. This is particularly notable at sporting events, at which the citizens of Melksham excel. George Ward School, the only secondary school in the Melksham catchment area, has provided education for the people of Melksham for many decades, with several athletes graduating from its ranks, such as Fitzroy Simpson. Out-migration of the talented and most able people has left the town with an elderly and predominantly working-class population, but despite this, the town is still growing, with major new developments expanding in the Bowerhill/Hunter's Meadow district to the southeast. The Forest area of the town has traditionally been a working class council estate. More on Melksham. 

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