Swindon was historically a small market town that grew into a significant railway hub in the 1840s and is now the largest town in Wiltshire. While it originated as a market town with a charter in the 1280s, it is now largely recognized as a modern, large manufacturing and railway town.
The Borough of Swindon is a unitary authority area with borough status in Wiltshire, England. Centred on Swindon, it is the most north-easterly district of South West England.
You can stop by the market towns of Marlborough, Hungerford, and Pewsey, where you'll find traditional pubs and local artisan shops. Swindon also lies along the Great West Way heritage trail, and a highlight is the Great Western Railway at STEAM Museum.
Swindon was above average in seven of the 12 indicators, and especially in some of the areas the public values most such as skills, safety, health, jobs, transport, income and health. The only area where it fell very slightly below average was in income distribution.
Swindon's current crime levels are at 85% of the national crime rate. Violent crime makes up 38.5% of all crimes reported in the postcode area. The total number of "violent crime" is 13.4k, and this number has increased by 9.6% when compared year-over-year in the period of December 2024 - November 2025.
The poorest place in the UK, based on official English Indices of Deprivation (IMD) data, is often cited as Jaywick, a coastal village in Essex, frequently topping the list for overall deprivation due to issues like low income, unemployment, poor housing, and crime. However, areas like Blackpool, Middlesbrough, Hull, and parts of London (Hackney, Tower Hamlets) also consistently rank highly for deprivation, especially concerning child poverty.
Swindon Town is currently ranked 2nd in EFL League Two, playing in the 2024-2025 season, with 46 points from 24 games, just behind leaders Bromley and ahead of Walsall and Salford City as of early January 2026. They are in a strong position for promotion, according to recent football league tables.
While there's no single "poshest," Castle Combe (often called the prettiest village) and Shalbourne, along with Biddestone, are frequently cited as Wiltshire's poshest villages by publications like The Times and Daily Mail, known for their historic honey-coloured stone homes, picturesque settings in the Cotswolds, strong community life, and high property values.
In the 2021 census, the ethnic composition of the Borough of Swindon comprised: 81.5% White, 11.6% Asian, 2.6% Black, 2.8% Mixed, and 1.5% Other. White (81.5%): English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British (74.2%), Irish (0.7%), Gypsy or Irish Traveller (0.1%), Roma (0.2%), and Other White (6.3%).
Swindon is famous for its deep railway heritage, being a major hub for the Great Western Railway with the iconic STEAM Museum. It's also known for the confusing but famous Magic Roundabout, its role in the TV show The Office, housing Nationwide Building Society, and for cultural contributions like the band XTC and the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
It concluded that Swindon is fourth safest, with Warrington in the top spot followed by Cheltenham and York. Immediately below Swindon is Cambridge, followed by Reading, Exeter, Oxford, Swansea and Stoke-on-Trent.
billie piper. jamie cullum. diana dors. justin hayward. david hempleman-adams. david howell. melinda messenger. gilbert o'sullivan. desmond morris. mark lamaar. john francome. julian clary. bob anderson. xtc. don rogers. jamie cox. shelley rudman. bishop of swindon. fred ferris - swindon town crier. ken white.
Swindon Accent. Swindon is on the eastern edge of the traditional dialect region called the West Country. Some of the distinctive features remain, but increasingly London features are taking over. For example, very few residents of Swindon pronounce /r/ after a vowel.
In 2021 there were 68,000 non-UK born residents in Swindon and Wiltshire, of which 36,000 resided in Swindon compared to 32,000 in Wiltshire. This means that, as a proportion of total residents, nearly one in ten residents are non-UK born, rising to just under one in six (16%) in Swindon.
There isn't one single "most run-down" town, as it depends on the metric, but recent reports frequently cite Walsall (West Midlands) as Britain's most deprived for overall quality of life (Good Growth for Cities Index 2025), while Jaywick (Essex) is repeatedly named England's most deprived neighbourhood by government data. Other towns often mentioned for significant decline due to economic hardship, unemployment, and urban decay include areas in Blackpool, Hastings, and Middlesbrough, alongside places like Portsmouth and Aldershot facing specific challenges.
1. Main facts and figures. According to a parliamentary research report on poverty in the UK, based on the Households below average income statistics, relative low income rates were highest for people in households in the Pakistani or Bangladeshi ethnic group.
It lies on the North Sea coast of England, 60 miles (97 km) from London and 17 miles (27 km) from Colchester. It was constructed in the 1930s as a holiday resort for Londoners but has, over time, been officially named the most deprived area in the country.
