Blunsdon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Blunsdon | |
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| Population | 5,641 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Parish | Blunsdon St Andrew |
| Unitary authority | Swindon |
| Ceremonial county | Wiltshire |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Swindon |
| Postcode district | SN25, SN26 |
| Dial code | 01793 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| UK Parliament | North Swindon |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| List of places: UK • England • Wiltshire | |
Broad Blunsdon is a village in Wiltshire, south west England, located north of Swindon on the A419 road and easily accessible from junctions 15 and 16 of the M4 motorway.
Together with the nearby village of Blunsdon St Andrew and adjoining Lower Blunsdon, the settlement is usually known simply as Blunsdon. The main road (A419) divides Blunsdon into Blunsdon St Andrew on the West and Broad Blunsdon on the East. However, a by-pass is planned to commence construction in the Autumn of 2006 and will lead to the final re-unification of the village.
During the 2001 census 2250 dwellings were registered in the civil parish of Blunsdon St Andrew. Not all of these dwellings exist in the village of Blunsdon as the parish also includes the nearby developments of St Andrews Ridge, Ash Brake, Oakhurst and Redhouse which are part of the town of Swindon.
Blunsdon dates from Roman times: it was discovered that a Roman travellers’ resting place existed on the site of the present-day Cold Habour pub. The main road (A419) lies on the course of a Roman road known as Ermin Street that linked the historic Roman towns of Cirencester and Silchester.
The village of Blunsdon St Andrew includes a ruined Abbey that has now been converted into a caravan park. The nearby large scale development on the edge of Swindon was named Abbey Meads after Blunsdon Abbey. In addition, a former Manor House and listed building stood near the abbey known as The Grange. This has recently been converted into flats.
Blunsdon Abbey Stadium is the home of Swindon Speedway. The Swindon Robins compete in the speedway Sky Elite League, with matches regularly televised live on Sky Sport. However, this was under threat due to plans by local developers to demolish the stadium and replace it with houses. The initial proposal was to build a smaller greyhound racing stadium elsewhere, not large enough to accommodate the highly popular Speedway racing. However, a campaign led by the local media and supported by the people of Swindon and Speedway supporters across the World, seems to have persuaded the developers to include a Speedway Track, enabling the Robins to continue racing in Blunsdon. As of March 2007 the new plans still have not been seen by the public.
The village has its own football team, Blunsdon United, but most of the football fans still support Swindon Town.
The Swindon and Cricklade Railway has rebuilt Blunsdon railway station, although this is located just outside the parish boundary.
