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Swindon Tourist Information Centres
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About Swindon - show infohide info
Swindon is one of the fastest growing towns in the UK and has a very low unemployment rate. Swindon is in the borough of Swindon, which has been a unitary authority since 1998. Swindon has an important locomotive industry. The industrial revolution was responsible for a great acceleration of Swindon's growth. It started with the construction of the Wiltshire and Berkshire canal in 1810, and then the North Wiltshire canal in 1819. These two major routes brought more trade to the area, and Swindon's population started to rise. Probably the most significant event in Swindon's history occurred in 1840, when Swindon was selected to house the large engineering works for the Great Western Railway by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The new jobs created brought many people into Swindon to work. Along with the railway works a small railway village was created to house some of the many railway workers. This area became the present day area known as New Town (or the Town Centre). In the second half of the 19th century the new area (Swindon New Town) created by the railway works and the original area from the market trading years (Swindon Old Town) were merged to become Swindon.
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