By Tim Lambert
1697 Swindon has a population of 791. It is a very small market town.
1801 Swindon is still a tiny market town. It has a population of 1,198. As well as weekly markets Swindon has 4 annual fairs.
1840 The Great Western Railway reaches Swindon and the company decides to build an engine building and maintenance works there.
January 1843 Swindon Railway Works is officially opened. Meanwhile, houses are built for the workers.
1845 As the settlement grows St Marks Church is consecrated
1846 The first shops in the new settlement open
1851 New Swindon has a population of 1,454
1860s Henry Street, Reading Street, and Oxford Street are built
1864 New Swindon is lit by gas
The 1870s More houses are built in North Street, Western Street, Dover Street, and Prospect Hill.
1872 A sewage farm is built. A cottage hospital is built.
1881 The population of Swindon is over 15,000
1887 Swindon and North Wiltshire Victoria Hospital is built
1889 Radbourne Recreation Ground opens
1894 Town Garden Park opens
1896 A Technical College is founded
1889 Cambria Park opens
1900 Swindon is made a borough
1901 The population of Swindon is 45,000
1904 Trams are introduced in Swindon
1910 The first cinema opens in Swindon
1920 A museum opens in Swindon
1929 The last trams run in Swindon
1938 New Civic Offices are built
1952 Swindon is designated an overspill town for London
1962 A Railway Museum opens in Swindon
1964 The Parade is built
1972 The Magic Roundabout is built
1976 Oasis Leisure Centre opens
1986 The Railway Works close
1997 Swindon is made a unitary authority
2000 Steam opens
2002 The Great Western Hospital opens
2008 A new library opens in Swindon