Bowerhill
Encyclopedia
Bowerhill is an outer suburb of Melksham
, belonging to the civil parish
of Melksham Without
. Bowerhill has a sizable industrial estate to the west of its residential area; this industrial area had been developed from a former Royal Air Force
military base. Bowerhill has a population of approximately 6,000 inhabitants and is effectively a small satellite town of Melksham. In the early-2000s, new residential developments such as Hunter's Meadow boosted Bowerhill's population further.
Towards the end of the Second World War a large number of Royal Naval Air Service Mechanics were trained here and many transport drivers also received instruction. From the end of the war, RAF Melksham resumed its role in Electrical and Instrument courses and continued with this and other education programmes until the early-1970s. The station was then decommissioned and used for a mixture of industrial, commercial and residential use, with much development in the 1980s.
This legacy is remembered in the area's street names, many of which are taken from historical aircraft of the RAF. These includes Falcon Way, Lancaster Road and Fulmar Close. The local pub is called The Pilot, and was formerly named The Harrier.
The village had been bounded from south by GWR
Devizes Branch Line, until its closure in 1966. The land formerly occupied by the railway has only begun being developed for new buildings in 2007.
Melksham
Melksham is a medium-sized English town, lying on the River Avon. It lies in the county of Wiltshire.It is situated southeast of the city of Bath, south of Chippenham, west of Devizes and north of Warminster on the A350 national route. The 2001 UK census cited Melksham as having 20,000...
, belonging to the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Melksham Without
Melksham Without
Melksham Without is a civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. It surrounds, but does not include, the town of Melksham and is the largest rural parish in Wiltshire, with a population of 6226 and an area of ....
. Bowerhill has a sizable industrial estate to the west of its residential area; this industrial area had been developed from a former Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
military base. Bowerhill has a population of approximately 6,000 inhabitants and is effectively a small satellite town of Melksham. In the early-2000s, new residential developments such as Hunter's Meadow boosted Bowerhill's population further.
History
Bowerhill was a rural area until early in 1940 when building work began on a new RAF station. In July the RAF School of Instrument Training moved here from Cranwell and later a branch of the RAF Armament School also moved here. In the following years other courses were run and in 1942 the Armament School moved out and was replaced by the RAF Electrical School from Hereford. Much specialised training was undertaken at RAF Melksham with not only RAF personnel but Polish, Free French and American members of the Allied Air Forces.Towards the end of the Second World War a large number of Royal Naval Air Service Mechanics were trained here and many transport drivers also received instruction. From the end of the war, RAF Melksham resumed its role in Electrical and Instrument courses and continued with this and other education programmes until the early-1970s. The station was then decommissioned and used for a mixture of industrial, commercial and residential use, with much development in the 1980s.
This legacy is remembered in the area's street names, many of which are taken from historical aircraft of the RAF. These includes Falcon Way, Lancaster Road and Fulmar Close. The local pub is called The Pilot, and was formerly named The Harrier.
The village had been bounded from south by GWR
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
Devizes Branch Line, until its closure in 1966. The land formerly occupied by the railway has only begun being developed for new buildings in 2007.