It’s a date – law firm donates foundation stone to museum

A two hundred-year-old piece of Chippenham history has been donated to the town’s museum by law firm Goughs.

The foundation stone comes from an historically important four storey mill, built in 1817.

The limestone and brick mill was constructed following a fire in 1816, in which the previous mill was destroyed. It stood until 1957, when it was demolished and replaced with a row of shops.

Since then, the foundation stone has been kept at Mill House, 1 New Road; formerly the home of the Collen family, who operated the flour mill from 1837 until 1948, and now home to Goughs Solicitors.

Melissa Barnett, curator of the Chippenham Museum and Heritage Centre said: “The museum has a working scale model of this mill, and thanks to Goughs the original mill stone can now be exhibited alongside it as part of a permanent display explaining such an important part of Chippenham’s history”.

Emma Taylor, partner in charge of Goughs Chippenham office said “When we were contacted by Melissa, we were more than happy to donate the foundation stone. The stone is an integral part of Chippenham’s heritage and should rightly be displayed within the museum”.