Editing Cirencester (section)

===Modern history===
At the end of the 18th century, Cirencester was a thriving [[market town]], at the centre of a network of [[Turnpike trust|turnpike]] roads with easy access to markets for its produce of grain and wool. From 1461, [[Cirencester Grammar School]] provided a [[grammar school]] education for those who could afford it, and businesses thrived in the town, which was the [[market town]] for the surrounding area.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

[[File:Castle Street Cirencester 30th Aug 2001.jpg|right|thumb|Cotswold stone buildings in Castle Street]]

In 1789, the opening of the Cirencester branch (or "arm") of the [[Thames and Severn Canal]] provided access to markets further afield, by way of a link through the River Thames. In 1841, a branch railway line was opened to [[Kemble, Gloucestershire|Kemble]] to provide a link to the Great Western Railway at [[Swindon]]. The [[Midland and South Western Junction Railway]] opened a station at [[Cirencester Watermoor railway station|Watermoor]] in 1883. Cirencester thus was served by two railway lines until the 1960s.

The loss of the canal and the direct rail link encouraged dependency on road transport. An inner ring road system was completed in 1975 in an attempt to reduce congestion in the town centre, which has since been augmented by an outer bypass with the expansion of the A417 road. Coaches depart from London Road for [[Victoria Bus Station]] in central London and [[Heathrow Airport]], taking advantage of the [[M4 Motorway]]. Kemble Station to the west of the town, distinguished by a sheltered garden, is served by fast trains from [[Paddington station]] via [[Swindon]].

The passing of the [[Local Government Act 1894]] at last brought into existence the town's first independent elected body, the Cirencester Urban District Council. A reorganisation of local government in 1974 replaced the Urban District Council with the present two-tiers of [[Cotswold District|Cotswold District Council]] and Cirencester [[Town Council]], sitting below [[Gloucestershire County Council]].

Under the patronage of the Bathurst family, the Cirencester area, notably [[Sapperton, Gloucestershire|Sapperton]], became a major centre for the [[Arts and Crafts movement]] in the Cotswolds, when the furniture designer and architect-craftsman [[Ernest Gimson]] opened workshops in the early 20th century, and [[Norman Jewson]], his foremost student, practised in the town.{{cn|date=March 2025}}