Editing Swindon (section)

===Early history===
The [[Anglo-Saxon]] settlement of Swindon sat in a defensible position atop a [[limestone]] hill. It is referred to in the 1086 [[Domesday Book]] as Suindune,<ref name="domesday">{{OpenDomesday|SU1583|swindon|Swindon}}</ref> believed to be derived from the [[Old English language|Old English]] words "swine" and "dun" meaning "pig hill" or possibly Sweyn's hill, Sweyn being a Scandinavian name akin to Sven and English swain, meaning a young man.

Swindon is recorded in the Domesday Book as a [[Manorialism|manor]] in the [[Hundred (county division)|hundred]] of Blagrove, [[Wiltshire]]. It was one of the larger manors, recorded as having 27 households and a rent value of £10 14s, which was divided among five landlords.<ref name="domesday" /> Before the [[Battle of Hastings]] the Swindon estate was owned by an [[Anglo-Saxon]] [[Thegn|thane]] called Leofgeat.<ref name=":0" /> After the [[Norman Conquest]], Swindon was split into five holdings: the largest was held between [[Miles Crispin]] and Odin the Chamberlain,<ref name="domesday" /> and the second by [[Wadard]], a [[knight]] in the service of [[Odo of Bayeux]], [[brother]] of [[William the Conqueror|the king]].<ref name=":0">{{citation |author=Wadard and Vital |title=1066: The Hidden History in the Bayeux Tapestry}}</ref>{{page needed|date=November 2021}} The manors of Westlecot, Walcot, Rodbourne, Moredon and Stratton are also listed; all are now part of Swindon.

The [[Goddard family]] were [[lord of the manor]] from the 16th century for many generations, living at the [[manor house]], sometimes known as The Lawn.

Swindon was a small [[market town]], mainly for [[barter|barter trade]], until roughly 1848. This original market area is on top of the hill in central Swindon, now known as Old Town.<ref name="Chandler">John Chandler, Swindon Decoded, The Hobnob Press 2005, {{ISBN|0-946418-37-3}}.</ref>

The [[Industrial Revolution]] was responsible for an acceleration of Swindon's growth. Construction of the [[Wilts and Berks Canal]] in 1810 and the [[North Wilts Canal]] in 1819 brought trade to the area, and Swindon's population started to grow.