Malmesbury is a historic hill town in the North of Wiltshire on the Southern area of the Cotswolds Hills. The town is built on the site of an Iron Age hill fort and has always been important strategically. The town has a fine abbey which was originally built in wood by an Irishman named Mailduf in 675. It was an important centre during the Saxon period and is the burial place of King Athelstan in 939, the first King of England and grandson of King Alfred the Great. This abbey was later transformed into the stone buildings, the main buolding surived the dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of King Henry VIII.

The history of the area is documented in the Athelstan Museum. Other notable buildings include the Towere House, a medieval building, now a private residence and the Market Cross. The Old Bell Hotel was originally built as a Guest House to the Abbey and as such has claims to be the oldest Hotel in England.