the town (not counting the roman villages now within its boundaries) is believed to have been founded by anglo-saxons around ad 600. in ad 853, æthelswith (sister to alfred the great) married king burgred of mercia at chippenham. alfred was then a boy of four and the wedding was held on the site of st andrew's church. according to bishop asser's "life of king alfred", chippenham was, under alfred's reign, a royal vill; historians have also argued, from its proximity to the royal forests at melksham and barden, that it was probably a hunting lodge. alfred's daughter was also married in chippenham.