Approaching Malmesbury it’s easy to see why it’s called ‘the Queen of hilltop towns’. The abbey rears above the landscape drawing the eye and is the first stop for most visitors. Surrounding the abbey, the town sits on its ancient footprint, with many of the walls, buildings and homes having stood here for centuries.
Locals love their history. In particular, they venerate King Æthelstan. Despite being acclaimed as the ‘first king of all England’, he’s been largely forgotten. So, when in 2021 King Æthelstan was voted Britain’s greatest monarch by listeners of The Rest is History podcast, it caused a bit of a stir locally.
Æthelstan was the first grandson of King Alfred the Great, who ruled the Kingdom of Wessex in the 9th century (and supposedly burnt the cakes). Alfred
