The Shires Shopping Centre

[1] Excavations before the construction of the centre revealed multiple artifacts of Saxon occupation, including a church and graveyard dated to c. 850 AD, and remnants of the medieval castle; the centre's name evokes this period of Anglo-Saxon England when during the Heptarchy major affairs such as justice began to be administered by meetings at shire-level.

Centrally within it was the last operating such facility, Salter's Home Mill, which closed in 1982 and much of which is occupied by Trowbridge Museum[3] which opened along with the centre in 1990.

The Shires was voted Wiltshire's best shopping centre for the six years to 2009 by readers of a local newspaper.

[1] Stores at the centre include: Bonmarché, F. Hinds, Gamestation, Halifax, Iceland, Peacocks, Poundland, Sports Direct and Superdrug.

[7] Having published the scheme and consulted affected businesses, the body agreed to the developer's intention to provide: "...not only much needed retail but will also see a new pedestrian street and public courtyard linking Bythesea Road and Stallard Street with boutique shops and cafés on the ground level and offices and apartments above."