Stratton St Margaret

Stratton St Margaret was a village until Swindon marched up the old Roman road and sat on it, and the place has spent every year since insisting it is still separate to anyone who will listen. Nobody does, but the church and the name are still standing, which is more self-respect than most suburbs manage. Its people were once known as crocodiles, after a band of Stratton men armed themselves against one lying by the roadside and discovered it was a scarf. That is still the best guide to the place: settled, sensible, and ready to take up arms against anything unfamiliar that turns up on the verge.