MARLBOROUGH

town (parish), Kennet district, administrative and historic county of Wiltshire, England. It lies on the River Kennet in a valley of the chalky Marlborough Downs (hills). Traces of Neolithic and Roman occupation have been found in the vicinity of the Castle Mound, former site of an 11th-century royal castle. John, later king, was married at the castle chapel in 1189. He granted the town its first charter in 1204; the present charter dates from 1575. During the English Civil Wars the town, which supported Parliament, was besieged and captured. In 1653 a great fire destroyed much of Marlborough, and other fires occurred in 1679 and 1690, but the present broad High Street is still flanked with houses dating from the 16th century. Marlborough College, a well-known boys' school, was founded in 1843, and its buildings include the castle, rebuilt in the 17th and again in the 18th century. The town's trade is largely based on its role as a rural service centre for the surrounding farming area. Pop. (1991) 6,429. city, Middlesex county, east-central Massachusetts, U.S., 27 miles (43 km) west of Boston. Originally part of Sudbury, it was set off as Whipsuferadge Plantation in 1656 and was incorporated as a town in 1660 and named for Marlborough, England. The adjoining Native American plantation of Okammakamefit was annexed in 1718. Shoe manufacturing was begun in 1812. Services and trade are now important to the economy, but the largest share of employment is dependent on manufacturing (computers, electronic equipment, chemicals, shoes, and metal goods). Recreational areas include Sudbury State Forest and the Marlborough Reservoirs. The Peter Rice Homestead is a historical attraction. Inc. city, 1890. Pop. (1990) 31,813; (1996 est.) 32,974. unitary authority, northeastern South Island, New Zealand. It is bounded by Cook Straight (north), the South Pacific Ocean (east), Christchurch local government region (southeast and south), and Tasman and the city of Nelson unitary authorities (west). The Wairau River rises in western Marlborough in the Spenser Mountains, the source of headwaters of many smaller rivers as well. The Wairau flows northeast, south of the Richmond Range, into Cloudy Bay. Other important rivers are the Awatere and Flaxbourne. The first whaling stations were established in the 1830s along Port Underwood (a bay) and Queen Charlotte Sound. The New Zealand Company's efforts to acquire the Wairau Plains in 1843 led to the Wairau Affray, a battle between them and local Maori chiefs. There is mixed arable farming around Blenheim and Seddon, and sheep and dairy farming in the Rai River valley. Industries include food processing, clothing and textiles, metals and engineering, nearly all of it in the vicinity of Blenheim. There are road and rail ferries between the town of Picton and Wellington (on North Island), and air freight is handled through Woodbourne, near Blenheim, and Rongotai in Wellington. Pop. (1993 est.) 37,700.