 In 1911 the Encyclopædia Britannica recorded the population of the town at 3811 , however this may refer to a white population, as a census of 1849 recorded a total of 8520 residents.The town no longer attracts the ailing because this aspect was never developed by the local authority, and today a shopping centre is located on top of the site with only a decorative fountain marking the location of the original spring.The following statistics describing Malmesbury are from the 2011 census.