Full Steam Ahead
As if they knew we here in Swindon are celebrating a significant anniversary, my favourite team of experiential historian Ruth Goodman with archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn bring to our TV...
View ArticleLydiard Millicent burial ground
The village of Lydiard Millicent is just a twenty minute bus journey from the centre of Swindon and I could easily walk there from my home in West Swindon. Unfortunately the narrow, winding road that...
View ArticleBeware, the cautionary tale of the village baker
Headstones are not the indestructible objects previous generations might have thought they would be. Lettering comes off and even inscriptions set in stone weather and degrade, in some cases the whole...
View ArticleAnd it's back to the Ody family
So...In the cemetery at Lydiard Millicent I discovered the grave of James Ody Selby who died on October 24, 1939 and his wife Henrietta who survived him by nearly nine years.The couple were married in...
View ArticleSt Andrew's Church, Wanborough
Another day, another churchyard.The Grade I listed St Andrew's Church in Wanborough is famous for being one of only *three churches to boast a tower and a spire. (Another is at nearby Purton and the...
View ArticleAn untimely end
In Memory ofRobert HarwoodWho Departed This LifeJanuary 18th 1864Aged 55 YearsAlso ofRobertSon ofRobert and Susannah HarwoodWho Departed This LifeJuly 21 1872Aged 28 YearsRobert Harwood got up early on...
View ArticleCroome Court
“Welcome to my office,” said Joe as he led the Friends of Lydiard Park group from the visitor’s centre along a winding pathway which opened up on to a breath-taking view.Croome Court has been a work in...
View ArticleA Tale of Two Tombs
When it comes to family tombs, St Mary’s, Lydiard Park has the daddy of them all.The St John alabaster, black limestone and clunch ‘bedstead’ tomb, a monument to Anne Leighton, first wife of Sir John...
View ArticleSt Mark's Church
It’s not every day you come across a man climbing the spire at St Mark’s but as I stood in the churchyard taking photographs, there was one doing just that.Trains sped by just yards from where I stood...
View ArticleTryphena and Hephzibah Evenden
I am intrigued by the two spinster sisters with names that could have come straight out of a Thomas Hardy novel, Tryphena and Hephzibah Evenden. Family historians researching the Evenden family have...
View ArticleUp close and personal
Lydiard House and Park was busy today as families enjoyed the August sunshine.A steady stream of visitors filed through Lydiard House and front of house staff were heard to say it had been so busy they...
View ArticleRobert Laxon
Our next guided walk at Radnor Street Cemetery takes place next Sunday, August 14 meet at the chapel at 2pm.And for those of you who missed the Swindon Heritage History Day and the GWR themed walks, I...
View ArticleEdwin Thomas Brittain
Our next guided walk at Radnor Street Cemetery takes place next Sunday, August 14 meet at the chapel at 2pm.And for those of you who missed the Swindon Heritage History Day and the GWR themed walks, I...
View ArticleJohn Jones
Our next guided walk at Radnor Street Cemetery takes place next Sunday, August 14 meet at the chapel at 2pm.And for those of you who missed the Swindon Heritage History Day and the GWR themed walks, I...
View ArticleThomas and Susannah Hughes
This is the last resting place of Thomas and Susannah Hughes. This is another memorial with lots of symbolism. The inscription is on a scroll, a symbol of life and time. Both ends rolled up indicate a...
View ArticleJames Hinton
Revisiting the story of James Hinton, who in 1881 sold the plot of land on which Radnor Street Cemetery is laid out.Join us for a guided cemetery walk on Sunday August 14. Meet at the chapel 2pm....
View ArticleBeautiful views over the vale of Swindon
Our regular guided walk takes place this Sunday, August 14 at Radnor Street Cemetery. Meet at the Chapel for 2pm.The cemetery opened in 1881. Here is a description taken from a trade directory two...
View ArticleRaise a glass to William and Albertina Haynes
Many thanks to those who joined us on Sunday for a guided walk in Radnor Street Cemetery - a couple of regular visitors and several new ones.Here is the story of William and Albertina Haynes, one of...
View ArticleWalking back to happiness, woopah oh yeah yeah
Helen Shapiro knew a thing or two about walking.Today I joined Andy Binks from the Swindon Society as he led a group from the Swindon Health Walks on a guided tour of the Railway Village.The Walking...
View ArticleTaylor Wimpey proposal to build next to Lydiard Park
If you wondered what had happened to the Taylor Wimpey application to build on a field close to Lydiard House and Park, it hasn't gone away!Here is a link to Roger Ogle's report...
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