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The Good Old Days
The railway factory dominated life in Swindon for close on 150 years. When the Works closed in 1986 a raft of skills were lost, consigned to history, and a way of life ended. But are we guilty today of...
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Radnor Street Cemetery - a perfect setting
A book launch in a cemetery chapel may sound a bit bizarre to you, but to me it makes perfect sense.For ten years I have been a member of a small, but perfectly formed, group of cemetery enthusiasts....
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Who was Mrs Griffin?
In 1950 John Betjeman (Poet Laureate 1972-84) famously wrote in Studies in the History of Swindon that ‘there is very little architecture in Swindon and a great deal of building’. He did however add...
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Great Granny's diary
Are you enjoying ‘Gentleman Jack’ the story of Anne Lister a nineteenth century woman who dared to be different?The BBC1 Sunday evening drama written by Sally Wainwright and starring Suranne Jones is...
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Southend-on-Sea
Every Summer Sunday we went to the south coast for the day. Mum, dad, me and Shandy, the dog. Our regular haunts were Eastbourne, Brighton and Southend-on-Sea. I think we went out because if we stayed...
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Alice Arman
Last year we at Swindon Suffragette celebrated the centenary of some women (those over thirty and with a property qualification) achieving the vote in 1918.However, this momentous event was only part...
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William Vilett Rolleston - Where did it all go wrong?
In 1870 William Vilett Rolleston inherited an estate worth an estimated £20,000 (today approximately £2.3 million). By 1874 he was declared bankrupt and you have to ask the question – where did it all...
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All systems go ...
Having wondered how I would get a photograph looking down busy Commercial Road, it turned out to be quite easy. A gap in the traffic, hold your nerve and hey presto.A photograph of Commercial Road...
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TRIP - a magnificent part of Swindon's rich railway heritage and culture
As Swindon schools prepare to begin the summer holiday at the end of July, the debate continues about the validity of a long six week break.The tradition harks back to our agricultural past when...
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Introducing a profusion of Priscillas - beginning with Priscilla D'Oyley
How many women are there in the Goddard family called Priscilla? Well I can tell you - loads!Sadly few of them left us any evidence of their lives bar an entry in the parish registers, except for the...
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Priscilla Sedgwick
On July 11, 1638 Obadiah Sedgwick married Priscilla Goddard at the parish church, Ogbourne St Andrew.Obadiah Sedgwick was born in 1600, the son of Joseph Sedgwick, vicar at St Peter's, Marlborough. He...
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Priscilla Vilett
You know you’ve got a bad case of this family history research malarkey when you spend hours trying to trace someone who died more than 280 years ago and who isn’t even a member of your family.I have...
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Priscilla Goddard
Priscilla Goddard was born in the village of Cliffe Pypard and baptised at St Peter's Church in June 1765. The entry in the register reads:Priscilla Daughter of Edward Goddard Esq & Joanna his Wife...
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Anne Priscilla Goddard
I'm finishing my week long profusion of Priscilla posts with an absolute cracker. There's a complicated family tree, a Will and a portrait.Anne Priscilla Goddard was born in Swindon, the daughter of...
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Happy Birthday Mrs Pankhurst
Today marks the anniversary of Emmeline Pankhurst's birthday, although the date is still up for debate. Emmeline always celebrated her birthday on July 14 aligning her arrival with that other...
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Painting the Past
Learning about our local history was a walk in the park with the Prime Theatre production Painting the Past. Painting the Past tells the story of Sir John St John 1stBaronet whose spirit is trapped at...
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An awful lot of history
Standing in a secluded space in the Lawn, the chancel is all that remains of Swindon's original parish church, Holy Rood.The foundations of the church date back to the thirteenth century with a...
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Richard Jefferies aunties
In which I search for William Hall, who named his Swindon home Longford Villa after his Irish birthplace, and ended up in Jefferies Land.The inscription on an intricately carved Celtic cross in a...
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Goddard Vilett
How many people coming across the name Goddard Vilett would assume this is probably a man? Well I did at first and very nearly overlooked yet another important woman in Swindon's history.I found a...
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Holy Rood Church, Swindon
When Swindon Corporation bought the old Goddard mansion house and 52 acres of parkland, it also acquired the ruins of Holy Rood Church, the town's original parish church. In 1947 the borough surveyor...
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