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Frances Jane New
I have just received the most extraordinarily thoughtful present. For many years I have been researching and writing about Swindon Suffragette Edith New, who ranks as one of the most influential...
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A bit of amateur detective work
You may think that when a memorial is in this condition that it is impossible to discover who is buried there.Aha! Not if you have access to comprehensive records such as the ones existing for Radnor...
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George Bayliss - Engine Fitter
For more than twenty years George Bayliss lived in a house on Rodbourne Road. From his front room window, he could see the Great Western Railway Works. All around him was the smell and the noises of...
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A Grave with a View
As lockdown restrictions continue to ease, it's still not quite the same, is it?Swindon libraries are making valiant efforts and the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre will re-open on Tuesday August...
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The much married Martha Higgins
Sometimes the information on a headstone leads to a story quite different to the one you thought you might find.I was attracted to this stylish headstone with its central cruciform shape and Easter...
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William Henry Bennett - Press Reader
We tend to think that back in the day people remained pretty much where they were born, growing up, marrying and dying in the same village or somewhere very close. But it has always been a fact of life...
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Fragrant Memories
What a beautiful inscription on a recently discovered headstone in Radnor Street Cemetery.Fragrant Memories of my dear wife Margaret Ridley [Peggy] Preston who passed to the higher life Nov 14th 1951...
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The Ladies of Lydiard
Things have been rather quiet of late in the Past Lane but I’ve been pretty busy behind the scenes.First there was Grave Matters, a survey of the churchyard at St. Mary’s, Lydiard Park and the small...
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Easter Sunday Walk
 Swindon is an interesting town – no, honestly it is. From medieval market town to Victorian industrial hub, Swindon had members of the aristocracy living at Lydiard House and innovative engineers in...
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Are we nearly there yet?
It's never too early to introduce your grandchildren to history - even if they really, really don't want to know!When my daughter said she’d never walked along the canal, I immediately went into local...
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Book deal at the Library Shop
So, what or where are you most looking forward to revisiting as lockdown eases. I can't wait for the record offices and especially Local Studies in Swindon Central Library to re-open. I have documents...
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Swindon - A Peep at the Past
 You won’t find this little book promoted all over social media, which is perhaps a shame. But that wasn’t why it was written. I know we all say our opus magnum has been a labour of love, but for...
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Lady's Nightcap and Witches' Thimbles
Is it my imagination but this year are the bluebells more abundant, more beautiful than in previous seasons. I am discovering them alongside verges, in secluded patches of woodland and in Lydiard...
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The Cemetery Problem
By the 1880s the burial of the dead had become a controversial issue. Various forces were in operation. A rapidly increasing population saw a demand on burial space, which in turn became a public...
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Lost on a lads' night out
How's it going for all of you out there in lockdown land? Is it getting any easier or are you fast losing the plot? Good days and bad ones? I think it's the same for most of us.So, fancy joining me for...
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Art in the Garden
Was this a good idea, I asked myself as I left Swindon in a deluge to visit the Art in the Garden exhibition at Avebury Manor? In 2011 Avebury Manor was the subject of a unique BBC and National Trust...
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Isabella Horsley Mayo
For me no trip to a country house or stately home is complete without a visit to the local church and a walk around the churchyard. So, following my tour of Avebury Manor and the Art in the Garden...
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Local History Hero - Andy Binks
Local history stalwart Roy Cartwright recently posted an article on Facebook in praise of the Local Studies Collection in Swindon Central Library, which gave me an idea. Over the next few weeks I...
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Field of Remembrance
Preparation for this year's Royal Wootton Bassett Field of Remembrance gets underway at Lydiard Park today. The 2019 Field of Remembrance opens in the historic 18th century Walled Garden at Lydiard...
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Local History Hero - Noel Beauchamp
And now a shout out for Noel Beauchamp, the third member of our Radnor Street Cemetery team. Noel has a knack of finding some fascinating cemetery stories. His latest one to air was that of Frederick...
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