Clik here to view.
Local History Hero - Mark Sutton
The first time I went to one of Mark's Great War talks I came away feeling as if I personally knew the men he had mentioned. He told the story of the battles they fought in and the ones that claimed...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Local History Hero - Graham Carter
So while we're on the subject of Swindon Heritage I'd like to mention former editor Graham Carter. In case you missed it, Swindon Heritage was a quarterly magazine for lovers of local history and was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An eighteenth century tour of Swindon
When Ambrose Goddard married Sarah Williams it involved a lot of legal man hours and a very large document. The Marriage Settlement dated 12 August 1776 reads like a tour of eighteenth century Swindon...
View ArticleClik here to view.
So, who were they all?
A church has stood in the Lawn, the site of the former Goddard family home, since the 12th century. All that remains standing today is the chancel and three pairs of piers which once flanked the nave....
View ArticleClik here to view.
My neck of the woods
Did you know that our neck of the woods was once just that - part of a wood, a very big wood? And not just any old wood but a Royal forest no less - Braydon Forest. The origins of Braydon Forest date...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Who was Dr John St John?
I was busy researching the life and times of Henrietta St John, a sad story of 18th century double standards set against a backdrop of letters and gardening. Henrietta’s so say ‘platonic’ relationship...
View Article