Clik here to view.
Council Meeting - Thursday, 12 November 7 pm.
Council MeetingHere is an important notice concerning the future of Lydiard House and Park, and Swindon's other country parks.This is an open meeting - you can attend!Council Chamber,Civic...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Swindon Heritage Strategy document
Ahead of the Council Meeting on Thursday, November 12 and the motion Cllr Jim Robbins is due to propose, I have been re-reading the Swindon Heritage Strategy produced by Swindon Borough Council in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is democracy dead in this country?
Is democracy dead in this country? If you were at last night's Council Meeting at the Civic Offices you could be forgiven for thinking it is in Swindon.Personally, I am governed by a political party I...
View ArticleThe Libertine - Movie Trailer
At my recent talk 'Who Would Live in a House Like This?' I could only hint at the lifestyle choices of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester. Watch the movie trailer for The Libertine, starring Johnny...
View ArticleClik here to view.
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester.
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, died on July 26, 1680, aged 33 years old. Â It had been, how can I put it, an eventful life.The son of Anne St John and her second husband Royalist hero Henry,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Let's big up the Tudor cousins at Lydiard House
Heiress Margaret Beauchamp, Henry VII's grandmother, owned Lydiard Park in 1420. Her daughter, Margaret Beaufort, Henry's mother, was very close to her St John half siblings, finding them places at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
War time purchase of Lydiard House and Park
The Swindon Advertiser published this enthusiastic report about the future of the newly acquired Lydiard House and Park on August 6, 1943.In the middle of a war, Councillors were far sighted enough to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The 1943 Report on Lydiard House
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings was founded in 1877 by arts and crafts mastermind William Morris and leading members of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. The founding members were...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Woodville Fest
It's more than two years since the Woodville re-enactors last visited Lydiard Park.They camped in the park where they told the story of the War of the Roses (with weapons), gave demonstrations of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lady Diana Spencer
Did you know that the St John family, who owned Lydiard House and Park for 500 years, can boast several connections to our modern Royal family, including one to the late Diana, Princess of Wales?Lady...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Walled Garden at Lydiard Park
Are you gardening on a budget? Apparently so was Sir John St. John married to wealthy heiress Anne Furnese, when he transformed the gardens at Lydiard Park in 1743.Sir John had the 17th century formal...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Public engagement day at Lydiard Park November 18.
I am publishing today a statement issued by The Friends of Lydiard Park.The Friends of Lydiard Park is an independent charity dedicated to supporting the conservation and continued enhancement of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bar Humbug - what's happened to Christmas at Lydiard House?
Swindon Borough Council will be holding the second of its public engagement days at the Visitor Centre, Lydiard Park on Sunday November 22 from 9.30 am  to 3.30 pm.The evaluation form we are invited to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Headline news: Modern Royals descended from Lydiard Park St John family
Yes, it's true and shouldn't we be making more of this fact. In the gift shop we should have postcard pictures of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, books on William and Kate - the love affair, the...
View ArticleThe List
Lydiard HouseUnique selling point – scandalTell the story of the St John familyThe links with the Tudors (perennially popular with children and adults alike)The Civil War storyThe Royal favourites and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What do you Value from Lydiard Park & House?
If you were unable to attend the two public engagement days at Lydiard Park you can print off this form and scan it and send your reply to lydiardfuture@swindon.gov.uk or post it to Rachel Watts, Asset...
View ArticleClik here to view.
'Here is a good old mansion-house ...
By the mid 19th century the Palladian mansion house at Lydiard Tregoze was a little the worse for wear. Generations of St John's had chosen to spend their declining fortunes on racehorses, fine...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Celebrating Art in the Walled Garden
Three years ago I visited the newly revamped Avebury Manor. In 2010 the BBC in partnership with the National Trust refurbished and redecorated nine rooms in the empty manor house, each in a different...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Petitioning Swindon Borough Council
Are you struggling to keep up with events surrounding the future of Lydiard House and Park?Following just two public engagement days any further questions you might have now have to be asked (and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Princess Charlotte
Latest photographs of Princess Charlotte taken by her mother Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.Did you know the little Princess and her brother George are direct descendants of Anne St John whose...
View Article