Swindon in the Past Lane

I have just finished re-reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce . This is the story of a man who walks to save someone's life and discovers his own along the way. The eponymous hero walks from Kingsbridge in Devon to Berwick upon Tweed, an epic journey during which he examines his past and finds his future. It is an inspirational story. I'm a big fan of walking and now I want to embark upon my own pilgrimage. But for the time being I shall have to make do with my daily walk from Old Town to West Swindon, a distance of a mere three miles, but one which take me through both the old and newer areas of our town. My journey begins in Goddard Avenue named after the Goddard family, Lords of the Manor of Swindon from 1560 who continued to hold sway in the town until the death of Fitzroy Pleydell Goddard in 1927. Development in Goddard Avenue dates from 1896 when the avenue was laid out by engineer and architect James Rew Shopland. Numerous builders worke...

In 1986 my husband moved to Swindon. After several years of unemployment, he left me and our two young children living in the coastal town in Pembrokeshire where he had grown up and where there was no work, to try his luck in Swindon. We were so desperate as a family that he came not to paid employment, but as a volunteer with Swindon Cyrenians, a charitable organisation that worked with homeless people.   The Swindon Cyrenians hostel was based in four terrace houses at the bottom of Farnsby Street while several of the volunteers were accommodated in a property in the railway village at No 1 Oxford Street. A settlement in Old Swindon dates back millennia but New Swindon, the former industrial complex at the bottom of the hill, is barely 178 years old, and the town itself continues to this day to be a work in progress. Farnsby Street today looks very different even to the place Steve came to in 1986. The four houses, all that remained of the Victorian s...

In 1966 the local authority purchased the railway village cottages from British Rail. The properties were in a state of disrepair and in a flashback to Victorian times were found to be insanitary and not up to modern expectations. Most of the cottages lacked indoor toilets and bathrooms and the rear extensions were dilapidated and infested with vermin. For some considerable time the fate of the cottages hung in the balance while residents led a crusade to save these historic properties. Eventually Thamesdown Council began a long running refurbishment programme, completed in the 1980s. Today the stone built former railway workers homes are central to the town's Railway Village Conservation Area designated in 1975. The 300 Grade II listed cottages constitute an almost complete planned railway settlement of the 1840s and 50s.  In 2016 the  Railway Village Museum was transferred from Swindon Borough Council to the Mechanics' Institution Trust and it is now open on selected wee...

Far be it from me to question the great Richard Jefferies – but I wonder where he got his story from. In 1896 the posthumously published Jefferies Land included a short history of Lydiard Tregoze and the Lydiard Park estate. ‘Lydiard and the neighbourhood are remarkably well wooded. Oak is abundant though it is observed that the trees never reach that enormous size which astonishes one in other localities. There is a curious legend about these oak trees. Ages ago a member of the Bolingbroke family rendered some important service to an English monarch. In return he received a grant of the lands of Lydiard until he should have taken three crops off them, after which they were to revert to the Crown. The wily nobleman had the lands sown with acorns and hazel nuts, which shot up into oaks and hazel woods, and the Bolingbrokes have not cleared their first crop yet. Such is the story.’ Jefferies Land - A History of Swindon and its Environs By the late Richard Jefferies Publ...

Following an hiatus of more than a year, Swindon in the Past Lane is back with a smart new layout. And you might like to take a look at my latest venture, the Radnor Street Cemetery blog (published every Thursday) which shines a light on researched and re-imagined stories of the people who made our vibrant town. A lot has happened in the past 20 months. Sadly the beautiful Swindon Heritage magazine has ceased publication. Some back editions are still available at the Library Shop in Swindon Central Library and during Radnor Street Cemetery walks and Swindon Society meetings.  To re-launch Swindon in the Past Lane I am publishing a few of the stories I wrote for Swindon Heritage, beginning with the history of Swindon's brickworks and an interview with local historian Jan Flanagan. When Charles A Wheeler put his two acre brickworks on Stratton St Margaret Road up for sale in 1861 he knew it wouldn’t stay on the market for long. ‘The great demand for dwelling h...

Fantastic turnout for our guided walk at Radnor Street Cemetery on Sunday - 50 people! With the grass almost as high as an elephant's eye we kept mainly to the paths. Andy had three new stories to tell, including that of Town Crier John Hiscock, a direct ancestor of one of his best mates. We look forward to seeing you all next month, September 10, when we are joining forces with the folks from Eastcott Community Organisation during the Open Heritage Days with an Eastcott centric walk followed by tea and cakes at the Savernake Street Social Hall. Thank you to everyone who joined us today. Someone enjoying a bird's eye view

Andy and I will be conducting a guided walk at Radnor Street Cemetery this Sunday, August 13, meet at the Chapel for 2 pm. We both have some cracking new stories to bring to the party, plus a couple of favourites I have told before, but I can confidently predict, neither of us will be singing. Singing? Can I recommend that you check in with the Cemetery Club co founded in 2013 by Sheldon Goodman and Christina Owen? Today the blogposts and guided cemetery walks are more often led by Sheldon and Sam Perrin (read more about them and other contributors here). Sheldon and Sam’s stomping ground includes the Magnificent Seven London cemeteries, although you’re likely to find them practically anywhere. So, what’s all this about singing?  On a guided walk in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park made in December 2016 Sheldon introduced Cemetery Club followers to Alec Hurley, the second husband of Marie Lloyd and, well sang. (Visit the Cemetery Club facebook page and scroll down...