In which I engage in a bit of name dropping!

Quite frankly I think it's time to name names. People might not thank me for it, but I think Swindon in the Past Lane readers deserve to know who you are.

So what has sparked this outburst? Funnily enough it was having a jolly nice time at the official opening of the new Arkell's hotel at The Sun Inn, Coate overlooking historic Jefferies land. It was a super event with a posh ploughman's lunch and scrummy scones.The Swindon Heritage team were among the invited guests along with members of the press, civic dignitaries and the people who designed, built and colour co-ordinated the beautiful rooms. And quite naturally the conversation turned to all things heritage - well it would with us there!

We started talking about shared acquaintances and the valuable research work being undertaken by volunteers and I decided there and then to name on this blog just a few of the people I know who work so hard to promote Swindon's wonderful heritage.

So, let's hear it for Clive Carter, Chairman of Wiltshire Building Records, who is painstakingly plotting the former farms on which our town is built.

And put your hands together for Jan Flanagan. Jan is not only recording the history of the Wilts and Berks Canal but she is also creating an archive of Swindon's brickyards and brick makers.

Take a bow Mike Pringle, arts and heritage maestro, who in recent months secured a £30,000 Heritage Lottery Fund to help develop a dedicated Trust at the birthplace of celebrated nature writer, Richard Jefferies. Mike is also one of the key figures behind the Swindon in the Great War project with a whole raft of innovative events lined up to commemorate the 2014 centenary.

Next in the line up is poet Hilda Sheehan, the driving force of the poetry scene in Swindon, already burning the midnight oil as she plans next year's Swindon Festival of Poetry - with a dash of heritage thrown in!

Have you heard about Alfred Williams, Swindon's Hammerman Poet? If you have it's probably thanks to Graham Carter, editor of Swindon Heritage, who regularly gives talks about his own personal hero.

Students at the Commonweal School have just returned from a visit to the Great War battlefields and cemeteries in the company of Mark Sutton. Mark has spent a lifetime researching and commemorating Swindon's sons who served. Three cheers for Mark!

Next we have the unsung heroes of the local history groups and societies.

Stand up please, Andy, Diane and Bob from the Swindon Society who give talks to groups and societies across the town on subjects as diverse as the Beaney collection and A Man With A Stick. Then there's Gordon, Sharon, Brenda - and not forgetting Ernie - with their walks and talks about and around Rodbourne.

And don't think I've finished there - let's take a trip to Wroughton where Hilary, Alan, Danny and company have garnered material for no fewer than nine books on the history of their village. And Sheridan in Royal Wootton Bassett, we salute you. Meanwhile over in Chiseldon Lynn, Elaine and members of the local history group are gearing up for the unveiling of the Chiseldon Cauldron.

From Purton to Highworth and beyond, members of the Swindon and District History Network are researching, writing and recording the history of this neck of the woods. And how much do they earn from this - the clue is in the job title - volunteer.

So there we are - consider yourself named!

A Man With A Stick - published courtesy of Swindon Local Studies, Central Library and history super sleuths Darryl, Katherine and Jon

Jan and her brick collection

Hilda Sheehan

Andy, Diane and Bob embarking on a heritage walk with Lethbridge Primary School pupils - you should have seen them when they got back!

Gordon taking a well earned break

A collection of Carters - Graham left and Clive right - Paul Williams (middle) is custodian of the William Hooper archive

one of the beautiful rooms at Arkell's new hotel

And a poetic doorway

Mike Pringle - read all about him!

Mark Sutton tells the story of Swindon's men who served

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 back to the 9th century and a belt of woodland stretching from the Thame Valley to the Vale of Blackmore and known to the Saxons as Sealwudu. The Saxon lords were pretty easy going, it would appear, and then along came the Normans with their system of forest law, courts and officialdom. Braydon became a royal forest by 1135 and in the 13th century it contained an area of some 46 square miles. The forest bounds included not only woodland but fields of arable, meadow and pasture and even villages such as those of Lydiard Tregoze, Lydiard Millicent and Purton. In 1256, during the reign of Henry III the king gave Robert Tregoze 3 bucks and 8 does from Braydon to restock his park at Lydiard Tregoze and in 1270 John Tregoze obtained a royal licence to 'inclose and impark' his woo...

Commercial Road

What a difference a few months make. For too long the dark empty windows of number 66-68 have stared out forlornly at the busy traffic along Commercial Road, but not any more. Today the windows shine brightly with the arrival of the Prospect Charity Shop selling a wide range of good quality items from books to comfy sofas to curl up on and lamps to read them by. For more than thirty years the Prospect Hospice in Wroughton has provided specialist end of life care. Today this service is also available at the Great Western Hospital and to people in their own homes. The Prospect Hospice is close to the hearts of the people of Swindon, particularly Swindon Society member Martin Vandervelde who has cycled many thousands of miles, raising more than £90,000 for the charity. Construction along Commercial Road dates from around 1890 with local builders Joseph Ponting, James Hinton, Charles Williams and Joseph Williams quickly getting in on the act. Today Co...

Edith New - Swindon Suffragette

In 1906 the suffragette campaign entered its most violent phase. Over 500 women had been imprisoned by 1909 and right up there among the militant activists was a Swindon schoolteacher. Edith Bessie New was born 17th March, 1877 at 24 North Street, Swindon, the fourth of Frederic and Isabelle New's five children. Frederic worked as a railway clerk at the GWR Works and Isabelle was a music teacher. An assistant mistress at Queenstown Infant School from 1899-1901, Edith subsequently left her Swindon home to teach in the deprived areas of Deptford and Lewisham. It was after hearing the charismatic Emmeline Pankhurst speak at a meeting in Trafalgar Square that Edith joined the Women's Social and Political Union. In February 1907 a deputation of suffragettes marched on the House of Commons in protest at the omission of votes for women from the King's speech. What had begun as a peaceful demonstration ended in a violent confrontation with police. Edith was among those arr...

Swindon in the Past Lane

Search This Blog