Swindon in the Past Lane

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 hopefully answered) via email at lydiardfuture@swindon.gov.uk. The process continues until December 11, which is the deadline for expressions of interest from parties wanting to lease areas of the estate, and December 18 for members of the public to contribute their views. The Friends of Lydiard Park have expressed their ideas and opinions to Swindon Borough Council and in the local press . But if you think that it's not such a bad idea for the Council to lease out areas of the Park if they can no longer afford to subsidize it, could I flag up a few issues? Swindon Borough Council cannot guarantee that free, unrestricted access to Lydiard Park will continue under any new partnership. Neither can they guarantee that any development in the Park will not take place and at the W...

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 period of history as part of a series called The Manor Reborn. (You can still view a few short clips  here). The fixtures and fittings were a mixture of antique fair purchases and creative up-cycling and in some cases new pieces made in the style of ...  As nothing is irreplaceable or intrinsic to the house, visitors are allowed, nay encouraged, to sit on the chairs, open cupboards and drawers and bounce on the beds. The whole project was something of an experiment and it is probably fair to say the National Trust had certain reservations, but it has been a resounding success and on each subsequent visit I have made the house has been busy, so much so there is a timed entry to prevent the rooms becoming too crowded. Now I'm not suggesting taking down the red ropes in the st...

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 Transformation Delivery Lead at Swindon Borough Council, Civic Offices, Euclid Street, Swindon SN1 2JH. Closing date is December 18. There have been criticisms of this process and the form. 1. Why wasn't the form available, not only as a hard copy, but also online. In the past the Council has used SurveyMonkey - see the following Wikipedia description -  SurveyMonkey is an online survey development cloud-based (software as a service) company, founded in 1999 by Ryan Finley. SurveyMonkey provides free, customizable surveys, as well as a suite of paid back-end programs that include data analysis, sample selection, bias elimination, and data representation tools. In addition to providing free and paid plans for individual users. SurveyMoney offers more large-scale enterp...

Today is quite possibly your last chance to have your say about the future of Lydiard House and Park. The second of two public engagement days takes place in the Visitor Centre, Lydiard Park from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm.  Feel free to print off this list. Swindon Borough Council have appointed independent property advisor Bilfinger GVA to identify joint venture partners. Meanwhile adverts have been placed in trade journals and newspapers to invite organisations to submit proposals to help make Lydiard House and Park more sustainable and to reduce the local authority's £450,000 annual subsidy. These are my ideas, arrived at with the help of the people of Swindon, who were gifted the property in 1943 when a visionary, philanthropic Swindon Corporation bought the Lydiard Park estate. The list just keeps on growing! Lydiard House Unique selling point – scandal Tell the story of the St John family The links with the Tudors (perennially popular with children and adults ali...

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 fill in is woefully inadequate I feel. It includes the usual tick box exercise but the two sections where we are invited to express our feelings are headed - What do you value most about the site and what does it do well? and What do you value least and think could be improved? A lot of thought has obviously gone into these two statements, with the Council's ultimate objective in mind - the leasing out of the House and Parkland. I value everything at Lydiard House and Park and yes, of course there is room for improvement, as in all services and attractions everywhere, both publicly and privately owned. But I still believe this could be achieved under Council ownership with the allocation of profit sharing contracts where the Council retains control rather than long term lea...

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 Lydiard House and Park. Founded in 2005 it is the successor to the Friends of Lydiard Tregoz whose 40 years of published research raised awareness and appreciation of this unique historic estate. The Friends were instrumental in Lydiard's major landscape restoration project (2001-7) and today we play an active and important role in the protection, promotion, conservation and interpretation of the House and Park and St. Mary's Church Lydiard Tregoze. Swindon Borough Council is inviting people to attend events tomorrow (Wednesday 18) and Sunday 22 November at the Visitor Centre, Lydiard Park, to give their views on what elements of Lydiard are important to them. A new partner/s is being sought to run Lydiard House and Park and while we appreciate the severe financial constraints ...

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 medieval crafts and a display of archery in the Walled Garden. Philippa Gregory tells the story of the Cousins' War (same event, different name) and the Woodville family. Both versions have a direct connection to Lydiard House and the rise of the Tudor family. Let's have a Woodville Fest with the re-enactors AND a Philippa Gregory talk/book signing with a showing of an episode of the White Queen. How fantastic would that be? Important notice:

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 deeply concerned that well meaning architects were scraping away the historic fabric of too many buildings in the zealous 'restorations.'     By September 1943 Swindon Corporation had already called in architect John Eric Miers MacGregor, well known for his work in historic conservation and technical adviser to the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, to look at their most recent acquisition, Lydiard Park Mansion. This is the report he delivered in which he also had a few ideas for the House and Park - some of his remarks are particularly pertinent to how the people of Swindon feel about the House and Park today. The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, 55 Great Ormond Street, Queen Square, W.C.1. (Holborn 2646) To:- The Committee   ...