Swindon in the Past Lane

The Behind Closed Doors event at Lydiard House continues this week with an afternoon talk. Wed 3rd February 2.30 pm Wigs, Ruffs and Robes - Discover hidden stories behind the portraits of sumptuously dressed aristocrats with Lydiard House educationalist Nancy Heath. All the tours and talks in this series of events are free (donations are welcomed) but places are limited and you do need to book a place. Telephone Charlotte Thwaites on 01793 465277 or email cthwaites@swindon.gov.uk. For details about forthcoming events visit the Lydiard Park or the Friends of Lydiard Park websites. by Maria Verelst This little dimpled darling is Holles St John, youngest son of Henry 1st Viscount St John and his second wife Angelica Pellisary. Angelica had 12 children, but only four survived to adulthood, George (1693-1716); Henrietta (1699-1756); John (1702-49) and Holles (1710-38). Little is know about Holles excepting that he was an equerry to Queen Carolin...

The Favourite Hunter of Henry Viscount Bolingbroke - a copy of this painting hangs in the library at Lydiard House As Swindon Borough Council agonizes over what to do about Lydiard House, who would have thought that Frederick, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke and 3rd Viscount St John might have been its saviour! This is 'Bully' who famously divorced Lady Diana Spencer, sold the family pile at Battersea, spent a fortune on Sevres porcelain and bought more than 90 thoroughbred racehorses during a ten year period. "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast horses. The rest I just squandered," he might have said to the press of the day.* Along with the horses he bought, raced and sold in the 1760s, Frederick also became the patron of a Lancashire born artist specialising in painting horses. The first of Frederick's horses to be immortalised in oils was 'Lustre, held by a groom.' Next came 'Tristram Shandy' followed by a bay filly call...

Reminder -  Full Council Meeting, Council Chamber, Civic Offices, Euclid Street  This evening - Thursday, January 21st 7pm Having given consideration to the Friends of Lydiard Park petition (which now stands at 8,436 signatories) members of Swindon Borough Council are going to debate the subject again. Motion 7a - Lydiard Park and House (i) Councillor Garry Perkins will move: "This Council notes the online petition signed by over 8,300 people, saying: "We the undersigned oppose Swindon Borough Council's plans to hand over Lydiard House and Park to the commercial sector." This Council requests that the Board Director, Service Delivery ensures that the report scheduled to go to Cabinet in February sets out a timetable allowing a further three months for all proposals to be developed more fully so as to reflect the Council's goal of securing a sustainable future for Lydiard House and Park." (ii) Councillor Jim Robbins will move and Councillor Jim...

I will be conducting a portrait tour of the Ladies of Lydiard at Lydiard House on Saturday, January 23, at 2.30pm. as part of the Behind Closed Doors programme of events. All the events are free but you do need to book. Phone Charlotte Thwaites on 01793 465277 or email CThwaites@swindon.gov.uk. We might even take a passing glance at John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester. John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, died on July 26, 1680, aged 33 years old.  It had been, how can I put it, an eventful life. The son of Anne St John and her second husband Royalist hero Henry, Viscount Wilmot, John was a bit of an embarrassment to his mother. It wasn't just the lewd poems or the bawdy plays, his dismissal from court or the drinking and whoring that upset her.  It wasn't even the attempted abduction of his future, fabulously rich heiress, wife to be Elizabeth Malet that made her raise her eyebrows.  Well actually it was, but what really upset her was that he...

Behind Closed Doors is a series of talks and tours taking place at Lydiard House and beginning this coming Saturday, January 23. Sat 23rd Jan 2.30pm The Ladies of Lydiard - An entertaining tour with local historian Frances Bevan revealing the secrets and talents of Lydiard ladies through the centuries. Wed 3rd February 2.30pm Wigs, Ruffs and Robes - Discover hidden stories behind the portraits of sumptuously dressed aristocrats with Lydiard House educationalist Nancy Heath. Sat 13th Feb 2.30pm Keeping up Appearances - Frances Yeo, Curator of Lydiard House shows how the Lydiard collection is cared for and demonstrates ways you can look after your own treasured possessions and furnishings. Sat 20th Feb 2.30pm Grand Designs Architect Michael Gray explains how the St. John family tried to assert and maintain their aristocratic status by commissioning art, architecture and landscape at Lydiard Park 1615 - 1748. Wed 24th Feb 7pm The Ladies of Lydiard - An entertaini...

I can't wait for April to arrive. Not just for the warm Spring weather, but to be able to turn over the calendar page and look at these images of lovely Lydiard Park. Margie Phillips and Ali Swann have turned their pride in our hometown and their passion for photography into a 21st century cottage industry - Swindon Perspectives. "The first year we produced calendars as Christmas presents for our family and friends," said Margie, now, three years later, the 2016 calendar comes in three different formats and they are adding greetings cards to their repertoire. The two friends have a substantial archive of images revealing the hidden beauty of our much maligned town and discussions are already underway for the theme of the 2017 calendar. If you would like to know more about Swindon Perspectives contact them on aliseswindon@outlook.com and look out for their Facebook page, currently under construction. Margie and Ali are also putting together an illustrated pres...

You know how it happens - a group of lads out on the town, everyone's having a good laugh and then one bloke has a drink too many.  And before you've worked out who said what to whom, someone's got their rapier out. Born in 1652 Henry St John was the second child and eldest son of Sir Walter and Lady Johanna.  He grew up at the Battersea Manor House under the stern eye of his Puritan mother during the austere post war years of the Commonwealth. With the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 it could be fairly said that Henry entered into the spirit of the new age.  Anxious to save him from his worst excesses, Sir Walter and Lady Johanna swiftly married him off in 1673 to Mary Rich, the daughter of the Earl of Warwick.  Sir Walter settled the Lydiard estate on his eldest son and the newly weds divided their time between Battersea and Wiltshire. But in 1684 Henry was between marriages.  His first wife Mary had died in 1678 following the birth of their ...

Some of the lakeside trees at Lydiard Park are believed to be about 250 years old, dating from the mid 18th century redevelopment of the parkland. In 1743 John, 2nd Viscount St John, remodelled the medieval mansion house with his wealthy wife's inheritance. He swept away the old formal gardens and introduced the new, 'natural' looking landscape popularised by leading English landscape artist Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. In recent years the vagaries of the British weather have taken their toll on the trees at Lydiard Park and when this majestic tree (pictured above) close to the house was brought down in heavy winds several years ago, I was told the sad story of a grieving mother who planted two trees for the sons she lost fighting in the Civil Wars. I wondered why I had never heard this poignant story before ... The mother in question was Anne Leighton, Lady St John, the wife of Sir John St John, 1st Baronet. But there were a few inconsistencies in the ...