Swindon - A Peep at the Past

You won’t find this little book promoted all over social media, which is perhaps a shame. But that wasn’t why it was written. I know we all say our opus magnum has been a labour of love, but for Marcia Church her book was just that.

Marcia lived on Eastcott Hill and in the 1990s she befriended an elderly neighbour, Leonard Page. Leonard was born on July 30, 1904 the only child of Charles and Alice Page. The family lived at 4 Eastcott Hill at the time of Leonard’s birth, moving to number 17 by the time of the 1911 census.

Leonard had a wealth of memories about a bygone Swindon and Marcia decided to write them down as she felt sure they would be of interest to someone. Well, they most definitely are and following her death earlier this year her typed manuscript found its way to Andy Binks, Chairman of the Swindon Society.

Swindon – A Peep at the Past has been published exactly as Marcia typed it – complete with spelling mistakes, typos and wonky printing. It was a labour of love and anyone who reads it will love it too.

Andy Binks says:

“There are dozens of gems, interesting photographs and snippets of yesteryear that we would never have known, if Marcia Church had not listened to friend and neighbour Leonard Page talking about his memories of the past.”

If you have jotted down a few tales and are unsure what to do with it why not get in touch with Andy on info@theswindonsociety.co.uk

Images from Swindon - A Peep at the Past

Comments

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