Standing in a secluded space in the Lawn, the chancel is all that remains of Swindon's original parish church, Holy Rood. The foundations of the church date back to the thirteenth century with a makeover and rebuild in the 1748 when a brick built tower was added. However, by the mid nineteenth church the old parish church was proving too small for Swindon's growing population and by 1851 work had begun on a new building. Much of the fabric of the old church was sold off and it is believed that the Goddard's gazebo and ice house was constructed using recycled materials. Today the building is seldom open to the public but you can join us for a guided tour of the church and graveyard on Sunday July 23 at 2 pm. I have been studying the Holy Rood parish registers which survive from 1623. It was Henry VIII's right hand man, Thomas Cromwell, who implemented the introduction of a register recording the baptisms, marriages and burials in every parish. Although few of...