Swindon in the Past Lane

Another update on the Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale November 12, Christ Church Community Centre. The fourth person joining us is international bestselling author Nicola Cornick. Nicola is a writer and historian and since the publication of her first Regency romance in 1998 she has been shortlisted four times for the US Romance Writers of America RITA Award and twice for the UK Romantic Novelists Association Romance Prize. Nicola also acts as a guide and historian for the National Trust at Ashdown House and is a speaker on the history of Ashdown and the Craven family.  She is Awards Organiser for the Romantic Novelists' Association and a mentor for their New Writers' Scheme, which critiques manuscripts for aspiring authors, and she has run several courses and workshops on creative writing. She also acts as a history consultant for TV and radio and loves the excitement of historical research as well as the friendships that the romance writing community has brought h...

There are so many beautiful and historic places in Swindon, but if we don't protect and care for them what example are we setting to those who do not understand their value. Today Andy Binks of the Swindon Society and I took best selling novelist Nicola Cornick on a tour of the chancel (all that remains of Holy Rood Church) and the Lawn. Many years ago the gravestones were moved and propped up against the perimeter wall, now the inscriptions on most of them are illegible. History lost. The church building is seldom open, just once a year during the Old Town Festival. Perhaps it is no wonder that graffiti is beginning to make an unwelcome reappearance and empty cans litter the churchyard. If you would like to see the chancel open more frequently with talks and walks around the ancient churchyard, please let us know. You can leave a message here on this blog or visit the Swindon in the Past Lane facebook page. And why not join members of the Swindon Society at their month...

If you've ever dismissed the romantic novel as inferior to other genres, Nicola Cornick made a few salient  points during her talk at Central Library last night. Historian and best selling romantic novelist Nicola Cornick has a hugely successful 18 year writing career and with 40 novels under her belt (published in 27 different countries) she knows what she's talking about. During her Valentine Day themed talk, at which there were book giveaways AND chocolate roses, Nicola charted the history of the novel, in particular the romantic novel, once considered a danger to women and children. From its roots in the oral, medieval troubadour tradition to the 1970s and 80s lucrative writing market the romantic novel continues today to be as popular as ever. Nicola talked about her own early reading experiences and her grandmother's secret library kept hidden in her lavender scented wardrobe. It was here that Nicola became acquainted with the romantic works of Ethel ...

Nicola Cornick - Author Talk Date:  11th February 2016 Location:  Central Library, Regent Street, Swindon, Wilts SN1 1QG Time:  19:15 - 20:30 Cost:  £2.50 (£1.50 Library Members) Historical Romance - the fact and the fiction! Romantic fiction – from the medieval troubadours to Sir Walter Scott, Jane Austen to Barbara Cartland! To celebrate Valentine’s Day, international best selling author Nicola Cornick tells the history of romantic fiction from the Middle Ages to the present. With tips for aspiring authors and advice on how to get published, Nicola reveals all about romance! Nicola will also be promoting and signing copies of her new novel 'House of Shadows' published by MIRA Books. Nicola Cornick has been shortlisted four times for the US Romance Writers of America RITA Award and twice for the UK Romantic Novelists Association Romance Prize. She is also Awards Organiser for the Romantic Novelists' Association and a mentor for their New Writers' Scheme...

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...

In 1420 eleven year old Margaret Beauchamp became sole heir to her father's considerable estate, including some 3,000 acres in the parish of Lydiard Tregoze. Five years later she married Sir Oliver St John, when the St John story at Lydiard House begins. A house has stood on the site of the Palladian mansion in Lydiard Park since the 13th century and until 1943, when it was purchased by Swindon Corporation, had just five owners, the Tregoze, Grandison, Beauchamp and St John families. During the 500 years of St John occupancy the house had the odd makeover, was remodelled in the middle of the 18th century and then left in a state of benign neglect until the death of Lady Bolingbroke in 1940 when the trustees of her will put the property on the market. For more than 70 years the local authority has restored and refurbished the fabric of the building, tracked down and purchased furniture and artefacts that once belonged to the house, including numerous stunning portraits and p...