Swindon in the Past Lane

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...

Is democracy dead in this country? If you were at last night's Council Meeting at the Civic Offices you could be forgiven for thinking it is in Swindon. Personally, I am governed by a political party I didn't vote for at either national or local level, but hey ho, I suppose this is a drawback of the democratic process. But do these people I didn't vote for have carte blanche to impose upon me decisions with which I seriously disagree. Is there no room for appeal or debate, even compromise? Well at local level apparently not. Swindon Borough Council is hell bent on leasing out Lydiard House and Park with the matter of the Council subsidy of £450,000 constantly quoted. Members protest that their aim is to reduce the council subsidy and, with the aid of a private sector partner or partners, generate new and sustainable forms of income. A number of experts in the field believe that this is possible while keeping the Grade I Palladian mansion and Grade II listed parkla...

The people of Swindon marked the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War across the town in a variety of events this week. On Monday August 4 Dr Mike Pringle (pictured below) launched the publication of his book Great War Britain - Swindon: Remembering 1914-18. A professional in the arts and heritage sector, Mike follows in the footsteps of headteacher WD Bavin who in 1922 was commissioned by Swindon Corporation to write Swindon's War Record. Read more about Mike's book in The Link Magazine . Tuesday was a busy day for Swindon in the Great War volunteers who welcomed Swindon Mayor Teresa Page to open their exhibition - One Town's War - at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, Bath Road, Swindon. The exhibition, created by volunteers and funded by an HLF grant, features exhibits and artefacts donated by Great War historians Mark Sutton and Richard Fisher. The exhibition will run until January 31, 2015. The Museum is open Wednesday to Saturday 11am to 3pm. On Frida...