Swindon in the Past Lane

Having wondered how I would get a photograph looking down busy Commercial Road, it turned out to be quite easy. A gap in the traffic, hold your nerve and hey presto. A photograph of Commercial Road today is far removed from those taken during the late Victorian period when it was a tree lined vista of elegant, red brick villas. However, as it's name suggests Commercial Road was always intended to be at the heart of Swindon's growing commercial centre, an important highway linking Old and New Swindon and a busy shopping street to rival Regent Street. Central to the development of Swindon, Commercial Road was constructed in the late nineteenth century and heralded the first phase of development on the valuable Rolleston Estate. The Rolleston Estate, a large land holding that originally belonged to the Vilett family, was crucial to the development of New Swindon. In the 1880s the vast area of prime building land was held in chancery following the bankruptcy of it's the...

Today in the East End of London a group of dedicated people are trying to save the Smithfield General Market Hall - 'Behold the winged lion on the Holborn Viaduct looking down protectively upon the Smithfield General Market,' writes the Gentle Author on www.spitalfieldslife.com. 'as - over at the Guildhall the Public Enquiry that will decide the fate of this magnificent building designed by Horace Jones, the architect of Tower Bridge, reaches the end of its second week.' Read more about this threatened building by clicking the link - now read about Swindon's former market buildings, which sadly have also been lost. In the 1840s Old Swindon had a thriving shopping centre.  Blacksmiths, butchers and brewers rubbed shoulders alongside the Strange family's drapers store in the High Street and Sadler Bristow's ironmongers in Wood Street. But in the developing settlement at the bottom of the hill facilities for the early settlers in New Swindon were d...

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...