Swindon in the Past Lane

By the bandstand in Town Gardens is the perfect place to play, as the children pictured here reveal.  Following heavy early morning rainfall the sun came out and turned the bandstand into a shimmering playground for young and old alike. Three friends attract an admirer as they sit and eat their packed lunch and trade at the kiosk is brisk - no brown bread left when I order my cheese and onion toastie. In 1892 the Old Swindon Local Board paid £700 for a seven acre plot of worked out Purbeck limestone quarry between Bath Road and Westlecot Road owned by the Goddard family, long time Lords of the Manor.  Designed by local architect W.H. Read work was completed within 18 months and Town Gardens opened with a flourish in May 1894; the inaugural ceremony an exercise in Victorian pomp and self congratulation. Led by the 2nd Wilts Volunteer Band a procession of 19th century Swindon worthies marched from the Market Square to the new gardens by way of Newport Street and Springfiel...

A blow lamp used to remove old paintwork from dormer windows during renovation work set fire to Coleshill House in September 1952.  Within just four hours the magnificent 17th century building was reduced to a burnt out shell.  All that remained were eight huge chimneys, three of which had recently been renovated at a cost of more than £2,000. Work on Coleshill House began in 1647 when Sir George Pratt began to rebuild his property, which had been, somewhat ironically, destroyed by fire.  But it was his cousin Sir Roger, an architect of some distinction, who called in renowned royal architect Inigo Jones to cast his eye over the site. Sir Mark Pleydell recorded that Sir George’s house was “raised one storey, when Pratt and Jones arriving caused it to be pulled down and rebuilt.” Coleshill was the first house to be built for a ‘minor’ gentleman in the classical manner. The plan of the house combined convenience with advanced designs of architecture.  Innovat...

Swindon may seem like an unlikely holiday destination, but it is ideally placed as a base to see some of the most  beautiful sites in the South West, for example less than a half hour journey away is the historic Avebury stone circle and recently refurbished Avebury Manor. Last year the 500 year old manor house was the subject of a collaboration between the National Trust and the BBC.  With no original fixtures or fittings remaining in the house an exciting and daring new venture was conceived.  A handful of rooms would be decorated in a period of the history of the house, furnishing them with reproduction and 'new' antiques. The end result was a TV documentary To the Manor Reborn and a house with  no restricted areas where visitors are allowed to handle the artefacts, sit on the chairs and bounce on the beds. Avebury Manor is open 11-5 every day except Wednesday and between May 5 and June 10 visitors have the opportunity to view an exhibition of sculpture in t...

With residential car parking at a premium in Old Town today, there was no such problem for the 1900 owner of 31 Wood Street. The sale catalogue of 1903 advertises a carriage entrance at the rear of the property leading from Devizes Road with a coach house, stable yard and stabling for two horses. A Grade II listed building, 31 Wood Street dates from the late 18th century to early 19th century. Described as a 'commodious family residence' the property belonged to John Chandler, a successful local businessman. At the time of his death in 1902 Chandler owned fourteen other properties on Eastcott Hill and stocks and shares in numerous local businesses including the Swindon United Gas Company and the Swindon Central Market. He also owned an impressive five bedroomed house, The Lime Kiln, standing in over an acre of land in Wootton Bassett, let to solicitor Harry Bevir. Born in Pewsey, by 1841 John Chandler was already working as a draper in Swindon and in 1844 he married...