Swindon in the Past Lane

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon first published in The Times September 1914 following the Battle of the Marne Scenes from the Field of Remembrance at Lydiard Park. Children from Corsham Primary School Sally Challoner from BBC Points West

Hook Farm signpost Today there is little evidence of the medieval village of Lydiard Tregoze.  However, despite the proliferation of 1980s building around Lydiard Park, it is still possible to trace a depression in the landscape close to the park and St Mary’s Church.  This is believed to be a ‘hollow way,’ the former medieval high street from village to parish church. The popular theory is that the village was abandoned following the Black Death when plague decimated the population.  The tithing of Lydiard Tregoze, a group of ten householders, a sort of medieval neighbourhood watch, continues to appear in records during the 16 th century but disappears after this date when there was a shift of population to Hook. The Bolingbroke Arms, situated between Hook and Greatfield, is little changed since it served the Lydiard estate workers in the 19 th century – or is it? The inn first appeared listed in early local trade directories and at the time of the 1841 census Sa...

James Drake, a schoolteacher from Wootton Bassett, is another unsung hero of Victorian account keeping. In 1836 Drake was appointed Deputy Clerk by the newly founded Monthly Market Committee. His duties were to take the minutes of meetings, record the sales and names of the Christmas Show winners, and most importantly for the family historian, make full lists of those who were employed at the Hiring Fairs. Hiring or mop fairs as they were sometimes called, were events where job seeking labourers and servants presented themselves for hire. Traditionally the servant wore clothing or carried an implement to advertise their trade. A shepherd wore a lock of wool or carried a crook, a maid might carry a mop, hence the name 'mop' fair. Potential employers browsed the ranks, asking questions and stopping just short of testing muscle strength. It was the demeaning nature of these events coupled with improved methods of communication that eventually saw the end of the hiring fai...