Swindon in the Past Lane

A church has stood in the Lawn, the site of the former Goddard family home, since the 12th century. All that remains standing today is the chancel and three pairs of piers which once flanked the nave. By the 1850s the coming of the railways had seen the population of Swindon increase. The ancient parish church was no longer fit for purpose. In a poor state of repair and inadequate to accommodate the rapidly growing congregation the decision was reached to close it and commission Sir George Gilbert Scott to design a new one. Upon completion of Christ Church in 1851, Holy Rood was partially demolished. But for cemetery enthusiasts like myself even worse was to come. Sometime in the second half of the 20th century it was decided to remove the gravestones, presumably to facilitate the mowing of the churchyard. The headstones were carefully arranged around the perimeter wall, which probably seemed a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, over the years ivy has grown up and over the sto...

When Ambrose Goddard married Sarah Williams it involved a lot of legal man hours and a very large document. The Marriage Settlement dated 12 August 1776 reads like a tour of eighteenth century Swindon with some very familiar place names, even now more than 240 years later. Ambrose Goddard released in trust to his kinsman Ambrose Awdry and Charles Penruddocke, Wiltshire neighbour and political colleague, the manors of Over Swindon and Nether Swindon and parcels of land called Walcot, Tismead and Oakus grounds. Also included were messuages (house and land) in Wanborough and Stanton, Westlecott Farm in Wroughton and the tolls of markets and fairs in Swindon. Sarah's father, the Rev. Thomas Williams was no slouch in the property stakes either and in an accompanying document released properties in Carmarthenshire in trust to Owen Brigslock. Ambrose and Sarah married at St James's, Westminster on August 17, 1776. Sarah was 26 years old and Ambrose 45. The couple had three son...

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...

Today it is de rigueur for the about-to-be-married couple to circulate a gift list, but few would publish the results in the local paper.  Yet this was common  practice  among the great and the good of the 19 th  century and when the Goddard heir married he did just that. Captain Fitzroy Pleydell Goddard, second eldest son of Ambrose Lethbridge Goddard married Mrs Eugenia Sutton, widow of Alexander George Sutton, at the Parish Church, Chippenham on June 1, 1895.  The wedding, described as being of ‘a very quiet character,’ was performed by Captain Goddard’s brother, the Rev. C.F. Goddard assisted by the Rev Canon Rich, Vicar of Chippenham and the Rev Canon Mayne, Rector of Christian Malford.  Following the wedding breakfast at The Angel Hotel, Chippenham the couple left for a honeymoon in Lynton, Devon. While the wedding might have been a low key event, the presents were in a different league altogether and were described in the Advertiser as ‘...

Major Fitzroy Pleydell Goddard's dying request was that his funeral service be as simple as possible and that he wished to be buried in a "plain elm coffin made from timber grown on my estate." The last Lord of the Manor to live at The Lawn, Fitzroy Pleydell Goddard died at the family home on Friday August 12th 1927 and less than three weeks later Fielder and Tuckett, a firm of auctioneers, valuers and surveyors, were called in to catalogue the family treasures. An Inventory of Plate, Pictures, Busts, Statutes, Books and Jewellery fills several typewritten sheets of paper, recording items of both financial and sentimental value.  Items were listed under headings of the rooms where they were observed, for example the Dining Room, the Lobby to Drawing Room, the Blue Room and the Rose Room along with the Gun Room and the Billiard Room. Pages and pages of books are recorded not just from the library but all over the house. An eclectic selection of titles such as Wi...

Members of the Swindon Society are now on their summer break, so I thought it was time to publish a couple of blogposts about the work they get up to. Scroll down to see what's on when the group reconvenes in September. This week saw members of the Swindon Society take to the streets as the local history enthusiasts joined in with Lethbridge Primary School's Victorian project. The eight and nine year olds had already seen a slideshow of Old Swindon and learned what it was like to be a Victorian schoolchild - now it was time to walk in the footsteps of their 19th century counterparts. The 140 children took part in four guided walks across two wet and windy days at the beginning of the week. First stop was at the site of the Old Swindon railway station, now a modern industrial estate.  Andy shows the children a photo of the former station platform -  and Bob points out the railway tunnel. The Belmont Brewery - now a nightclub.  The childr...