Swindon in the Past Lane

The Swindon Advertiser published this enthusiastic report about the future of the newly acquired Lydiard House and Park on August 6, 1943. In the middle of a war, Councillors were far sighted enough to see the potential of the House and Park, and with the help of Councillor F.E. Akers (after whom Akers Way is named) managed to purchase the property. If only the present day SBC could see past the £450,000 subsidy and how by keeping the property in council hands it could earn them an income instead of leasing it out to private companies to reap the benefits. Visit 'the list' for a few income generating ideas. Lydiard Park Secured for Swindon People? Future of a Grand Old English Home It is reported that the beautiful and historic Lydiard Park, with its mansion, gardens, woodlands and lake, which for long years was the home of the Bolingbrokes, has been acquired by Swindon Corporation. As reported last week, the estate was purchased by Councillo...

Heiress Margaret Beauchamp, Henry VII's grandmother, owned Lydiard Park in 1420. Her daughter, Margaret Beaufort, Henry's mother, was very close to her St John half siblings, finding them places at court and arranging advantageous marriages for her extended family, In August 1592 Elizabeth I called in at Lydiard House on her summer progress. She held a privy council meeting at the house and knighted her cousin of the half blood John St John during her stay. So why aren't we bigging up the Tudor connections at Lydiard House? Telegraph journalist Hannah Betts describes the enduring appeal of the Tudors in this entertaining article. Follow the link to read the full feature. If history is reducible to one era for us Brits, it is the Tudor period. Even before the phenomenon that is Wolf Hall, our favourite version of Ye Olden Dayes was that with codpieces, ruffs, beheadings, and irascible redheads. Blame it on Shakespeare, blame it on 'Enery the Eighth, putting t...

At my recent talk 'Who Would Live in a House Like This?' I could only hint at the lifestyle choices of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester. Watch the movie trailer for The Libertine, starring Johnny Depp - allow for some literary licence, although maybe not ... .

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...

Ahead of the Council Meeting on Thursday, November 12 and the motion Cllr Jim Robbins is due to propose, I have been re-reading the Swindon Heritage Strategy produced by Swindon Borough Council in 2013. It's a brave document, in fact there is a whole section on bravery (page 13) and working together and trusting one another. There is also a paragraph (page 16) all about Lydiard House and Park and the investments made which have led to increased numbers of visitors and earned income potential. On page 7 under the heading 'Vision' there is a bullet point that reads: Develop partnerships between voluntary, public and business sectors to develop the action plan. But it doesn't say anything about giving prospective business partners a 21 year lease and losing control of what goes on at our Council owned heritage sites, which of course, belong to the people of Swindon. The Swindon Heritage Strategy is a very cleverly worded document, and it says a lot...

Council Meeting Here is an important notice concerning the future of Lydiard House and Park, and Swindon's other country parks. This is an open meeting - you can attend! Council Chamber, Civic Offices Thursday, 12 November 7 pm 7b  Motion – Lydiard Park Councillor Jim Robbins will move and Councillor Kevin Small will second: “This Council: ·         Is concerned about the Cabinet Member for Culture’s recent announcement that the Cabinet are looking at transferring Lydiard Park and potentially Swindon’s other country parks to a private company. ·         Believes the Council should retain overall control and continue to run its local country parks, including Lydiard Park. Furthermore Council believe that there are ways the Council can generate more income from our country parks without having to transfer them to a private company. ·         Request the suspensio...

Last night I gave a sell out talk in a packed reading room at Swindon Central Library. Now that's not me showing off. I freely admit that I am not the world's best public speaker (at least this time I didn't drop my notes all over the floor). On a dreary, wet and windy Guy Fawkes evening people turned out to listen to a not-terribly-good speaker. Why? Because I was talking about something both they and I feel passionately about - the future of Lydiard House and Park. Sadly, to the best of my knowledge, only one of the 52 local Councillors I invited was in the audience, but I'm hoping he left with a few ideas, because that's what my talk was about, in part. The Council needs to reduce the £450,000 subsidy it pays to keep the House and Park running and has called in an independent property advisor Bilfinger GVA to identify joint venture partners to work with them. In effect this means leasing out the property. There are two public engagement days schedul...