Swindon in the Past Lane

When it comes to family tombs, St Mary’s, Lydiard Park has the daddy of them all. The St John alabaster, black limestone and clunch ‘bedstead’ tomb, a monument to Anne Leighton, first wife of Sir John St John 1 st Bart was commissioned by Sir John some thirteen years before his death. In style and quality the tomb has been compared to work by Nicholas Stone, a leading 17 th century sculptor. It was made in London and transported to Lydiard Tregoze in sections where it was reassembled in St Mary’s Church. During a recent visit to Croome Court I discovered a Coventry family tomb with similarities and a family connection to the St John one. In 1751 George William 6 th Earl of Coventry, inherited Croome Court and one of the first things he did was demolish the medieval church which he considered to be too close to the house for his grand design. He did, however, strip the church of much of its interior masonry and timbers which were reused in the new build on the hill. H...

“Welcome to my office,” said Joe as he led the Friends of Lydiard Park group from the visitor’s centre along a winding pathway which opened up on to a breath-taking view. Croome Court has been a work in progress for more than 260 years as restoration continues today. The 6 th Earl of Coventry’s £400,000 (worth £35 million in today’s money) project began in 1751 with the building of a Palladian mansion and a landscaped parkland and work continued throughout the 18 th  centuries. Croome Court was sold in 1948 following the death of the 10 th Earl at Dunkirk in 1940. The National Trust acquired 670 acres of the Park in 1996 and in 2007 the Croome Heritage Trust bought Croome Court and leased it to the National Trust on a 999 year lease. The house opened to the public on September 26, 2009. The 6 th Earl of Coventry inherited Croome Court in 1751 when he was 28 years old, but he already had a vision for his family home. He engaged Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (who design...

In Memory of Robert Harwood Who Departed This Life January 18th 1864 Aged 55 Years Also of Robert Son of Robert and Susannah Harwood Who Departed This Life July 21 1872 Aged 28 Years Robert Harwood got up early on Sunday morning, July 21 1872. He picked up the gun that once belonged to his father and set off across the fields to Toothill Farm. He knew the area well - this was where he had lived with his parents and his two brothers John and William and his sister Ellen just a few short years ago; where he had worked as a farm labourer and had learned to shoot before securing a job in the Great Western Railway as an engine driver. He knew every inch of this farm and he knew where to bag a rabbit or two.  He was found later that day - dead; the rabbits at his feet. At the inquest held at the farm on Monday the coroner told how it was his opinion that as Robert drew his gun to shoot again it became entangled and exploded; the charge entering the victim...

Headstones are not the indestructible objects previous generations might have thought they would be. Lettering comes off and even inscriptions set in stone weather and degrade, in some cases the whole front of a headstone shears off in one sheet. We've all seen small church cemeteries where the gravestones have been moved and set around the churchyard wall or used as paving around the church. In 'The Story of Purton: a collection of notes and hearsay' published in 1919, Ethel Richardson recalls an old song still remembered in the neighbourhood around the turn of the century, but probably much older in origin, and an explanation for the disappearance of at least one village gravestone. The Village Baker Job Jenkins was a baker and A very honest elf, By selling crust and crumbs he made A tidy crust himself, But Job he lived in better days When bills were freely paid, And bakers were thought honest then So bread was never weighed. While walking through the old...

As if they knew we here in Swindon are celebrating a significant anniversary, my favourite team of experiential historian Ruth Goodman with archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn bring to our TV screens Full Steam Ahead the story of how the railways created modern Britain. Previously the team have show us what life was like for the agricultural worker in the Tudor, Victorian, Edwardian and Wartime periods but in their new series they turn their attention to the phenomenon of the railways. Closer to home we have been celebrating the coming of the railways and the creation of New Swindon with Swindon175 . During a busy Spring and Summer there have been numerous events including the Swindon175 Images, an exhibition sharing the history of Swindon during the last 150 years; the Swindon Arts Trail and the Swindon Fringe Festival, not forgetting the Swindon Heritage History Day. There has been the recreation of the famous railway factory hooter made by Colin Hatch and sponsor...

Sadly Swindon has a poor record for preserving its heritage. So many fine buildings have been lost over the years with the Mechanics' Institute and the Corn Exchange just about hanging on in there. And it would seem that it was ever thus. A church had stood on the site in the Lawn since 1154 and was dedicated to St Mary until the mid 16th century. It was partially restored in 1736 but by the mid 19th century was fast becoming too small for the town's growing population. Christ Church, the new parish church in Old Town, was consecrated in 1851, leaving the old church of Holy Rood abandoned. The Vestry, the seat of local government back in the day, met in March 1853 and after thanking the re-elected Churchwardens Robert Reynolds and Richard Read for their work during the previous year, it was announced that the old parish church would be demolished asap. Did they discuss an alternative use for the building? Did they consider preserving more than 700 years of history? Does...

If you missed seeing the stunning St John polyptych at St Mary’s Church, Lydiard Park over the last weekend in July it will be open on the Heritage Open Days September 8-11, 2016.   At the centre of this multi panelled genealogical masterpiece is a family portrait. Believed to have been painted by William Larkin (portraitist at the court of James I and known as ‘The Curtain Master’ for his predilection for including draped curtains and oriental carpets in his paintings) the St John portrait pays homage to the parents of Sir John St John, 1 st Baronet. Sir John and Lady Lucy St John kneel in prayer on a sarcophagus beneath which lie three coffins representing three of their children who died before the painting of the portrait. Their son, Sir John (1 st Baronet) and his wife, Anne Leighton stand on the left of the portrait and on the right are their six daughters. The 17 th century St John family lived through turbulent times about which a vast amount of academic...