Swindon in the Past Lane

One of the first pieces of advice those new to family history research are given is to collect family stories from living relatives. I think the second should be, and then discard them (the stories – not the relatives). I had always understood that my great grandparents, George and Kate Revel, were Irish. They were married at the Roman Catholic chapel of St Canice in Kilkenny on February 4, 1895. Their first daughter, Hanoria Emily, was born on January 3, 1896 at Kate’s parents’ home in Rathkeale where George was described as a discharged soldier. By 1898 the family had moved to London where a second daughter, Catherine Christina was born on December 17 at 19 Townshend Road, Marylebone. George was at this time working as a railway servant. But then everything was to change with the outbreak of war in South Africa. George was recalled to service with the Royal Irish Fusiliers, leaving Kate pregnant and with two small daughters. A son also named George (my grandfather) was ...

Yet again Swindon in the Past Lane has been a little neglected in recent weeks as I begin work on my next book. The Ladies of Lydiard is due for publication by Hobnob Press in Spring 2020 and I am busy re-visiting and exploring anew the intriguing St John women who once called Lydiard House their home. For some it was base-camp, for others a holiday retreat and for several a place of sanctuary from a troubled marriage.  These are the stories of women of status and influence who protected their estates through the vicissitudes of Civil War until in the 20 th century when, with the family coffers empty, Lydiard House was reluctantly sold and (fortunately for us) came into public ownership. At the moment all my reading is Lydiard centric and even during family outings my research radar is fully up and operational. However, with sizzling temperatures and two under five-years-old grandchildren in tow, any attempts at serious (or even sensible) research at Kew Gardens ...

This year’s Friends summer outing was to the magnificent Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire, the Palladian mansion house built in the early 1720s for George Henry Lee, 2 nd Earl of Lichfield. First port of call for the Friends was an elegant light lunch at nearby Heythrop Park, a property built for Charles Talbot, 1 st Duke of Shrewsbury at the beginning of the 18 th century. Then it was on to the main attraction … Ditchley Park is less than 10 miles as the crow flies from Blenheim Palace and came in handy as a stopover for the guests of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. Another link with this most famous of families came during the Second World War when Winston Churchill relocated from Chequers to hold wartime working weekends on more than a dozen occasions. He was at Ditchley Park when Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess arrived in Scotland, supposedly on a peace mission. Ditchley Park is of special interest to the Friends of Lydiard Park as there is a connection with the St John fa...

When Swindon Corporation bought the old Goddard mansion house and 52 acres of parkland, it also acquired the ruins of Holy Rood Church, the town's original parish church.   In 1947 the borough surveyor reported to Town Clerk, David Murray John on the sorry state of the burial ground and chapel at The Lawn.  Many of the tombs had been vandalised with the coverings and side slabs removed while the sheet lead covering on the Goddard family vault had been taken. "In the chapel itself, a number of plaques have been wrenched from the walls and a hole has been cut in the outer wall on the North Side," wrote the inspector.  Sadly even the stone font had been smashed and scattered around the Chapel. It is believed that a church had stood on the site of Holy Rood since Norman times but the earliest mention of one dates from the 12th century when it was given to the Augustinian priory of Southwick by the Pont de l'Arche family. Alongside the burials of Swindon worthi...

How many people coming across the name Goddard Vilett would assume this is probably a man? Well I did at first and very nearly overlooked yet another important woman in Swindon's history. I found a marriage entry dated 1710 in the Holy Rood parish registers when William Horne married Mrs Goddard Vilett, and I wondered if William was marrying a widow still using her deceased husband’s name, but no, that wasn’t the case.  The South Marston parish registers record that 'Mr Thomas Vilett & Mrs Elleanor Goddard were married December 11th, 1681.'   Their daughter Goddard Vilett was baptised at the same church on June 24, 1683, but obviously grew up in Swindon where her Vilett family lived. Eleanor's branch of the Goddard family settled in South Marston and the parish records include the baptism of James Goddard's eight children between 1657 and 1673 with Eleanor (Ellen) baptised in 1661. Sadly, Thomas and Eleanor's marriage was a short one as she died ...