The friends of lydiard park has been quietly transforming. Sir john also laid out a series of formal avenues in the park. House temporarily closed lydiard house will be closed to the public until friday 1 may. Between 1841 and 1842, isambard kingdom brunels swindon works was built for the repair and maintenance of locomotives on the great western railwaygwr. In 1929 it contained three receptions rooms and 11 bedrooms four were for servants, stables, two cottages and nearly 28 acres of pasture. Look at facts about lydiard park to inform us about the county part located at lydiard tregoze.
This has been developed over the years as a conference centre, a recreation area and a site for large outdoor concerts and shakespearian productions. News lydiard house and smugglers from swindons past inspires nicola cornicks new novel. Lydiard house 101 things to do in swindon swindonweb. St john hollow is a fully enclosed, outdoor event space made up of two arenas with a combined area of approx. Comprising of an 18th century grade 1 mansion and 260 acres of parkland, this is an ideal getaway for lovers of history and nature. The ancient woodland at braydon had become a royal forest by 15 and in 1228 enclosed an area of around 46 square miles.
The history of lydiard house swindon total swindon. This includes the contents of the museum, the history of the st. Swindons unusual history as a large industrial town in the heart of wiltshire has defined its townscape for the last 200 years. John, but for most of the 19th century the estate was in the hands of mortgagees. The house was designated as grade i listed in 1955. Friends of lydiard park the friends of lydiard park is. The lydiard house wedding show at lydiard house, swindon. These include the town gardens with its beautiful bandstand and queens park where you can sit by the lake and feed the ducks. Great western swindon images of england bryan, tim on.
The town is largely the creation of the 19th century, built around the great western railway s works, but it nonetheless has over 600 listed buildings, not to mention scheduled monuments and three registered parks and gardens. Lydiard house is fortunate to have two copies of this important st john family record. The book trail travel to lydiard hall in swindon with. Beautiful grounds that are free to walk around and childrens play area. The lydiard house is set within the elegant grade i listed palladian house and modern annexe overlooking 260 acres of stunning parkland. The gwr built a small railway village to house some of its workers. Lydiard house and park must stay for the benefit of the community and freely accessible by the people of swindon and beyond. This record is known as the grandison book, as it is thought the book was commissioned by richards brotherinlaw oliver st john, viscount grandison. The house, and the parkland in which it is situated, are owned by swindon borough council. Swindon s unusual history as a large industrial town in the heart of wiltshire has defined its townscape for the last two hundred years. Captain sadler owned lydiard house in the early 20th century.
Theres a lot of swindons history which isnt wellknown so i became a bit obsessed with. Captain sadler had a reading room built in lydiard millicent which contained wall to wall books. Lydiard park is a beautiful historic estate on the western edge of swindon. The coach house tea rooms will be closed, while the forest cafe will be offering takeaway service. Lydiard house is a beautiful georgian stately home set within 260 acres of parkland on the edge of swindon. The 60yearold organisation, which is dedicated to supporting the protection, conservation and enhancement of lydiard house and park has significantly raised its profile with an enhanced mission bringing lydiard to life for thousands of people, both local and national, and international. Theres a wealth of history waiting to be discovered as. The childrens play area, cafe, events and education programmes make lydiard park a great destination for a family day out. My books tend to focus on those reallife characters in history, particularly women, who dont often feature in the history books but still have a story to tell, says nicola. The village of lydiard tregoz disappeared over 300 years ago and all that remains of it is the church. The lydiard house, the former residence of the viscounts bolingbroke, in the lydiard park, swindon.
The book trail travel to lydiard hall in swindon with nicola cornick. The lydiard school mystery wiltshire and swindon history. Lydiard house is the 18th century former ancestral home of the viscounts bollingbroke. Read about the history of swindon and see specially. Lydiard park, non civil parish 1001238 historic england. The parish contains the hamlets of lydiard green, lydiard plain, greatfield and green hill. Lydiard house and conference centre is located on the outskirts of swindon just a short distance from junction 16 off the m4. The canals brought trade to the area and swindons population started to grow.
Click on a datetime to view the file as it appeared at that time. Lydiard park is the perfect setting for any special occasion. The original lydiard park school was attached to the gate house on. The secretary, the friends of lydiard park, 30 croft road, swindon sn1 4dq. Sarah finchcrisp with an illustrated talk on the story. Marys church and you immediately feel its year history and the. Lydiard cottage was the gardeners cottage and the groom lived at stable cottage. Creative wiltshire has also purchased davids work including books, a box set of movement 2000 and prints for the wiltshire and swindon history centre and said we are delighted that swindon has acquired these wonderful works by david bent. For all enquiries, please visit our contact page or write to us at. The manor house, known as lydiard house or lydiard park, has medieval origins and was remodelled in the 17th century and the 1740s, when the south and east fronts were reworked in palladian style, probably by roger morris. Back in the day our neck of the woods was the property of the king. Visit swindon, swindon central library, regent circus. The lydiard school mystery wiltshire and swindon history centre. Awardwinning author flies home for lydiard park book launch.
Interesting house with history not only of the house and family but also of its use for prisoners of war. Swindon in 50 buildings in 50 buildings series local. Guests of the launch were invited to lydiard house and st marys church. Lydiard house and smugglers from swindons past inspires. Lydiard house and smugglers from swindons past and inspires authors new mystery novel. Read about the history of swindon and see specially selected local historic photographs. Sadler gave the rooms to the parish council in 1924. Today, what is left of the estate is run by the swindon borough council. Books in publications or other media, please contact lydiard house by email. Swindon history chronicling swindons rich heritage.
House, and its great to keep the interest going in one of swindons most. It was the forerunner of the village hall and had a corrugated iron roof. Historian david ross visits lydiard house and park, near swindon, wiltshire, with photos of the historic house, history, and other nearby historic places to visit. We will take time to share memories and thoughts, and also have a chat over refreshments. For more than 50 years, the friends of lydiard park have been acquiring, aggregating, writing and storing research connected with lydiard house and park. The organisation, which is dedicated to supporting the protection, conservation and enhancement of lydiard house and park has significantly raised its profile with an enhanced mission, bringing lydiard to life for thousands of people, both local and national, and international. Lydiard park is a beautiful grade ii listed estate and boasts the stunning georgian grade i listed lydiard house and st marys church within its. Lydiard millicent is a village and civil parish in wiltshire, england, about 3 1. Combining research and reimagined stories from swindons victorian cemetery. St john hollow is our exclusive event space ideal for private events, family celebrations and corporate gatherings. I am a local historian and writer researching the history of lydiard house and the st john family and also radnor street cemetery, swindon. Swindon is enriched with victorian parks and gardens. A white lady has been seen drifting around the grounds, whilst a phantom coach and horses is said to appear on the avenue that leads up to the house.
Theres a wealth of history waiting to be discovered. In its heyday lydiard house ranked as one of the wiltshires loveliest stately homes and today, thanks to the dedicated efforts of swindon borough council it has been restored to its former. The sandwich people revisited booth house lifehouse in swindon the salvation army duration. It was intended for young men to use for study and to thank home coming soldiers in 1921. Friends of lydiard park draw on their past to look to the.
Books and journals the victoria history of the county of wiltshire. Situated within beautiful 18thcentury parkland, lydiard house is a delightful palladian style house which is the ancestral home of the viscounts bollingbroke. Inspired by the town of swindon and the manor house of lydiard park. A journey through swindons history including the gwr railway works, the origins of old town, roman settlements, the car industry, dday and chiseldon camp. Conveniently located just a few minutes from the centre of swindon, and half way between bristol and reading, the lydiard house offers the perfect venue to stay for business trips and relaxing breaks away. Our group is meeting on the first and third monday afternoon of every month to listen to an extract from one of the amazing collection of books in our local studies library.
For example, ive written about elizabeth stuart, sister of king charles i, who had connections to ashdown house near swindon, and mary seymour and her links. Marys church,lydiard tregoze, swindon, wiltshire, england,u. History is all around us here in west swindon and just up the road from lydiard park is a survivor from the ancient forest of braydon. Lydiard house, swindon delightful palladian house set in. Lydiard house was rescued from ruin by swindon corporation in 1943.
Latest lydiard chronicle wins acclaim friends of lydiard. Author nicola cornick takes readers back in time to her literary setting. With its symmetrical details, grand entrance and details inspired by classical architecture, lydiard house is a stunning location that welcomes visitors throughout the year to explore its rooms and interactive exhibits. Lydiard house in 1420 oliver st john acquired lydiard house and successive generations of his family would rebuild and remodel it until, in 1937, the by then dilapidated, house and grounds were purchased by swindon corporation. Travel to lydiard hall in swindon with nicola cornick and authors on location. An independent charity to conserve and enhance lydiard house and park. The town is largely the creation of the nineteenth century, built around the great western railways works, but it nonetheless has over 600 listed buildings, not to mention scheduled monuments and three registered parks and gardens. The victoria county history for wiltshire mentions lydiard park but has nothing to say about bassett down, where even the big house was demolished in. For full details of both the house and the park, please go to the lydiard house and park website. To the west of swindon you will find lydiard park where you can walk amongst the restored gardens of lydiard mansion and visit the house itself. In the 19th century viscount bolingbrook made over his interests in lydiard park to his half brother, the hon.
Lydiard park is a beautiful historic estate on the western edge of swindon, with the palladian house, church and walled garden, set in 260 acres of parkland. The house and 147 acres was purchased by swindon corporation in. Swindon corporation purchase lydiard house and park. Following years of decay, it was restored with a grant from the minister of works. Lydiard house was built adjacent to the church guide books state a house could have been here from the middle ages, although the earliest record dates from the 1700s.
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