The Lydiard Archives

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New items added each week!

Photograph of popular head Mrs Coleman & pupils of Hook School, 1958/9. Interviewed by Lord Bolingbroke for the job, she was at the school for 20 years. Search Hook School.

New items added each week!

Collections

Featuring portraits, furniture and architecture, as well as letters, photographs, memories and manuscripts, we are continuously creating special interest collections of artefacts and records that offer fascinating guided tours through Lydiard Park’s historic past.

Anne Barr Collection
Anne Barr Collection

A fascinating collection of St.John family memorabilia, generously donated to The Friends of Lydiard Park by Anne Barr in 2023, a former friend of Vernon Henry St.John, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke.

Lydiard Weddings - a photographic celebration
Lydiard Weddings - a photographic celebration

The Lydiard Archives provide a fascinating glimpse into the wedding days of couples who tied the knot at Lydiard Tregoze over three centuries. From marking the occasion with dignified rows of family members in the Victorian era to happy couples and gaggles of bridesmaids in postwar Britain, this special collection is constantly expanding.

Grave Matters - Memorials in St. Mary's Churchyard
Grave Matters - Memorials in St. Mary's Churchyard

Fragments of the Bishop’s Transcripts (copies of the parish registers) for Lydiard Tregoze survive from 1607 with the burial of James Gardiner in May of that year. However, this was not the first burial in the churchyard surrounding the ancient church of St. Mary’s.

Wills - Lydiard Tregoze
Wills - Lydiard Tregoze

Wills can be both fascinating and frustrating, for what they say, what or who they miss out and what they may be hinting at! A collection of wills for a single community like Lydiard Tregoze provides information which is useful to local, family and social historians.

Lord Bolingbroke's coming of age celebration, March 1917
Lord Bolingbroke's coming of age celebration, March 1917

On March 15th 1917, Vernon Henry St.John (1896-1974), turned 21 years, becoming the 7th Viscount St.John and 6th Viscount Bolingbroke. This collection, drawn together to mark the anniversary of his death 50 years ago, recalls that memorable Spring day when representatives of the tenantry presented the young viscount with a magnificent silver rose bowl on the steps of Lydiard House.

Love Tokens and Keepsakes
Love Tokens and Keepsakes

This collection celebrates the theme of love with a group of exquisite St.John family miniatures drawn from Lydiard House and private collections.

The People's Park - 80 years in public ownership
The People's Park - 80 years in public ownership

2023 marks the 80th anniversary of Swindon Corporation’s visionary purchase of Lydiard Park for the people of Swindon in November 1943.

Lydiard Park Prisoner of War Hospital Camp
Lydiard Park Prisoner of War Hospital Camp

Looking at Lydiard Park's beautiful grounds and playing fields today it is hard to imagine they were once occupied by a German military hospital camp.

Archaeology
Archaeology

Archaeological investigations at Lydiard Park have usually been in response to restoration and development initiatives by Swindon Borough Council, the most extensive being undertaken in 2004 by Wessex Archaeology.

Farms and Farming Families in Lydiard Tregoze
Farms and Farming Families in Lydiard Tregoze

The parish of Lydiard Tregoze contained a number of medium-sized farms. The stories of some of the people who owned, lived, or worked on the farms in the twentieth century have been told in a remarkable series of memoirs and diaries, while the history of the farms and its workers before this time can be found in documents such as wills and parish records.

St.John Jewellery - Pearls to Paste
St.John Jewellery - Pearls to Paste

As Valentine’s Day approaches, we start to see advertisements for jewellery, with suggestions to buy the person you love a special piece of jewellery or even a diamond ring. This therefore seemed a good time to take a look at the jewellery worn by some of the St.John ladies.

Lydiard Tregoze Family History & Memories
Lydiard Tregoze Family History & Memories

Lydiard Park is about more than a building, an estate, or the family who lived in the ‘big house’ in Lydiard Tregoze. It also comprises those who lived, worked, and prayed here in the past, and the families who live here today.

World War I
World War I

Eighty-four men left Lydiard Tregoze to fight in the Great War, and fourteen never returned. From farmers and labourers to the brothers in Lydiard House, explore the impact of World War I on this small community.

Research

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Reports and Articles

A unique compendium of 40 annual publications from the Friends, along with authored papers, containing scholarly articles and social history related to Lydiard Park.

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Records

Transcriptions, images, and archival resources of documents, parish records, wills, diaries, correspondence, accounts, inventories and other recorded materials.

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Artefacts

A starting place to search for a wide range of Lydiard ephemera, including art, monuments, furniture, architectural and landscape features, graves, maps, books, and videos.

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Media and Memories

Archival newspaper, magazine and film clippings, as well as personal recollections and stories of life at Lydiard over the past 150 years

About

The Lydiard Archives are a unique digital collection of objects, records, reports and ephemera documenting the thousand-year history of Lydiard House and Park. Created by volunteers with a passion for preservation and accessibility, The Lydiard Archives are managed by The Friends of Lydiard Park, an independent charity formed to protect, conserve and educate people about this beautiful historic estate with its Palladian house, ancient church, walled garden, and rolling parkland.



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