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.
Although the Manor House of Battersea, the home of several noteworthy 17th and 18th century St.John family members, was demolished in the early 20th century, there remains a strong link between Battersea and Lydiard Park, with both churches (both named St. Mary's) adjacent to the site of the homes sharing many similarities.
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.
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.
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.