Swindon, Wiltshire

It was nearly a

My Dad was a copper and one day took me to the Gorse Hill Police Station where he was based.  He and the duty sergeant muttered away quietly hatching a plan to surprise me.

The sergeant took me on a tour of the building, eventually taking me down into the depths to see the cells. He was explaing how policeing... [more]

School

Highworth Warneford School is a very good school in Swindon.
I have lots of good memories here and will be sad to leave :(
Jaz
xxx

Coate Water.

I remember swimming in Coate Water aged about 8 - 10 and nearly drowning in the open air swimming pool. My cousin fell into the lake when he was about three but was rescued by my uncle who leapt in to get him out. The diving board in the picture seemed enormous to me and I was impressed by the people... [more]

Ducks

I remember when I was little going to Coate water, feeding the ducks and having picnics with my family. Those were the days! :)

Mother.

My mother worked in the cafeteria at lunch time, collecting the money from the students. She seemed to know everybody in the college and when she passed away at the young age of 48, it seemed that the whole of Swindon mourned with us. Swindon is a place that I hold dear to my heart. Every picture that I have looked... [more]

Farewell rail tour

The picture is taken from the footbridge and show the rail tour on about 3/9/61. There were two. This one is the one I travelled on hauled by GWR 2-6-0 5306. I rode on the footplate of the engine from here to Cirencester. The other one was hauled by 7808 Cookham Manor.

The Congregational Church Bath Road Corner

My great-grandfather Joseph Williams, a Swindon builder, built this church in 1886. Joseph and his wife Sarah were also heavily involved in the services at this church. Joseph was a lay preacher and was the Sunday School superintendent for a number of years. The church was demolished in 1949. The congregation since moved to a more modern building in Swindon.

Family Tree

I am researching my fam tree. I have found out some of my ancestors came from Swindon. Due to a long story my Grandmothers biological Grandfather worked on the G.W.R AS A Labourer his name was Edwin New. He married Mary Jane Stroud in 1873 then went on to have my Grandmother Real mother Alice Elizabeth New. Alice was born on... [more]

Swindon Living Memories

This public house at Stratton St Margaret owes its existence to the Wilts and Berks Canal which ran nearby. The original inn stood on the opposite side of the road, on the south- western corner of what is now the busy Oxford road into Swindon. The original building was demolished, and a new one built in 1937-38 on its present site. One of its most famous landlords... [more]

Swindon Living Memories

The View to Bridge Street This section of Regent Street is immediately to the north of the McIlroy's store. On the corner of Havelock Street and to the left stood Anstiss & Co Ltd, drapers, which stood here until the 1960s when it suffered two major fires, the second of which destroyed the premises completely. On the right is the Arcadia Cinema, which later became the Classic... [more]

Swindon Living Memories

The View North-West This thoroughfare was originally lined with workers' cottages, but from about 1865 many of these dwellings were converted into shops. The small shop fronts to the left were built out from the original terraced houses. On the far left is the Regent Street Primitive Methodist church; it had been built here in 1876 to replace two former chapels on the same site of 1849 and 1863. In 1895 a large... [more]