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| Feeding ducks in the park, and wishing you were far away... |
I've been averaging a blog a year up until now and here we are with a second in two weeks. What's going on? I'll put it down to the unseasonably mild weather coupled with the opportunity offered by another free Friday morning to take a stroll - soaking up the sunshine, kicking the leaves and looking up and around again at the canvas nature and humankind has provided us with over the years in dear old Swindon.
Old is the right word as today the warm autumn sunshine drew me to Old Town and a walk around the grounds of the once grand Lawns estate, once Swindon's very own Downton Abbey, home of the Goddard family, lords of the manor until Major Fitzroy Pleydell Goddard, who died in 1927, neglected certain important issues, notably his own, and failed to continue to family line. When his widow left the property a few years later it fell into disrepair, was briefly occupied by British and American military during the Second World War.
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| Sunken Garden |
Swindon being Swindon this particular property was then neglected to the point of no return (familiar story?) and demolished in the early 1950s leaving us with just a few tantalising architectural hints of just what a jewel in Old Town's crown this could have been.
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| Gazebo, Lawns Estate |
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| Holy Rood Church |
These days the Lawns is a much needed public open space in the heart of Old Town, the footpaths, trees and lakes and grounds of the old estate punctuated with the architectural reminders of its rather grand past.
In the old days they used to refer to the lofty position (geographically and socially)
of the Goddard Estate as "Nob Hill", the latter day social commentator
who obliterated this information board with his or her 'tag' seems
intent on maintaining the validity of that sobriquet, albeit for
slightly different reasons.
A less welcome modern day "punctuation" grabs my attention as I glance at the resplendent trees - there amongst the autumnal shades of the turning leaves - a small plastic bag hanging from a branch catches the light - a shimmering and small reminder of the unerring ability of humans to bugger up the natural environment.
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| Looking towards High St, Old Town |
As I walk back to the High Street I notice the mock tudor exterior of the Hermitage Nursing Home. This relatively new building stands near the same spot as the original Hermitage a much grander and more interesting building that (here we go again) was left to decay to the point where demolition became the (allegedly) only viable solution - the new building no doubt serves its noble purpose very well but architecturally it is a very faint echo of yet another architectural gem Swindon could ill afford to lose that somehow it did - same as it ever was -
only one thing to do now head off into the New Old Town - there's a chocoberry juice with my name on it waiting for me at The Core ...
Old is the right word as today the warm autumn sunshine drew me to Old Town and a walk around the grounds of the once grand Lawns estate, once Swindon's very own Downton Abbey, home of the Goddard family, lords of the manor until Major Fitzroy Pleydell Goddard, who died in 1927, neglected certain important issues, notably his own, and failed to continue to family line. When his widow left the property a few years later it fell into disrepair, was briefly occupied by British and American military during the Second World War. 
These days the Lawns is a much needed public open space in the heart of Old Town, the footpaths, trees and lakes and grounds of the old estate punctuated with the architectural reminders of its rather grand past.
In the old days they used to refer to the lofty position (geographically and socially)
of the Goddard Estate as "Nob Hill", the latter day social commentator
who obliterated this information board with his or her 'tag' seems
intent on maintaining the validity of that sobriquet, albeit for
slightly different reasons.
A less welcome modern day "punctuation" grabs my attention as I glance at the resplendent trees - there amongst the autumnal shades of the turning leaves - a small plastic bag hanging from a branch catches the light - a shimmering and small reminder of the unerring ability of humans to bugger up the natural environment.
Very interesting reading and I love the pics. I've never been to Swindon...!
ReplyDeleteThankyou, despite everything said about it is worth a visit not least for the surrounding countryside which is wonderful - Marlborough Downs, Avebury etc
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