Swindon History
From Pig Hill to Boom Town: A Brief History of Swindon
Swindon's story from Domesday to the railway – medieval origins, the GWR, and how a small market town became an industrial powerhouse.
Read More →Swindon History
A local community website covering Swindon and surrounding areas. The story of Swindon from medieval market town to railway boom town. The GWR works, Railway Village, Mechanics' Institution, and the people who shaped the town.
From a small Domesday settlement to one of Britain's great railway towns, Swindon's history is rich and surprising. Our articles draw on British History Online, Historic England, the STEAM Museum, and local archives to bring you accurate, engaging stories about the GWR works, the Railway Village, the Mechanics' Institution, Lydiard Park, Richard Jefferies, and the planners who envisioned the modern town.
Swindon History
Swindon's Railway Heritage: How the GWR Built a Town
Brunel, Gooch, and the ham sandwich that changed everything. The story of Swindon Works and the Great Western Railway.
Read More →
Swindon History
The Swindon Railway Village: A Victorian Model Community
Brunel's 300 cottages, the Heritage Action Zone, and Britain's best-preserved railway complex.
Read More →
Swindon History
The Swindon Mechanics' Institution: Workers' Education Before the NHS
Library, baths, lectures – and the health service that inspired Nye Bevan. A Victorian experiment in worker welfare.
Read More →
Swindon History
Old Town Swindon: The Hill That Predates the Railway
The medieval market town on Swindon Hill – from bull-baiting to the Corn Exchange, before the railway transformed the valley.
Read More →
Swindon History
Lydiard Park: 500 Years of Swindon's Stately Past
The St John family, the Palladian mansion, and how Swindon Corporation saved a heritage treasure.
Read More →
Swindon History
Richard Jefferies: Swindon's Pioneering Nature Writer
The author of Bevis and The Story of My Heart – Coate Farm, Coate Water, and Britain's founding father of environmentalism.
Read More →
Swindon History
Swindon's Post-War Expansion: The Silver Book and New Town Vision
The 1960s plan to grow Swindon from 100,000 to 400,000 – West Swindon, Toothill, and the city that nearly was.
Read More →