Our Meetings

Once the formalities of the AGM had been concluded, we were treated to a talk by Jennie Bridges and Diane Everett. They took a different route to one that we have seen before and went to the West of Swindon.

The fifth slide was one of Diane’s favourites and you have to agree when you see it. The picture is taken at the top of Kingshill Road standing in the middle of the road. It shows a peaceful idyllic scene looking out towards the west and, apart from the edge of Clifton Street, all you can see are fields. Now it is a different scene, you would risk life and limb standing in the middle of the road. Cars and buses would be speeding past you and as far as you can see are houses and retail units.

Gone are the tranquil days when you might only meet a horse and cart, see the steam coming from a train on its way to Bristol, London or beyond or hear the gentle chugging of the barges laden with their wares going to and from Semington. The busiest time on the road would be Market Day with carts laden with wares and animals for market.

Leaving the hustle and bustle of Old Town you would enter into farmland, intercepted by the Great Western Railway and the Wilts & Berks Canal. Then past Ladd’s Mill (now the site of The Runner) under the railway bridge past the wood yard on a lonely track to Wootton Bassett.

It is hard to imagine what it was like and this talk took us back to how it was. The Western Expansion only started in the late 1960’s early 1970’s when the M4 was built. The farms are now all built up areas with houses, schools and shops. If you look closely you might see the odd house which was once the old farm house. Noisy, busy roads clogged with traffic transporting people to and from their houses, to work, school and play.

All the little hamlets are now joined up as one, no way of knowing where one part ends and another starts. Jennie showed us this by going from West Swindon to Moredon. The Boundary House was the end of Moredon and the start of the fields. Now it just extends onto the Western Expansion.

At one time you only had to walk a short distance from the town centre to countryside but now you have to walk a bit further. Thank you Diane and Jennie for a thought provoking talk. It certainly highlighted how our sleepy market town is growing. I just hope that in time we will not be swallowing up Royal Wootton Bassett or Highworth.

Nicky Shackell - July 2018