Living History Archive

On the Lydiard Archives this month we’re celebrating the Platinum Jubilee by showcasing the visit of HM the Queen to...

The Lydiard Archives is currently featuring a special collection about the castles, mansions, gardens and country estates...

March 24th marks the birthday of Lady Diana Spencer who married Frederick St’John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, in 1757. The...

Local historian Frances Bevan in her Good Gentlewoman blog once sagely observed that the St John men did not make good...

Lydiard House contains many exquisite and fascinating items, but none more so than the painted window in the dressing room....

North Wiltshire Herald 24th December 1924 LYDIARD TREGOZE. WHIST DRIVE.—A very successful whist drive, promoted by Mrs....

With a new series of the BBC genealogy programme Who Do You Think You Are currently on TV we were reminded of a previous...

George Strange was born in 1843 at Prioryfield, in one of a group of tiny stone cottages isolated at the end of a long track...

This month’s Living History piece is about table carpets and in particular the St John of Bletso table carpet that is now...

Throughout the long history of Lydiard Park, there has been a whole succession of fascinating women who have been born or...

March 1930 Entries In a meticulously kept diary, Elliot Woolford provides the reader with a no-nonsense view of farming...

Lydiard House and Park feature in the local and national newspapers many times over the decades and today we bring you an...

Local historian Frances Bevan in her Good Gentlewoman blog once sagely observed that the St John men did not make good...

2020 marks an important anniversary for the extraordinary figure of Thomas Becket. On 29th December it will be 850 years...

I well remember the first time I visited Lydiard House. I walked into the Dining Room – and jumped a mile when I saw the...

Frances Bevan writes: What better subject for a Halloween post than tales of ghostly happenings in Lydiard House. Like...

A famous product of the local area is Wiltshire Loaf Cheese, which is a semi-hard cheese, smooth and creamy on the outside...

Prince George and Princess Charlotte are expected to return to school at Thomas’s Battersea this September, a school...

In the news recently was the story that David and Victoria Beckham want to create a new lake on their estate in the...

Vernon Henry St John, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke is remembered more for his passion and knowledge of natural history than for...

Map of Lydiard circa 1700 The great Forest of Braydon originally extended across North Wiltshire, covering much of the...

Wedding arrangements in the Victorian parish of Lydiard Tregoze were dictated by the busy agricultural calendar. At Wick...

"There was a meeting of two days at Newmarket this time of year, to see the sweetest little horse run that ever was; his...

This month we’re celebrating Mother’s Day on 14th March with an article by Frances Bevan about Lady Johanna St....

Whether you are a dedicated park runner, or enjoy a regular dog walk or family cycle, you’ll be familiar with the open...

By the mid 19th century the Palladian mansion house at Lydiard Tregoze was a little the worse for wear. Generations of St...

“There ice, like crystal, firm and never lost, Tempers hot July with December’s frost;” From “On St James’...

The letters of Johanna St.John to her steward at Lydiard, Thomas Hardyman, give us a fascinating insight into the menu for a...