Blue Plaques in Swindon

by | Aug 16, 2018 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, Sons & Daughters of Swindon, Walks and cycle paths

August 2018

Blue Plaques in Swindon

There are now a number of blue plaques in Swindon. The most recent being unveiled on June 16th, 2018 on Swindon Civic Day.

The plaque was installed on the exterior of the Health Hydro – aka Milton Road Baths.

The health hydro in Swindon

Swindon Civic Voice: https://www.swindoncivicvoice.org.uk

See Swindon Heritage’s blue plaques website for more information: https://www.swindonheritageblueplaques.com

  1. Edith New
  2. Harold Starr – and John Starr
  3. Diana Dors
  4. Sam Allen: ‘Swindon Town manager and football pioneer Sam Allen (the sixth-most longest-serving manager in Football League history), and was unveiled on May 19, 2018, by former Swindon Town footballer John Trollope MBE, and Sam’s granddaughter-in-law, Pat Chapman.
  5. Milton Road Baths’
  6. To come –  Ralph Bates – excited about this one!
  7. On the Goddard’s Arms: https://www.swindonheritageblueplaques.com/masonic.html
  8. Harold Fleming: https://www.swindonheritageblueplaques.com/harold-fleming.html
  9. Richard Jefferies: https://www.swindonheritageblueplaques.com/richard-jefferies.html
  10. The site of the national school: https://www.swindonheritageblueplaques.com/free-school.html
  • Diana Dors blue plaque
  • The Starr Brothers blue plaques
  • The Health Hydro plaque - one of the blue plaques in swindon
  • Sam Allen blue plaque
  • ith New plaque being unveiled

Former STFC player, John Trollope MBW and some Allen family members unveiled his plaque, while Tamara Dugdale, Edith New’s great-neice, unveiled hers.

Tom Saward of the Swindon Advertiser put together this map of where to find the blue plaques which he kindly let me use.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=12_AkgTEpaT89qLWeUSEgCLXTj4koNgWc&hl=en_GB&ll=51.55720517721625%2C-1.7862112499999512&z=16

Swindons blue plaques

There is though another plaque tucked away in Old Town, in Newport Street, which tells its own story.

Maureen Ises took this photo for blip blog here: https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/2228808359820132491

Site of Swindon's Free school

‘In 1764 a free school for the working classes was provided in a cottage Newport Street, to educate 20 boys and 5 girls on land owned by the Goddard family. But soon the number of pupils outgrew the accommodation and a two storey stone-built National School was built on the same site in 1835.  Among its pupils in the 1860s was future author, Richard Jefferies, mentioned in my Blip about Jefferies Avenue a few weeks ago.’

From: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol9/pp159-168

Swindon education
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