This is the story of Swindon’s famous crocodile. The one that lives on the top floor of Apsley House, home to Swindon’s museum and art gallery. Well – sort of. More on that later.
The words are courtesy of Sue Pycroft of Vox PR – edited only to pacify the great gods of Yoast and SEO.
Swindon’s Famous Crocodile or gharial – called Apsley after Apsley House. Known also as Geraldine. Photo by Syd Pycroft
A Swindon touchstone
Every museum has an iconic exhibit that is synonomous with it. An emblem if you like. The Louvre has the Mona Lisa, the Natural History Museum has its diplodocus and Swindon Museum has its croc.
But Apsley (who used to go by the name of Geraldine or Georgina??), as staff no doubt tire of explaining, isn’t, strictly speaking, a crocodile. Nor is she an alligator.
She is in fact a Gharial. She is a member of the crocodile family, but she hails from India. Gharials are one of the longest living members of the croc family. They can reach up to 20ft in length and boast 110 razor sharp teeth. These are perfect for slashing apart fish, their staple diet.
The males have a bulbous protuberance on the end of their nose which look exactly like an Indian cooking pot known as a ghara, hence the animal’s name.
Endangered species
Unfortunately, the Gharial is an endangered species thanks to hunting, pollution, the decline in fish stocks and deforestation around the rivers that form their natural habitat.
There are now estimated to be fewer than 250 still alive, although they are being bred in captivity in India. Fishermen hamper efforts to keep them alive in the wild by driving them away. They’re aided and abetted in that by contamination of the rivers in which the gharials once thrived.
Gharials are not known to be very mobile on land. Unlike their crocodile cousins they are unable to raise themselves up right and walk – instead they have to slide along like snakes.
It’s likely that, that’s what accounted for poor Geraldine’s demise. Someone hunted her and killed her in 1915. And she made her way to England sometime after.
The gharial in swindon museum – photo credit Syd Pycroft
Charles Gore
The museum’s famously eclectic collector, Charles Gore, acquired her in 1935. His natural history collection had grown from a few fossils to an enormous array of animals, historical and military curios and artefacts. Gore’s collection reached the point where it formed the founding collection at Apsley House in 1930.
Charles was the first curator and it’s easy to Charles was the first curator and it’s easy to imagine his delight at adding Geraldine to his attraction. Indeed, she became the star of the show and has fascinated generations of schoolchildren ever since.
There have always been postcards of her to take home. But some rascals wanted much more of a souvenir and at some point helped themselves to a handful of her teeth. Luckily a nearby dentist stepped in to save the day with some falsies to restore that famous grin.
Sadly Swindon museum and art gallery is under threat – and with that everything in it – including poor Apsley who is now abandoned and lonely in the museum. Poor old croc!
In varying ways, Apsley House as a building, the art collection and the museum as a thing all feature in Secret Swindon, Swindon in 50 Buildings and my guide book. So it would be very nice not to have to make sad amendments to all of those publications!!! So PLEASE – get signing and get sharing!
The Beat the Street physical activity game is returning to Swindon this autumn
The Beat the Street game is back! 2021 sees Beat the Street Return.
The walking, cycling and rolling initiative that has twice turned Swindon into a real-life interactive game is returning. It hits Swindon’s streets again from Wednesday, 15th September to Wednesday, 27th October.
Swindon residents are well-versed in the Beat the Street game. In 2018, more than 32,000 local residents walked, cycled and rolled 313,000 miles. And again in 2019, 25,978 participants clocked up 252,126.5 active travel miles.
Beat the Street is about getting communities moving by helping people to make small changes, such as walking or cycling to school every day. And in so doing to improve health and help make being active part of everyday life. Evidence shows that the programme helps adults and children become more active. And it encourages families to spend more time together outdoors and in green spaces.
Across the UK
Since its creation GP Dr William Bird, more than 1.4m people have played the game in more than 120 locations in the UK and beyond. Beat the Street has had a significant effect on increasing how active people are. It’s also helped reduce congestion and improve air quality.
New for this year, participants are being offered awards on the www.beatthestreet.me/swindon website where they can see their in-game achievements.
Free to play
The game is free and open to anyone of any age who would like to take part. Children use a fob, provided by participating primary schools. Adults can pick up a free card from one of the distribution points listed on the Beat the Street Swindon website.
Players then find their nearest Beat Box which will appear on lampposts around Swindon and some surrounding villages. Your first visit to a Beat Box registers the journey. Walk, cycle or roll to the next Beat Box within an hour to score 10 points. Then keep going! The game has seen recent adaptaion. It’s now got more sensitive Beat Boxes and new cards to ensure that it’s COVID safe and contactless. All you have to do is hover your card or fob over the Beat Box and it will beep and flash to record your points.
There are prizes for the teams and individuals that travel the furthest. Plus there are leaderboards for total points and also average points so that teams of all sizes are in with a chance of winning a prize. You can also help a local charity get a donation, and there are “lucky spot” prizes simply for taking part.
Councillor Brian Ford, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults and Health said: ‘After two fantastic games, we often get asked about bringing Beat the Street back to Swindon. So it’s a real delight to be able to announce that we have commissioned the game once again. We know that one of the best things people can do right now for their physical and mental health is to move more and to get out into green space where possible. And Beat the Street helps people do that in a safe way.
It’s free to take part in Beat the Street and it’s open to everyone regardless of age, ability or background. More than 250,000 people across the UK have played the game safely since the beginning of the pandemic. It’s helped to get people out exercising and spending time with friends and family. We hope that it will provide a real incentive to get Swindon moving.’
Mechanics’ Matters Newsletter No 1 – Quarterly Newsletter
Mechanics’ Update
The Mechanics’ Matters Newsletter The building has been through three independent reviews. Two of these reviews covered viability proposals. And we’re pleased to say that a use, based on the Trust’s own proposals, is deemed viable.
The proposals are mainly based on a theatre, flexible space, education, retail and community use. The other review, led by the Council, concerned the actual structure. It’s feasible to restore the building – it can become a reality.
The current situation is that an independent heritage consultancy is using resident feedback to improve the viability proposal. That will ensure we cover every base and that we base future funding applications on sound proposals.
Changes at the Baker’s cafe
With regret, due to the pandemic, we’ve had to close the Bakers Café for the foreseeable future. We’ve not traded for 15 months and that’s led to a review of options. For the interim, we’ll use the Bakers as two community rooms. The smallest of these rooms will also act as a visitor centre.
These are excellent, clean facilities, right in the town centre and with good public transport. We offer flexibility and a range of room layouts. Space is available at attractive prices, in particular for local or charitable organisations. For booking – email: centralcommunitycentre@mechanics- trust.org.uk
HERITAGE ACTION ZONE
The Swindon Heritage Action Zone was
Launched in June 2019, the Historic England heritage action zone is an ambitious five- year plan. One that aims to revitalise the town’s unique heritage and unlock its economic potential. The hope is, that by improving the zone it will build on England’s favourite conservation area, the town’s Railway Village. The village and its surroundings are a rich heritage area. It’s an area full of promise for residents, businesses, tourists and investors.
The website also contains a map to explore, as well as key projects aimed at achieving the improved heritage zone.
The intent is to regenerate Brunel’s 1841 Great Western Railway Works and the village built to house its thousands of employees. It will restore and repair neglected public buildings and bring them back into use. The HAZ will also improve public spaces and connections between the village and the town centre thus promoting and celebrating the area’s special qualities. In turn that will help to instil a sense of local pride.
We’re looking forward to reopening the Railway Village Museum on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September 2021, 10-4pm as part of the Heritage Open Days festival.
You can arrange private tours and school visits in exchange for a donation. For more information please contact Katie Knowles – katie@mechanics-trust.org.uk
How to get involved
The Mechanics’ Institution Trust is a charity and relies on volunteers and charitable funding. That said, we do generate income from the buildings we currently have responsibility for. We have a range of opportunities and are looking for volunteers and Trustees.
If you’re interested, contact us here. We’d love to hear from you!
Swindon’s Street Art Back in the day, thanks to a Labour government job creation scheme and a visionary arts officer called Terry Court, Swindon became something of a mural capital thanks to the work of Swindon-born artist Ken White. One by one his murals disappeared and now only one remains, the first one, the Golden Lion Bridge mural.
Ken White as a much younger man with the Golden Lion Bridge mural
But in recent years murals and street art have once again started to grace Swindon’s walls, gable ends and ugly hoardings.
Back in 2015 I wrote about the new mural on Cambria Bridge. As it happens, there used to be a mural by the aforementioned Ken White on the self-same wall. So, in a neat bit of artistic symmetry this new mural references Ken.
And now here we are in 2021 and Swindon’s street art and murals are cropping up all over the place. I haven’t seen them all and can’t possibly cover them all in one blog post. So I’ve picked out four – in no particular order.
You can read more detail on this mural in this article here.It explains who the artists are and what the mural depicts. This particular piece of mural magic happened in a partnership between the Regent Circus management and the artists, Swindon-born Martin Travers and a London-based street artist, Lionel Stanhope.
2. Princes Street
This is a Swindon Borough Council production on an old wall near the Rendezvous Chinese restaurant. It’s co-creators are Peter Cowdy and Caryn Koh from Artiste and the Post Modern.
The work represents Swindon and its amazing outdoor spaces from the GWR Parkto Queen’s Park in the town centre. I love it because it features my very favourite building in the background – the David Murray John Tower.
3. Wharf Green – Mother Earth with flower of life
This mural is staggering and I can not at all show it properly here. Funded by InSwindon, it’s painted by Pete Cowdy and Dayna Baxter and runs the length of the wall where the sadly-defunct big screen hangs.
4. And last, but by no means least, a note of HOPE
Though it may appear that nothing is happening, a great deal of work is being planned behind the scenes to build up a programme of work that ticks all the boxes.
Towards the end of the year we’re hoping to hold some involvement events. In the meantime we will endeavour to keep you informed. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions we would love to hear from you.
Starting this month we will be showcasing a different feature of the Hydro in each newsletter. This time we would like to highlight the stained glass windows in the building.
You do not need to visit a church to see some truly magnificent stained glass windows in Swindon, just take a walk around the Health Hydro.
The windows were all made in the GWR works by Mr T Rice and his team of highly skilled craftsmen. What this tells us, beyond the skill of the men and the obvious beauty of the stained glass panels they created, is that the workers had enormous pride in their work, crafting things of beauty for this utilitarian building. The windows look as magnificent today as they did when they were installed nearly 130 years ago.
A featured article from a health hydro supporter
Recent years have seen significant progress with regard to the Swindon Baths and former Medical Fund Society medical centre in Milton Road. But now we must all keep our eye on the ball to ensure that the prospective ‘renovation’ achieves what Swindon deserves for the future. By that I mean something which Swindon people aspire to today. Something that builds on the physical heritage as well as the social achievement of past generations of Swindonians. Recent steps forward include:
1. The Friends of Swindon Health Hydro group has formed to champion the building.
2. The Friends proposed the recently awarded (by Historic England) heritage listing upgrade to Grade 2* (from 2)thus affording the building extra protection.
4. Swindon Borough Council (SBC) have budgeted £1.5 million for building ‘repairs and maintenance’.
5. Significantly, £5million has been awarded as part of the government’s Towns Fund, applied for by SBC.
People could be forgiven for thinking the Baths are safe, but a close eye is needed on the future. A few months ago the Adver ran a piece that suggested the Swindon Baths as ‘the town’s very own Bath Spa’. That facility isn’t a project to aspire to. It ran massively over its projected budget and provides ‘high end’ expensive facilities in a town with a very different population to Swindon. One with significant international tourist appeal visiting a range of nearby heritage attractions like the Roman Baths. The Milton Road Baths has a unique character that deserves appreciation for what it is and for what it means to the people of Swindon. Swindonians who have so long lobbied to have their railway heritage properly understood and appreciated.
Window above the dispensary
What should we be looking for?
The recent Conservation Report outlined the key features which merited the grade 2* listing. One of these is the Small Pool. Right up until four years ago this pool saw crocodiles of school children enjoying their weekly swimming lessons. This opportunity was not only one experienced by local railway children since 1896. Newcomers to Swindon shared this pleasure too. That pool is one of the unifying features of life in Swindon before and after 1986, when the Works closed. The Small Pool should be a top priority for repair and re-opening. Why should we have less provision for children that we did in 1896? (NB: ditto the Oasis – says me – Born Again Swindonian)
The expressed aspiration by the Council for a wider health and well-being provision echoes even more recent innovation. Innovation lost in the thirty-four years since 1986. It’s a function downplayed at the time as the Council emptied the premises of the range of voluntary organisations housed there. The objective being to clear the premises for lease to a privatised ‘leisure operator’. A policy driven by the government policy of cutting local government funding.
The Swindon card
Who remembers the Swindon Card? It supported widespread access to leisure for Borough residents with limited income, in the interests of improving health? From 1986, the £300,000 put aside for renovation of the Mechanics’ Institution*, got spent in the next two years to fix the Bath’s roof and replace the boiler. Altogether, there was an investment of £750,000 or so in modernising the services on offer, including the swimming pools and Turkish Baths. The re-naming as the ‘Health Hydro’ reflected the long understanding in Swindon that bathing formed a key aspect of health and well-being.
*Before the Council declined to take it one for £1
Practitioners such as osteopaths and a well-woman centre developed by local charity volunteers were developed too.
These services and therapies replaced the doctors’ surgeries. They saw re-location to Carfax Street (and recently again to Islington Street). We easily forget how quickly things have changed in Swindon as the town has expanded.
So, the first objective should be to restore to Swindonians the level of provision that they long enjoyed and paid for themselves. Once renovated, wider promotion in the modern town should provide the income needed to provide for programmed maintenance in the future. Thus this level of deterioration should never occur again.
Now seems a good idea to bring together past users and community organisations to engage in discussions and review ideas for future use of this massive complex of three buildings. The future must belong to the people of Swindon, not only today’s Council or GLL.
The Friends of the Milton Road Baths will need support – so if you’re so inclined get in touch with them!
Between them the small pool at MRB and the Oasis, form touchstones of many Swindonian’s lives. Are we going to have a generation of children in Swindon that don’t learn to swim for lack of facilities?!
Other things in need of support
I only wish that Milton Road baths were the only thing needing support. But sadly there’s a growing list: the Oasis, the museum and art gallery – let’s not forget the Mechanics’.
Indeed it’s easier to list what doesn’t need supporting/saving in Swindon these days. There’s a depressing thought!
