HERE is our 14th selection from the remarkable collection of pub photographs taken by Swindon photographer Mike Dolman in the mid-1980s.

Mr Dolman, 60, a retired civil servant who lives in Rodbourne Cheney, took the photographs of pubs throughout the Swindon area and beyond as a way of improving his camera skills.

He had just bought a Canon AE1 SLR camera from a former colleague, and still has it.

Our previous selections from his work can be found at www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/features/rewind_look_back/

THE CROSS KEYS, WOOTTON BASSETT

EXTERNALLY, the Grade II Listed building in High Street hasn’t changed much since this photograph was taken, which is remarkable because in 2013 it was all but destroyed by fire. It re-opened last year. Dating from the 1740s, the inn is the oldest in what is now Royal Wootton Bassett. It was a favourite gathering place for the bereaved military families whose kind treatment from local people earned the town its royal honour. The revamped kitchen offers an extensive Italian menu.

THE CROWN AT STRATTON

THIS Arkell’s house is known as The Crown Inn these days. The external colour scheme has been brightened, but there’s no mistaking this Ermin Street landmark. According to the brewery, there has been an inn on the site for at least 250 years. Arkell’s took over nearly 150 years ago. The venue has been extensively refurbished and currently offers 21 guest rooms.

THE PLOUGH INN, BADBURY

THE Plough, also known as The Plough on the Hill, earns a mention in the writings of Alfred Williams, Swindon’s Hammerman Poet. Possibly built during the late 18th Century, it was in the hands of Arkell’s by the late 19th. In the last 50 years the pub has undergone extensive periods of refurbishment, although the frontage is little different from the one captured by Mr Dolman's lens some 30 years ago.

THE PLOUGH, WANBOROUGH

SOME of the rural and semi-rural inns photographed by Mr Dolman have long since ceased to exist, but others continue to thrive. The Plough at Wanborough is firmly in the latter category. Built in about 1730, it prides itself on good food, real ale and traditional pub games.

THE ROSE AND CROWN, HIGHWORTH

A COURAGE pub when this photograph was taken in the mid-1980s, Highworth’s Rose and Crown remains one of The Green‘s most prominent features. It is now a family-friendly free house and recently underwent extensive renovation. Connoisseurs of 1970s British cars will note the Triumph TR7 parked outside.

SPOTTED COW, SWINDON

DATING from the 1960s, the Spotted Cow in The Coate replaced a much older inn of the same name. Since this photograph was taken, its external appearance has been considerably brightened up. Today the pub operates under the Hungry Horse banner and attracts enthusiastic reviews.

THE WHEATSHEAF, UPPER STRATTON

THE Dores Road pub was built in the 1960s, the first pub on the site opened for business in the early 1840s. Its architecture is typical of the period. Earlier this year, after the pub had been closed and boarded up for months, plans were announced to demolish the structure and put housing on the site.

THE WHITE HART, WROUGHTON

SEVERAL Wroughton pubs are named in honour of animals, but the others tend to have taken their cues from race horses. The building has changed little in appearance since Mr Dolman took this photograph, but an attractive garden has been established in much of what was a rather drab car park. The White Hart is popular with locals and visitors alike.

THE WHITE HORSE, HIGHWORTH

THE pub in Highworth’s Lechlade Road was closed and converted into housing toward the end of the last decade. The main clue to its former identity is the decorative ceramic brewery tile which is still attached to the front wall.