We in Swindon are rightly proud of our very own collection of modern art, but have you ever wondered how we came to be in possession of such a wonderful trove?

In fact, there’s no short answer to that. The Swindon Collection of Modern British Art owes its existence to a range of generous and forward-thinking individuals, and to an equally diverse range of organisations.

The most well-known individual contribution is undoubtedly that of HJP “Jimmy” Bomford, a successful stockbroker turned gentleman farmer based in Aldbourne, who donated 21 works to Swindon, including a Henry Moore, a Ben Nicholson and a Lowry.

But while that hugely generous gift remains highly appreciated, the collection also owes much to another of our early benefactors, one Frederick Charles Phelps.

Born in Swindon in 1879, Phelps served in the merchant navy during WWI, and was awarded both the British War Medal and Mercantile Marine Medal. He lived in Croft Road in Old Town for much of his life.

A keen supporter of local arts and heritage, he gave several gifts of money and works of art to the town, which allowed us to enhance our growing art collection. And Phelps’ generosity to Swindon did not stop at the art collection – he also made a financial gift to establish the Swindon Garden of Remembrance in Queen’s Park. The Garden was officially opened by the then Princess Elizabeth in October 1950 as a memorial to those who served and died during World War II.

This painting is Lord Methuen’s painting of the Port of Bristol, which Phelps had bought from Leicester Galleries and which he gave to Swindon in 1944.

The artist, Paul Ayshford, was the Fourth Lord Methuen, and who was not only an accomplished painter but also undertook a lot of public work to raise awareness of the arts and of national heritage.

In 1938 he visited Swindon to talk to the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) about art, and this paper – then called the Evening Advertiser – reported him as saying that Swindon needed an art gallery, so it’s particularly fitting that we include one of the collection’s three Methuen works here.

The Port of Bristol painting was completed in 1938, and depicts the area of the Port of Bristol known as The Floating Harbour – you can see the building that is now the Arnolfini Gallery to the immediate left of the cranes. Nearly all the other buildings were bombed during the Second World War, and the area is now a key Bristol tourist attraction with a wealth of museums, arts facilities and bars and restaurants.

Phelps died in March 1949, and in his will, he left £2,500 to Swindon to support the development of the town’s art collection (equivalent to around , £80,000 today). The money was put into the museum’s purchase fund, which has been used to support the acquisition of art and ceramics in the years since.

The will, prepared by Townsends Solicitors (now Thrings), offers insight into Phelps’ own artistic tastes. He specifically asked that his gift should not be used “towards works of a futuristic type such as those of Picasso”.

Instead, he wanted to ensure that Swindon continued to acquire more traditional, representative art, often with a local character.