THE Lydiard House conference centre was an appropriate venue for the fourth event on day one of the 2017 Swindon Festival of Literature.

In front of a packed house, heritage expert and Lydiard aficionado Sarah Finch Crisp took the audience on a whirlwind tour of the history of the park and house.

From the earliest beginnings with the establishment of St Mary’s Church to the decision by David Murray John to make a speculative pre-war investment that would turn out to be a masterstroke, her talk covered all the bases in record time.

Opening the event, Sarah said it was important to acknowledge “just how precious, how special, how significant, Lydiard House and Park are.

“They are important and significant and not just for Swindon, they would be that way for any town or city in the country.”

Of course the 260 acres of Lydiard Park that people in Swindon know and love today is all that remains of what was once a several thousand acre estate. Once a much larger building with manicured lawns and bowling greens to the front, the house has seen many occupants through the years.

But miraculously for an estate of its significance, it was only ever sold once, in 1943. Before that it was passed from generation to generation of the St John family.

Long after the last hunters had left the house, allied forces gearing up for D-Day decided it was just the place to build an American field hospital camp for the 101st Airborne Division.

It was also used by the Home Guard from Swindon’s GWR works.

These are just some of the stories buried away in the colourful history of the park and house. There are others tales involving mistresses and mysterious deaths that could be the subject of a whole talk in their own right.

Sarah left the audience wanting to know more, all with a new-found or renewed sense of the importance of what we can all agree is truly the ‘jewel in Swindon’s crown.’