THESE grainy images are taken directly from a bound volume of Swindon Advertisers for July of 1962.

They capture a part of Old Town in the process of being changed almost beyond recognition. Sadly, we can find no trace of the original prints or negatives.

The main picture, taken from Newport Street, shows some of a collection of buildings which once occupied land on the corner of Newport Street and High Street, a site now partly occupied by the Co-op.

The Corn Exchange bell tower can be seen beyond the dilapidated structures. At the time, the Corn Exchange was nearing the height of its popularity as a rock and pop concert venue.

A major road widening scheme in Newport Street meant several buildings had to come down. They included houses, shops and a High Street building near the corner which was an early HQ for the Swindon Advertiser.

The newspaper’s founder, William Morris, did much of his work on the earliest editions at his father’s shop in Wood Street, but according to our article in 1962 the paper’s first official premises were in High Street.

We said: “Work on the road widening will begin two to three weeks after the site is cleared.

“The first job will be the laying of surface water sewers. This will be carried out by men at present working on the Devizes Road bridge.

“Total cost of the Newport Street scheme will be £22,232, which includes £9,920 for land acquisitions.”

The equivalent sums in 2018, taking general inflation but not soaring property prices into account, would be about £470,000 and £210,000.

We added: “Demolition is being carried out by a Highworth firm. Finds at the site of the old Swindon Advertiser building, and the newspaper shop adjoining, include two surface water wells each about 15 feet deep and about 10 yards from one another.

“It was in April, 1857 that the paper moved from High Street to the present premises in Victoria Road.”

Wells were discovered in various locations across that section of Old Town during extensive renovation and alteration throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Some were traced with certainty as as far back as the Roman era.

In at least one instance, a pair of wells were uncovered very close together, only one of which had been functional.

The other, archaeologists speculated, had been simply a hole disguised as a well and used to hide valuables - or perhaps contraband.