3:35pm Friday 5th March 2010
By Passing Shots
DAILY I drive along Marlborough Road to work, towards the Coate roundabout, but never have I noticed the 300-year-old building opposite the Texaco garage which is part of Swindon’s heritage.
The Richard Jefferies Museum, or “Old House at Coate”, is a farmhouse where the Victorian naturalist and writer was born and raised. It is set between beautiful Coate Water and the thunderous M4.
The place is one of Swindon’s gems, still retaining the essence that Jefferies must have known including original agricultural buildings, gardens, an orchard and even an outside lavatory!
Beyond the property, much of Jefferies’ beloved countryside is still as green as it was in his day.
While Coate Water attracts around half a million visitors a year, judging by the visitors’ book this little jewel in Swindon’s crown attracts barely a handful of tourists.
This week I was taken on a tour of the museum by Mike Pringle, director of the Swindon Cultural Partnership.
Stepping inside the cottage, you are greeted by a mish-mash of exhibits depicting Richard Jefferies’ life in a home where he lived between 1848 and 1887.
The museum includes first editions of many of Jefferies’ writings, the manuscript of Wood Magic, plus family photographs and memorabilia.
It was, to be blunt, very amateurish and haphazard. Not really a museum, more of a shrine.
Yet we’re focusing on a man who has been described as “a many sided genius”.
Besides working for the North Wiltshire Herald – a forerunner of the Adver – he published works on a variety of subjects, from detailed accounts of his beloved countryside, to children’s books and post-apocalyptic sci-fi.
The visit was interesting but I sensed more should be done to celebrate the life and works of this great man. Here is a museum which relies so heavily on the work of so many volunteers, yet needs a fresh coat of thinking to make it a better tourist attraction.
To ensure the sustainability of the museum, and raise Jefferies’ profile, a group of organisations including the Swindon Cultural Partnership, Swindon Borough Council, the Richard Jefferies Society, as well as local businesses, are working together on a business and finance plan.
One of the issues they are looking at is improving access to the museum – you can’t get to it from the Coate Water car park, but have to walk along Marlborough Road. It would be great if there was a back entrance to the museum. They are also looking to increase the frequency of opening times.
You should take a look at the life of Richard Jefferies who wrote Bevis, one of the great novels for young boys.
This was a book which was illustrated by EH Shepard, best known as the man who drew Winnie the Pooh. Bearing in mind the new Disney connections with Swindon, surely there is an opportunity here for the Richard Jefferies Museum!
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