TWO special art exhibitions will launch to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Lydiard Park becoming publicly-owned.

Never-before-seen paintings and photographs from the Lydiard House collection will go on show in Visions of Lydiard, while Celebrating 75 Years will show the history of extensive renovation work carried out since Swindon corporation purchased the estate in 1943.

Assistant curator Felicity Jones said: “These pieces have never been on display before so it’s really exciting that we can get them out. It will be a lovely exhibition with a variety of styles - oil, watercolour, acrylic, embroidery- and we hope visitors enjoy the artworks.

“The plan for this started last summer when we found a number of nice pieces which had never been on show and it evolved from there. The Visions exhibition shows a variety of interpretations of what people visiting Lydiard have seen over the last 75 years, which works really well with the history exhibition.”

The Lydiard estate was owned by the St John family from 1420 until 1943, when after a period of financial difficulties, the family put the estate up for sale. Very little maintenance had been carried out during the final years that the St John family owned the estate, so the house was in a poor state of repair and the parkland was neglected. Since coming into public ownership, the house, parkland, Georgian walled garden and lake have seen significant restoration works over the years.

More than £100,000 was spent last year on Lydiard’s hotel and conference facilities with a further £850,000 set aside to invest in Lydiard House as part of an ongoing maintenance programme.

Councillor and cabinet member Keith Williams is responsible for the Lydiard area. He said: “Lydiard Park holds a special place in the hearts of local people because so many memories are created there. It is the perfect place for children, families and those that just want to walk the dog or stroll round the park.

“These exhibitions are a great way of celebrating everything that is good about the park from the pictures of the local artists and photographers, through to the painstaking work that has gone in to bringing the house and parkland back to its former glory. I would really urge everyone who has an affinity to Lydiard to pop into the house to view the exhibitions and learn a bit more about how the park has become such a big part of people’s lives.”

The display in Lydiard House opens on Saturday. Tickets to the house and walled garden costs £6.80 for adults and £3.70 for children aged three or older. To find out more, visit lydiardpark.co.uk or call 01793 466664.