One of the glories of Swindon’s Victorian architecture is being stored at the recycling centre at Waterside Park.

And some are trying to find ways of getting it put back up.

The story of the Swindon Baptist Tabernacle portico goes back to the construction of the chapel at Regent’s Circus in 1886.

But despite objections from the poet laureate Sir John Betjeman and architecture historian Nikolaus Pevsner, the building was demolished in 1978 for a new development, including a smaller chapel.

As trade website Stone Specialist reports, there were all sorts of plans for the recovered portico stones – rebuildings as the front of a mansion house, and then another which failed to get planning permission, and then the bath stones were bought in 2006 by Swindon Borough Council.

There were plans mooted to use them as part of a new art gallery and museum as part of a shopping centre development in 2008, but that failed owing to the credit crunch and global financial crisis.

Conservation architect Michael Gray, who lives in Swindon, wrote about the stones in his masters degree thesis and he sees a lot of merit in getting the portico put back up, with one option being the park it in the Lawn.

He says to site the portico on the eastern terrace of the Lawn would bring renewed interest to the park and could form a focus for rejuvenation.

He writes: “By making the portico an independent structure here minimises the likelihood of historical uncertainty and reinstates the portico as an important piece of architecture on the Swindon skyline.”

He has also mocked up an image showing the portico erected on the Magic Roundabout, which is used in the Swindon edition of Monopoly in the prime position of Mayfair in the London game.

Michael says: “Although the roundabout substitution was a bit tongue-in-cheek, it disguises the fact that there is no clear alternative for the Mayfair spot in Swindon.

"I suggest that a reconstructed tabernacle portico on the eastern terrace of the Lawn would be that replacement, being once again a building of significance and importance to the town of Swindon.”

Councillor David Renard, Leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “We have tried to use the stones from the former Baptist Tabernacle in various regeneration schemes for well over a decade but we have not been able to find a suitable project for them.

“However, we are still looking for an appropriate solution which will allow us to incorporate this important piece of Swindon’s heritage in the town’s future.”