History
Medieval and Tudor
Lydiard House was the home of the St John family for more than 500 years. The family inherited the house when Margaret Beauchamp married Oliver St John. Margaret was a powerful, wealthy woman. In her second marriage, she married John Beaufort and was grandmother to Henry VII.
Margaret Beauchamp had inherited Lydiard Park from her father, and it was passed on to her second son, Oliver. Before the Beauchamp family, Lydiard Park was also held by the Grandison, Tregoze and Ewyas families. Lydiard Park remained in the possession of the St John family until 1943, when it was sold to Swindon Corporation (now Swindon Borough Council). In the 18th century, the family gained the title Viscount Bolingbroke, which paid tribute to Margaret Beauchamp. Through Margaret, the family claimed a distant connection to King Henry IV, who was born at Bolingbroke Castle.
In Medieval times, there was a deer park and manor house at Lydiard Park. St Mary’s Church dates back to medieval times and has wonderful examples of early architecture, sculpture, painted glass and metalwork.
Roundheads and Royalists
During the English Civil War, Sir Walter St John of Lydiard Park married his distant cousin Johanna. This wedding united the royalist and parliamentarian parts of the St John family.
Walter’s father, Sir John, was a staunch Royalist and lost three sons in battle during the Civil War. Johanna’s father, Oliver, was known as ‘ship-money Oliver’ and was an important figure in Oliver Cromwell’s government.
Walter and Johanna had their main home at Battersea, London. Walter was a politician and oversaw a school and various charities in London.
Lydiard Park was the couple’s country home and it supplied the family with fruit, vegetable, cheese and meat. Johanna was a keen herbalist and had elaborate herbal gardens on the lawns at Lydiard Park. These gardens were removed in the 18th century but examples of her plants can be seen today in the Walled Garden.
Georgian Splendour
There was a manor house at Lydiard in medieval times, which over time became a great two-level hall with a bedroom wing and a service wing on the sides. That house survived until the early 18th century, though some remodelling had been carried out on the Drawing Room and Library.
When John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke and his wife Anne Furnese inherited the house in 1738 it was extremely old fashioned. Thanks to the wealth of his wife, John commissioned work to transform the house.
Lydiard House was remodelled to become what it is known as today; an impressive Palladian building with symmetrical details, a grand entrance and many details inspired by classical architecture. These include the elaborate pediment on the front of the house, the corner towers, and the detail seen around the windows on the ground floor.
At the time, Roman and Greek classical influences dominated Georgian architecture. The lavish interior of Lydiard House showcased the wealth and knowledge of the St John family.
Fine Georgian design can be seen throughout the state rooms, which have stunning plasterwork and fireplaces. The grand hall is decorated with plaster busts, a high ceiling and intricate plaster moulding. Elsewhere, visitors can see original marble fireplaces, pier glasses and an incredible library from the 1700s.
Within the state rooms, there are portraits of many members of the St John family, including John and Anne. John’s half-brother Henry 1st Viscount Bolingbroke was a famous Conservative politician, and features in numerous paintings and a marble bust carved by Michael Rysbraek.
The War Years
In 1943, Lydiard Park was requisitioned by the military and served three important functions during the Second World War. At the same time, Vernon, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke permanently vacated Lydiard House when he inherited a heavily mortgaged house and overgrown parkland. Town Clerk David Murray John negotiated the sale of Lydiard Park to Swindon Corporation (now Swindon Borough Council) for £4,500.
Lydiard Park served as a large station hospital for the American 101st Airborne Division, and treated casualties from the D Day Landings. The camp was located where the sports and event pitches are today.
From 1943, the American hospital became a Prisoner of War hospital, and housed up to 200 German Prisoners of War at a time.
Elsewhere in the park, the Great Western Railway Home Guard used the fields and woodland for training and target practice. Following the war, the military huts were used as a temporary housing estate. Many families lived at the ‘lost estate’ at Lydiard Park until the 1960s.