Lydiard Tregoze
Encyclopedia
Lydiard Tregoze is a small village and civil parish
on the western edge of Swindon
in the County of Wiltshire
, in the south west of England
. It has in the past been spelt as Liddiard Tregooze and in other ways.
Mentioned in Doomsday as a manor belonging to Alfred of Marlborough Baron of Ewyas and a Tenant-in-Chief to King William I. Near Royal Wootton Bassett, the parish of Lydiard Tregoze was part of the Kingsbridge
Hundred, while its village originally centred on the medieval parish church
of St Mary and the nearby manor house
, Lydiard House
, which was the home of the St John family, Viscounts Bolingbroke
. However, the original village of Lydiard Tregoze disappeared, giving way to the grounds of an important country house, although St Mary's church survives and contains important monuments
.
In 1615, Lucy St John, daughter of Sir John St John of Lydiard Tregoze, married Sir Allen Apsley, one of the founders of the New England Company. In 1644, Anne St John of Lydiard, the daughter of Sir John St John, 1st Baronet, married Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester
, a leading Royalist during the English Civil War
. Anne St John was the grandmother of Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield
.
Parish register
s survive from 1666 and are kept in the Wiltshire and Swindon Archives.
In 1801, the total population of the parish was 578, in 1901 it was 618, and in 1971 549.
John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887) describes Lydiard Tregoze as: "Liddiard Tregooze, par. and vil., Wilts, 1 mile SE. of Liddiard Millicent, 5142 ac.
, pop. 660."
Lydiard Tregoze is one of two suggested locations for the 9th century Battle of Ellandun
.
Lydiard House now belongs to Swindon Borough Council, the successor of the former Corporation. Open to the public, the house now has a significant art collection, and one room has fine painted panels by Lady Diana Beauclerk
.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
on the western edge of Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
in the County of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, in the south west of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It has in the past been spelt as Liddiard Tregooze and in other ways.
History
Kingsbridge (disambiguation)
-Places:Canada* Kingsbridge, Ontario* The Kingbridge Centre* The Kingsbridge Wind Power Project, OntarioUnited Kingdom* Kingsbridge, Devon* Kingsbridge, Somerset* Kingsbridge, Swansea* Kingsbridge Hundred, an administrative hundred in Wiltshire, England...
Hundred, while its village originally centred on the medieval parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of St Mary and the nearby manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
, Lydiard House
Lydiard House
Lydiard House is a manor located in Lydiard Park at Lydiard Tregoze, Swindon, Wiltshire. The house and surrounding land was originally owned by the Viscount Bolingbroke who owned the house for several centuries until the cost of caring for the house proved too high, and they were forced to sell...
, which was the home of the St John family, Viscounts Bolingbroke
Viscount Bolingbroke
Viscount Bolingbroke / Viscount St John is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain and is currently held by Nicholas Alexander Mowbray St John, the 9th Viscount Bolingbroke and 10th Viscount St John who lives in Sydney Australia....
. However, the original village of Lydiard Tregoze disappeared, giving way to the grounds of an important country house, although St Mary's church survives and contains important monuments
Church monument
A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a dead person or persons, located within a Christian church. It can take various forms, from a simple wall tablet to a large and elaborate structure which may include an effigy of the deceased person and other figures of familial or...
.
In 1615, Lucy St John, daughter of Sir John St John of Lydiard Tregoze, married Sir Allen Apsley, one of the founders of the New England Company. In 1644, Anne St John of Lydiard, the daughter of Sir John St John, 1st Baronet, married Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester
Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester
Lieutenant-General Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester , known as The Lord Wilmot between 1643 and 1644 and as The Viscount Wilmot between 1644 and 1652, was an English Cavalier who fought for the Royalist cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.-Early life:Wilmot's family was descended from...
, a leading Royalist during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Anne St John was the grandmother of Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield
Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield
Sir Edward Henry Lee, 5th Baronet, of Ditchley and of Quarendon, created 1st Earl of Lichfield was an English peer. He was a staunch tory and followed James II to Rochester, Kent after the king's escape from Whitehall in December 1688...
.
Parish register
Parish register
A parish register is a handwritten volume, normally kept in a parish church or deposited within a county record office or alternative archive repository, in which details of baptisms, marriages and burials are recorded.-History:...
s survive from 1666 and are kept in the Wiltshire and Swindon Archives.
In 1801, the total population of the parish was 578, in 1901 it was 618, and in 1971 549.
John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887) describes Lydiard Tregoze as: "Liddiard Tregooze, par. and vil., Wilts, 1 mile SE. of Liddiard Millicent, 5142 ac.
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
, pop. 660."
Lydiard Tregoze is one of two suggested locations for the 9th century Battle of Ellandun
Ellandun
Ellandun was the site of the Battle of Ellandun between Egbert of Wessex and Beornwulf of Mercia in 825. Sir Frank Stenton described it as "One of the most decisive battles of English history", effectively ending the Mercian supremacy over the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy...
.
Lydiard House
Lydiard House was the home of the St John family for more than five hundred years. In 1943, the local authority, the Corporation of Swindon, bought the house and its park from Henry, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke, in a dilapidated state. Almost none of the original furnishings then remained. In the 1950s, the Corporation began to collect suitable contents for the house, aiming in particular to restore the 18th century State Rooms. These efforts were much helped in 1955 when some good furniture arrived on loan from the National Art Collections Fund, part of the E. E. Cook bequest. During the 1960s Lord Bolingbroke loaned several St John family portraits to the house and later sold them to the Corporation. When he died in 1975, he bequeathed to the trustees of the house everything he owned which had come from it.Lydiard House now belongs to Swindon Borough Council, the successor of the former Corporation. Open to the public, the house now has a significant art collection, and one room has fine painted panels by Lady Diana Beauclerk
Lady Diana Beauclerk
Not to be confused with the 20th-century Princess of Wales of the same maiden nameLady Diana Beauclerk was an English noblewoman and artist....
.
Notable people
- Sir John St John, 1st Baronet
- Anne Wilmot, Countess of Rochester
- Sir Walter St John, 3rd Baronet
- Henry St John, 1st Viscount BolingbrokeHenry St John, 1st Viscount BolingbrokeHenry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically despite his atheism. In 1715 he supported the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 which sought to overthrow the...
- Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount BolingbrokeFrederick St John, 2nd Viscount BolingbrokeFrederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, 3rd Viscount St John was born on 21 December 1732. His father was John St John, 2nd Viscount St John, half-brother of Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke. His mother was Anne Furnese....
- George St John, 3rd Viscount BolingbrokeGeorge St John, 3rd Viscount BolingbrokeGeorge Richard St John, 3rd Viscount Bolingbroke and 4th Viscount St John , styled The Honourable from birth until 1787, was a British peer and politician...
External links
- Lydiard Tregoze at Google Maps
- St Mary, Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire, page at oodwooc.co.uk (includes gallery of photographs)
- St Mary's Lydiard Tregoz, "The church in the Park" page at lt.wswinlyd.org.uk
- St John family page at tudorplace.com.ar