Throughout the centuries, Lydiard House and Park has celebrated the Yuletide season in its own unique way, and left a charming and poignant collection of memories to remind us of Christmases past.

Looking at Lydiard Park's beautiful grounds and playing fields today it is hard to imagine they were once occupied by a German military hospital camp.

For more than sixty years, original furnishings, pictures and decorative art have been traced and returned to the once-empty State Rooms, restoring the former lived-in appearance of Lydiard House.

Archaeological investigations at Lydiard Park have usually been in response to restoration and development initiatives by Swindon Borough Council, the most extensive being undertaken in 2004 by Wessex Archaeology.

The parish of Lydiard Tregoze contained a number of medium-sized farms. The stories of some of the people who owned, lived, or worked on the farms in the twentieth century have been told in a remarkable series of memoirs and diaries, while the history of the farms and its workers before this time can be found in documents such as wills and parish records.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, we start to see advertisements for jewellery, with suggestions to buy the person you love a special piece of jewellery or even a diamond ring. This therefore seemed a good time to take a look at the jewellery worn by some of the St.John ladies.

Lydiard Park is about more than a building, an estate, or the family who lived in the ‘big house’ in Lydiard Tregoze. It also comprises those who lived, worked, and prayed here in the past, and the families who live here today.

Over the centuries the St.John family married into families across the United Kingdom and Ireland, creating a fascinating network of cousins and influencers who have written their own pages in history. Our collection of castles, mansions, landscaped gardens and country estates gives a glimpse into this extended world of family spanning 800 years from the 12th to the 20th century.

Our latest collection celebrates the theme of love with a group of exquisite St.John family miniatures drawn from Lydiard House and private collections.

Eighty-four men left Lydiard Tregoze to fight in the Great War, and fourteen never returned. From farmers and labourers to the brothers in Lydiard House, explore the impact of World War I on this small community.

A unique compendium of 40 annual publications from the Friends, along with authored papers, containing scholarly articles and social history related to Lydiard Park.

Transcriptions, images, and archival resources of documents, parish records, wills, diaries, correspondence, accounts, inventories and other recorded materials.

A starting place to search for a wide range of Lydiard ephemera, including art, monuments, furniture, architectural and landscape features, graves, maps, books, and videos.

Archival newspaper, magazine and film clippings, as well as personal recollections and stories of life at Lydiard over the past 150 years