The Swindon Society
The Swindon Society was formed in September 1972, following a series of WEA lectures by the late Eric Arman, to further interest in Swindon, its surroundings and history.
From its very beginnings the society has attempted to record the social history of the area as shown by the camera by making slide copies of photographs taken since the 1850's. Original slides showing the many changes that have taken place in Swindon since the 1950's have also been added continually to the Society's collection to keep the record up to date.
This collection now numbers over 8100 slides and is used to illustrate talks to local groups, both old and young, of how life used to be in the town. These talks bring back many memories to older Swindonians and also enable newcomers to discover more about the area. The wealth of material available about the post-Second World War era also adds to the interest for younger people for, as the motto of the Society has always been, "history starts yesterday..."
The slide collection contains material on many subjects including the Great Western Railway Works at Swindon, now sadly no more, its locomotives and the social life of it's workers, the Swindon tramway system, the Wilts & Berks and North Wilts Canals, Swindon in both World Wars, etc. Areas of the town, including Old Town, Gorse Hill and Rodbourne, are extensively covered and are the subject of regular slide presentations.
Many slides are also available showing surrounding villages and towns including: Blunsdon, Chiseldon, Cricklade, Highworth, Marlborough, Stratton St. Margaret and Wroughton. There are also many slides on Swindon's other railway, the Midland & South Western Junction Railway. Selections from the collection have been shown on national television.
Address
Broadgreen Centre Salisbury Street
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN1 2AN
Email
info@swindonsociety.org
Web
http://www.swindonsociety.org/