Thetownend.com

Dear all at TheTownEnd.com

(Mods, we hope this is ok to post on here)

We spotted this thread recently:
http://thetownend.com/index.php/topic,42401.0.html (http://thetownend.com/index.php/topic,42401.0.html)
It includes some discussion of pictures on our gallery.
We wondered if it might be worth posting the main link to our gallery of pictures:

www.flickr.com/swindonlocal (http://www.flickr.com/swindonlocal)

They are all of Swindon and surrounding area - our cut-off is roughtly the border of the borough itself.
They include some of the very earliest photographs taken of the town, right back in the 1850s.
It is a big project and we have been adding pics for about a year.
We have over 3500 pics on line with c10,000 ready to add and many more in our collection yet to be scanned.

You might like these:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swindonlocal/4560590452/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/swindonlocal/4560590452/)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swindonlocal/4559961777/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/swindonlocal/4559961777/)

Feel free to have a browse and we are always interested in any feedback, you can add to the comments underneath - and of course in any pics/postcards/bits'n'pieces you may have (we don't have that much STFC content yet but we are working on it!).
Let us know if you spot any mistakes (bound to be a few!) and it would be great if you could help us ID some pics where the location is still a mystery.

Best wishes,
Swindon Collection
Central Library, Regent Circus, Swindon SN1 1QG

Awesome! I could (and probably will) spend hours looking through these. Nice one

Feel free - some never leave....


Just remember that the whole things is name, place and date searchable.
Type in your family surname and see if we have anything - or maybe your street.
Some find it easier to go through this page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swindonlocal/collections/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/swindonlocal/collections/)

Can you tell us if you find anything interesting?

You might like this - one of the very oldest photos of the town.
There are a few in the 1840s/50s, often just churches, but not many and this is one of the first with people!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/swindonlocal/3807095721 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/swindonlocal/3807095721)
Victoria Hill c1855

I spent two hours looking through these on Saturday. Brilliant stuff.

Love it.  Next time I have a bit of time on my hands, I'll be taking a good, long look.

I shall enjoy looking at these over time. Ah memories.

I love stuff like this.
Someone brought a book into work recently with old Swindon photos and I was amazed to see a photo of my great grandfather, who was a farmer in South Marston in the early 1900's.

Seen them al...    fantastic.

Love the old milkman in Green Road Stratton.....lived in the old house that was derelict when i was a kid.....used to play in it....sadly pulled down a few years back to make way for a few modern eyesores.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/swindonlocal/5247178646/

A view thats not really changed in 100 years,we really should move to an identikit bowl on a retail park somewhere.

These pictures are really good and bring back memories of being a small lad and taken to Hayden Wick from Hagbourne (Berks) with my mother and father to visit an uncle and aunt with the surname name of Pearce. Their neighbour was Mr and Mrs Bendell.   
Does any one know any Nypresses's from Swindon (not sure of the spelling) it was my grand mothers maiden name and rumour has it she had lots of brothers 8 or 9...never did meet any !!!
Good luck tonight...up the town
 

my nans sister was married to a nipress.cyril was his name and they lived on newcastle street.
if this rings a bell i'll do some digging for you as my mum will know alot more.

You're all inbreds.

Arriba

Would be good if you could..
She might know an aunt Eva or uncle Mike Misonavich (not sure of the spelling and think they were 2nd cousins really.) he worked in the GWR factory. They had two son's and a daughter. Son's names were Michael and Tony...Tony was a town fan from way back and one of the last times I saw him was with a broken nose after Arsenal visited the County ground in the FA cup after the League cup triumph. A gate of 32,000 if I remember and the Town End was packed 
My memory suggests that they may have moved sometime after to Havant or Waterlooville somewhere just outside Southhampton.
Would be interested to know what has happened to them...
And F@#k you pricks who think we are all inbreds..village idiots maybe, Inbreds no way   !!!   

Also had an Uncle Tom Turtle....surely someone would know him. He lived in Rodbourne and lived to 125 well maybe... ;D

i shall ask my mother and pm you if she has any info..

Interesting - a number of our Haydon Wick pics come from the collection of a Mr Bendle - perhaps they were related:

Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/swindonlocal/sets/72157624231499984/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/swindonlocal/sets/72157624231499984/)

Really suprised the library dont get some books published with these photos...suppose it would be a copyright problem?
Some brilliant photos you have that all the schools in Swindon should be showing the youngsters.
Great collection of Swindon's past....the future should be able to have a gander ;D

I'm really surprised the library has spare resource budget for people to come on this forum, what with all the council cut backs recently.

Librarians in a library full of computers will have plenty of time to post on TEF. I spend a third of the day at work looking at it. And I've got a proper job.

No, you've got two thirds of a proper job.

nah, i've got a proper job i just do two thirds properly.

On a different note. I looked through the photos made available by Swindon library and there appears to be a copy of a St Johns ambulance certificate for an Austin William Partridge from about 1928-29. He is possibly my great grandfather. It would be interesting to find out, even if I have been poking fun at librarians.

Any relation to the venerable Andy Partridge of XTC fame?  If so, tell him to get over the stage fright and do some shows.  Ill promote them.

Superb effort from Swindon Library. Great to see you involved on here. I love nostalgia.

Meh, it's not what it used to be.

Pretty sure we aren't related.

"Meh" ???  :no: Never catch myself using a term like that