Swindon, The Railway Museum, Faringdon Road c.1965

Photo ref: S254090

Photo of Swindon, The Railway Museum, Faringdon Road c.1965

More about this scene

This building was originally built by the Great Western Railway as a lodging house for single men in 1846, and was called the Barracks. It was converted to a chapel for the Wesleyan Methodists by T S Lansdown of Swindon in 1869 - it could accommodate a congregation of 1,000. Closed in c1959, it became Swindon's Railway Museum in 1962 and remained as such until 1999. The new Steam Museum was opened in 2000. The building is now planned to be used by the New Mechanics' Institution Preservation Trust in their quest to restore this area of Swindon's railway heritage.

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A Selection of Memories from Swindon

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our website to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was, prompted by the photographs in our archive. Here are some from Swindon

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New House.

My parents and I moved to Swindon in 1961 from Edmonton, London to a brand new three bedroom house ( think). My father worked at Pressed Steel were they made car body panels for Austin, and Morris, and I used to cycle halfway to the factory to meet him from work. I can well remember the bad winter of 1962/63, with snow till March. My mother was stuck in Princess Margarets Hospital, ( I think it was), having given birth to ...see more

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Added 22 March 2021

Clifton Street Annexe

Hi Anyone out there remember the Clifton Street School Annexe? I lived in Newburn Cres, not far away, in 1968-70, and went to school there. My Dad was a policeman and we lived in a police house next door to Jane Gresham who was friends with my sister. Mr Edwards was my favourite teacher, he was Welsh.On Wednesdays we had to go to the Clifton Street School proper for assembly.We had a young Welsh girl ...see more

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Added 14 October 2016

Swindon 1957 To 1966

We moved to Swindon in 1957 from London (Wimbledon, actually) when my dad, a skilled engineer, got a job at Vickers Armstrongs at South Marston, with a brand new council house thrown in. In those post-war austerity days there was no problem getting a council house - in these austerity days, however, very, very few are being built despite a great need. I digress. But by the time I left Commonweal Grammar and then ...see more