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The village of
Lydiard Tregoz disappeared over 300 years ago and all that remains
of it is the church. Lydiard Manor House was built adjacent to the
church - guide books state a house could have been here from the
Middle Ages, although the earliest record dates from the 1700s.
Today, what is left of the estate is run by Swindon's Borough
Council.
Although the name is now spelt Lydiard Tregoz, according to John
Jackson (in the Wiltshire Collections book) it has gone under
various names over the years: "Lydiard Tregoz, or South Lydiard, is
in the old Hundred of Blackgrove, now included in Kingsbridge. The
name occurs in a multitude of forms: as, Lydeyerd, Lidegherd,
Lideyert, Lidiarde, Lydyarde, Lydeyarde, Lidyard, Ledyerd, Lydeard,
Liddiard, Ladyhart, Lidyhart and Lediar.
The derivation
is Anglo-Saxon; from Leod, people, and geard, enclosure."
Locals now refer to the estate as Lydiard Park. The park has
beautiful and extensive grounds (some 250 acres) where you can just
sit and admire the scenery, or follow one of the trails through the
woodland.
There is a short guide available inside the church (written by D.
Attwood) which sums up the atmosphere in its Introduction with: "As
you step into the little parish church of St. Mary's, Lydiard
Tregoz, it seems as if you step back hundreds of years into the
past." The impressive monuments to various members of the St. John
(pronounced 'sin-gin') family must look as good today as they did
when they were erected. Do pick up a copy of the guide which, in its
own words, sets out to attempt to answer some of the most frequent
questions that visitors ask about the church, but it also mentions
smaller, less obvious things that you might otherwise miss.
For more details about the
monuments in the church, as well as its stained glass windows,
please refer to
this web site.
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