View Lydiard House and Park activities leaflet as a pdf.
View our Christmas poster as a pdf.
Victorian Christmas
Saturday 29 November to Tuesday 23 December
See Lydiard House decked out for a Victorian family Christmas with traditional trimmings on real Christmas trees and beautifully festive floral decorations in the State Rooms. See how the Victorians celebrated and how their traditions influence the way we now celebrate Christmas.
Admission charge applies.
Crafty Christmas - childrens activity
Sunday 7 December 12.30pm to 3.30pm
Drop-in to Lydiard's Stable Building to make fun, Christmas tree decorations. £2 per child
Swindon Choral Society
Sunday 7 December 2.30pm
The Swindon Choral Society will be performing Christmas carols in the main hall of the house
Christmas wreath / table decoration making
Sunday 14 December 12.30pm to 3.30pm
Drop-in to Lydiard's Stable Building to make a wreath or table decoration using natural materials sourced from the park. £3 per adult or child
Purton Pealers handbell ringers
Sunday 14 December 2.30pm
Purton Pealers handbell ringers will perform festive music in the main hall of the house.
From our stores
Saturday 7 February to Sunday 29 March
Ceramics: A selection of beautiful ceramics from the Lydiard House Collection will be on public display for the first time.
Flowers, birds and beasties
Saturday 14 to Sunday 22 February
A fun interactive quiz trail for children to hunt down the hidden flowers, birds and animals in the furniture and fittings inside the house.
Childrens crafts
Saturday 14 February 12.30 to 3.30pm
Have fun and make something lovely for someone you care about! £2 per child.
Mothers Day
Sunday 22 March
Mums go free today on a visit to Lydiard House and Walled Garden with admission paying accompanying child.
Easter Special
Saturday 4 to Sunday 19 April
A fun, quiz trail activity for children available every day, except Mondays.
Super Craft Tuesdays
Tuesday 7 & 14 April 1 to 4pm
Drop in to the stable buildings for activities and crafts, have fun and make something to take home. £2 per child
The Great Lydiard Easter Sunday Trail
Sunday 12 April 12noon to 3.30pm
Hunt down the clues hidden in the park and pick up a chocolate treat in this annual family event. £1 per child
Heritage Weekend a Success
Members of the public were invited to visit Lydiard House over two days in September, during Heritage Weekend. Marketing Officer Emma Valentine explained, "It was a really successful weekend. We had 931 people visiting Lydiard House and 1,076 visiting the Walled Garden over the weekend. St Mary's Church and the Triptych were also open".
One visitor said, "My husband and our two children (aged 4 and 7) came along on Saturday to the Heritage open day. I just wanted to say what an enjoyable few hours we spent there. I must admit my son was not very enthusiastic at the mention of looking around 'an old house'.We first visited the house which I haven't been inside for a few of years and was pleasantly surprised by the collection of furnishings and memorabilia.
Wonderful!
"Both the children enjoyed spotting the teddy bears for the children's quiz and were very interested in the 'secret' doors. All the staff were very friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, which always makes a visit to anywhere more enjoyable. We then went on to visit the walled garden, which was bathed in sunshine. What can I say? Wonderful! The children were particularly interested in the well. What a feature! The garden is both beautiful and serene. A tranquil sanctuary.
"We then stopped for home made cakes and a cup of tea from the ladies just outside the church before setting off to take a look inside it. Once inside the church we were greeted by a friendly gentleman, a volunteer I believe, who told us all we wanted to know. What a lovely man. Just wanted to give you some positive feedback. I have lived in Swindon all my life and it's really great to see the tremendous improvements to Lydiard Park."
Open air theatre summer 2008 Review
A Winter's Tale on a Summer's Night!
Stewart Phillippo reviews The Winter's Tale, recently performed at Lydiard
My wife and I had the pleasure of seeing the Globe’s production of Shakespeare’s ‘The Winter’s Tale’ in the grounds of Lydiard Park set against the delightful back-drop of Lydiard House.
It was a quintessential English event with drizzle at dusk thrown in for good measure. The set was minimalistic with a curtain board entrance defining the space backstage. The stage itself was t-shaped and much like a catwalk, which the audience viewed from either side allowing the cast to run behind and circumnavigate the audience to create more drama.
The Winter’s Tale was directed by John Dove and had rhythm and clarity. The excellent cast led by John Dougall connected with the audience with warmth and mirth and were consistent throughout.
Along with our hot soup and red wine, and surrounded by Swindon’s artistic eccentrics, we thought the evening was a hoot from start to finish. We thoroughly enjoyed a top quality and professional production. Not bad for a Winter’s Tale on a stereotypical English summer night.
Event Enquiries
If you wish to make an enquiry about holding any sort of outdoor event at Lydiard Park, please write in the first instance to:
Emma Valentine
Events & Marketing Officer
Lydiard Park
Lydiard Tregoze
Swindon
SN5 3PA
or E-mail evalentine@swindon.gov.uk giving as much detail as possible about your proposed event and its purpose.
We receive numerous requests for events of every kind; all are carefully considered, but we can only host a limited number of events each year. The selection of events is at the discretion of the Lydiard Park Management board.
For weddings and conference enquiries, please contact the Lydiard House Conference Centre on 01793 770062 or go to www.chartridge.co.uk.