Lydiard House - the home of the St John family for over five hundred years - was bought by Swindon Corporation in a dilapidated state in 1943.

Virtually none of the original furnishings remained. (For more on the history of Lydiard House please see the Lydiard House and Park website.)

Collecting began in the 1950s, with the intention of restoring the 18th Century suite of State Rooms and furnishing them with suitable period pieces. A major boost was provided in 1955 with several notable pieces of furniture arriving as a result of the National Art Collections Fund distribution of the E E Cook Bequest.

During the 1960s Henry, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke, seventh Viscount St John, loaned a substantial group of St John family portraits and subsequently sold them to the Corporation. On his death in 1975 Lord Bolingbroke bequeathed to Lydiard House everything he owned, which originated from his ancestral home, subject to the life interest of his companion/housekeeper.

Since then items including:

• furniture
• silver
• ceramics
• and family memorabilia have been returned to the house.

In 1986 a major portion of this bequest returned on the Council’s buying out of the aforementioned life interest. The remaining items from the legacy were donated in 1994 and 1995.

The collection today is an amalgamation of gifts, bequests, purchases and long loans.  

Significant loans include those from:

• the Board of Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum (several pieces of 18th Century fine furniture).
• Temple Newam House
• the Trustees from the Sir Walter St John School
• and private individuals

make an important contribution to the house.

Collection Categories

A. Fine furniture (mid-18th-early 19th Century); much originating from the house.

B. St John family Portrait Collection

(late 16th-early 19th Century including works by:

• Mary Beale
• John Riley
• Cornelius Jensen
• Isaak Whood
• Michael Wright
• Johnathan Richardson
• Joseph Highmore
• and Sir Peter Lely). In addition there are a group of St John family miniatures, which include works by John Smart and S Hayter.

C. Artistic works by the acclaimed 18th century amateur artist Lady Diana (Spencer), second Viscountess Bolingbroke, including examples of her decorative wall panels.

D. Period ceramics, silver and glassware, mostly originating from the house.

E. St John family memorabilia, including paper ephemera and photographs, costume relating to the St John family and Lydiard House.

F. Fittings, including chimney pieces by Henry Cheere, plaster busts (part of 18th Century decorations), early 19th Century flock wallpaper and early 17th century painted window by Abraham Van Linge.

Collecting Policy

Priority will be given to collecting items originating from Lydiard House and/or pertaining to the Wiltshire branch of the St John family i.e. pictures, furnishings, family memorabilia and personal accessories for displaying in the State Rooms. Priority will also be given to building up the archive of family documents, paper ephemera and photographs and gathering material from the wider environs of the Bolingbroke Estate to reflect/represent the work and conditions of tenants and workers on the estate. This would draw on material from the parishes of Lydiard Tregoze, Lydiard Millicent, Purton, Clyffe Pypard, Broad Hinton and Wootton Bassett.

Collecting will also extend to filling ‘gaps’ in the room settings with suitable period pieces and a limited number of period display cases for the presentation of small exhibits.

Transfer of Title

A transfer of title document establishes ownership of items being acquired by the museum.

The owner (or a depositor acting on behalf of the owner) transfers ownership of the item(s) to the museum, without conditions.

If the items have been donated, the depositor confirms that they are given to the museum as an absolute and perpetual gift.

If the items have been purchased, the depositor confirms that he or she was the absolute owner of the item(s) or had full power to sell the item(s), prior to the purchase.

If the item(s) are a bequest, the depositor confirms that their acquisition by the museum was at the wish of the deceased, and encloses a copy of the relevant will and probate act.