Goddard family
Encyclopedia
The Goddard family were a prominent landed family
chiefly living in the northern region of the English
counties of Wiltshire
and Hampshire
and the western part of Berkshire
, between the Tudor period
and the late modern era
.
The Goddard family were established at Upper Upham
House, near Aldbourne
, from at least the late 15th century. From 1563 until 1927, the family were lords of the manor
of Swindon
, living on the Goddard Estate in The Lawns. Other important manors included Clyffe Pypard
and Ogbourne St George in Wiltshire, Standen at Hungerford
in Berkshire
and Stargroves
at East Woodhay
in Hampshire.
s, 40 cottages, 2 water mills, 100 gardens, 100 orchards, 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land, 200 acre (0.809372 km²) of meadows, 1000 acres (4 km²) of heath
, 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) of woods, 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) of pasture
and one dovecote
.
The estate included the area known today as the Lawns, and was bounded by the High Street and the site of Christchurch.
The Manor house
was rebuilt around 1770; it is probable that this was on the site of a mediaeval building. The Manor building was known as Swindon House until 1850, and is now known as the Lawn.
The family home was a double-cube fronted building of brick
with stone dressings
and a baluster
parapet. To the east of this was a five bedroom dining block that looked out onto the gardens.
When last occupied by the family, the Lawn had an outer and inner hall on the ground floor (giving access to a lobby
and drawing room
), a dining room
with adjoining study
, billiard room
, library
and gun room.
There were two staircases leading to the various bedrooms, some with adjoining dressing rooms and also the nursery
and servants' quarters
.
The grounds included an arboretum
, lawns, artificial lakes and ornamental garden
s and was used for entertaining, garden parties and fête
s. During cold periods the frozen lakes were used by the family and local residents for ice skating
.
The last of the male line, Major Fitzroy Pleydell Goddard, a diplomat
, died in 1927. His widow, Eugenia Kathleen, left Swindon in 1931. Subsequent to this, the house remained empty until it was occupied by British and American forces during World War II
. Damaged by the military, it was bought from The Crown
by Swindon Corporation in 1947 for £16,000. The sale included 53 acres (214,483.6 m²) of land, the Manor house and the adjacent Holy Rood Church.
The house itself was derelict by 1952 and demolished. The Manor grounds were opened as parkland and remain so. Today; the wood, lake, sunken garden, elements of the walls and the gateposts at the entrance to Lawns are all open to the public. The site of the former stables are now the Planks auction house.
of Swindon in 1563 and his descendant family were Lords of the Manor up until the 20th century.
Descent is from Father to Son unless noted.
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
chiefly living in the northern region of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
counties of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
and Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
and the western part of Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, between the Tudor period
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
and the late modern era
Modern history
Modern history, or the modern era, describes the historical timeline after the Middle Ages. Modern history can be further broken down into the early modern period and the late modern period after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution...
.
The Goddard family were established at Upper Upham
Upper Upham
Upper Upham is a hamlet and deserted medieval village in the civil parish of Aldbourne in the English county of Wiltshire. Its nearest town is Marlborough, which lies approximately south-west from the hamlet, just off the Swindon border....
House, near Aldbourne
Aldbourne
Aldbourne is a village and civil parish about northeast of Marlborough in Wiltshire, England. It is in a valley in the south slope of the Lambourn Downs, part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, from at least the late 15th century. From 1563 until 1927, the family were lords of the manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, living on the Goddard Estate in The Lawns. Other important manors included Clyffe Pypard
Clyffe Pypard
Clyffe Pypard is a village and civil parish about south of Wootton Bassett in North Wiltshire.The parish includes the hamlet of Bushton.- History :...
and Ogbourne St George in Wiltshire, Standen at Hungerford
Hungerford
Hungerford is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 9 miles west of Newbury. It covers an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 5,559 .- Geography :...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
and Stargroves
Stargroves
Stargroves is a manor house and associated estate at East Woodhay in the English county of Hampshire. It best known for being the home of Mick Jagger during the 1970s and a recording venue for The Rolling Stones and various other rock bands.-History:...
at East Woodhay
East Woodhay
East Woodhay is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, situated approximately south-west of Newbury in Berkshire. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,794....
in Hampshire.
The Lawns estate in Swindon
Thomas Goddard's purchase were said to include - profits of the fairs and the weekly market, 60 messuageMessuage
In law, the term messuage equates to a dwelling-house and includes outbuildings, orchard, curtilage or court-yard and garden. At one time messuage supposedly had a more extensive meaning than that conveyed by the words house or site, but such distinction no longer survives.A capital messuage is the...
s, 40 cottages, 2 water mills, 100 gardens, 100 orchards, 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land, 200 acre (0.809372 km²) of meadows, 1000 acres (4 km²) of heath
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
, 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) of woods, 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) of pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
and one dovecote
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...
.
The estate included the area known today as the Lawns, and was bounded by the High Street and the site of Christchurch.
The Manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
was rebuilt around 1770; it is probable that this was on the site of a mediaeval building. The Manor building was known as Swindon House until 1850, and is now known as the Lawn.
The family home was a double-cube fronted building of brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
with stone dressings
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
and a baluster
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
parapet. To the east of this was a five bedroom dining block that looked out onto the gardens.
When last occupied by the family, the Lawn had an outer and inner hall on the ground floor (giving access to a lobby
Lobby (room)
A lobby is a room in a building which is used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer or an entrance hall.Many office buildings, hotels and skyscrapers go to great lengths to decorate their lobbies to create the right impression....
and drawing room
Drawing room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained. The name is derived from the sixteenth-century terms "withdrawing room" and "withdrawing chamber", which remained in use through the seventeenth century, and made its first written appearance in 1642...
), a dining room
Dining room
A dining room is a room for consuming food. In modern times it is usually adjacent to the kitchen for convenience in serving, although in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level...
with adjoining study
Study (room)
A study is a room in a house which is used for paperwork, computer work, or reading. Historically, the study of a house was reserved for use as the private office and reading room of a family father as the formal head of a household, but today studies are generally either used to operate a home...
, billiard room
Billiard room
A billiard room is a recreation room, such as in a house or recreation center, with a billiards, pool or snooker table...
, library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
and gun room.
There were two staircases leading to the various bedrooms, some with adjoining dressing rooms and also the nursery
Nursery (room)
A nursery is usually, in American connotations, a bedroom within a house or other dwelling set aside for an infant or toddler. A typical nursery would contain a crib , a table or platform for the purpose of changing diapers , as well as various items required for the care of the child...
and servants' quarters
Servants' quarters
Servants' quarters are those parts of a building, traditionally in a private house, which contain the domestic offices and staff accommodation. From the late 17th century until the early 20th century they were a common feature in all large houses...
.
The grounds included an arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
, lawns, artificial lakes and ornamental garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s and was used for entertaining, garden parties and fête
Fête
Fête is a French word meaning festival, celebration or party, which has passed into English as a label that may be given to certain events.-Description:It is widely used in England and Australia in the context of a village fête,...
s. During cold periods the frozen lakes were used by the family and local residents for ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
.
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The last of the male line, Major Fitzroy Pleydell Goddard, a diplomat
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
, died in 1927. His widow, Eugenia Kathleen, left Swindon in 1931. Subsequent to this, the house remained empty until it was occupied by British and American forces during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Damaged by the military, it was bought from The Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
by Swindon Corporation in 1947 for £16,000. The sale included 53 acres (214,483.6 m²) of land, the Manor house and the adjacent Holy Rood Church.
The house itself was derelict by 1952 and demolished. The Manor grounds were opened as parkland and remain so. Today; the wood, lake, sunken garden, elements of the walls and the gateposts at the entrance to Lawns are all open to the public. The site of the former stables are now the Planks auction house.
Lords of the manor of Swindon
Thomas Goddard of Upham acquired the ManorManorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Swindon in 1563 and his descendant family were Lords of the Manor up until the 20th century.
Descent is from Father to Son unless noted.
- 1563-1567 Thomas Goddard
- Originally from Upham, a small village south of Swindon, Thomas Goddard acquired the Manor of Swindon in 1563 from the Crown. He also purchased the Crown Inn later re-named the Goddard Arms and to become Swindon's de facto Town Hall, CourthouseCourthouseA courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...
and Council rooms until the mid-19th century.- 1568-1614 Richard Goddard
- 1614-1641 Thomas Goddard
- Granted the right to hold Markets and Fairs in the town in 1626 from the King.
- 1644-1650 Richard Goddard
- 1651-1683 Thomas Goddard (minor until 1669 with his mother as guardian until 1656 and Thomas Bowman until 1669)
- 1683-???? Thomas Goddard
- Converted one of the Estate's alms housesAlmshouseAlmshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
into the town's first Market House in 1703.- ????-1732 Richard Goddard
- 1732-1742 Pleydell Goddard (Brother of Richard Goddard)
- 1745-1754 Ambrose Goddard (Cousin of Pleydell Goddard)
- 1757-1770 Thomas Goddard (Eldest son of Ambrose Goddard)
- 1771-1815 Ambrose Goddard (Youngest son of Ambrose Goddard)
- Director of the Wilts and Berks CanalWilts and Berks CanalThe Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington, near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a branch to the Thames and Severn Canal at Latton near...
, donated site for Christ Church- 1852-1895 Ambrose Lethbridge Goddard
- Born December 9, 1819, died November 15, 1898. Deputy-Chairman of the M&SWJRMidland and South Western Junction RailwayThe Midland and South Western Junction Railway was, until the 1923 Grouping, an independent railway built to form a north-south link between the Midland and London and South Western Railways allowing the Midland and other companies' trains to reach the port of Southampton.-Formation:The M&SWJR...
.- 1895-1927 Fitzroy Pleydell Goddard
- Major in the British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, diplomat and also served a period as the High Sheriff of WiltshireHigh Sheriff of WiltshireThis is a list of High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.Until the 14th century the shrievalty was held ex officio by the castellans of Old Sarum.-To 1400:*1066: Edric*1067-1070: Philippe de Buckland*1085: Aiulphus the Sheriff*1070–1105: Edward of Salisbury...
during the period 1904-1907.
MPs for Cricklade
- Thomas Goddard (b. August 9, 1777 d. January 1814) is recorded as being the Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for CrickladeCricklade (UK Parliament constituency)Cricklade was a parliamentary constituency named after the town of Cricklade in Wiltshire.From 1295 until 1885, Cricklade was a parliamentary borough, returning two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, previously to the House of Commons of...
from 1806-12. - Ambrose Goddard (b. October 9, 1779 d. November 29, 1854) 1837-41.
- Ambrose Lethbridge Goddard (Lord of the Manor) 1847-68 and 1874-80 (serving alongside Sir Daniel GoochDaniel GoochSir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet was an English railway and transatlantic cable engineer and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1885...
).