The village held a history exhibition in the old Reading Room at the top of Sprays Hill in March 2000. It included photos and memorabilia borrowed from villagers, factual research and newspaper clippings, and some fascinating personal recollections from residents past and present. Much of the material from the exhibition has been reproduced on this website and was put into a book, which was been distributed free to every household.
The exhibition was opened by Michael Maundrell who owned Manor Farm and much of the land around Calstone. Unfortunately he is no longer with us but part of his legacy remains in the “memories” that were captured in 2006 and are available here. He also allowed me access to a treasure trove of farm records, photographs etc many of which are also accessible on this website. Thanks to the generosity of the Maundrell family the bulk of these records are now available to the public at the excellent Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre.
A promise was made in 2000 that all of the material would be put online so that it would be preserved for the future and be made more accessible. This website is only 21 years late!
Below is a short video clip showing Michael opening the exhibition in March 2000.
Below are some photographs of the exhibition. A future post will talk more about the Reading Room but it does feature in many of the “Village Voices”. If you click on search in the top right side of the page and type in “Reading Room” you will find a lot of interesting recollections.
