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unusual facts about Swindon: The Opera


Swindon: The Opera

Swindon: The Opera, is an Opera written about the large town of Swindon.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final

After a fairly quiet first half, Swindon Town led 1–0 thanks to a goal from player/manager Glenn Hoddle 3 minutes before the break.

2000–01 FA Premier League

In came Scotsman Jim Jefferies as his successor, but Jefferies could do little to alter Bradford's dismal fortunes and they went down in bottom place with just five Premiership wins all season – equalling Swindon's record low of Premiership wins which had been set seven years earlier.

Aden Flint

Flint made his Swindon debut in the 1–1 draw with Rochdale and featured in the following fixture against Leyton Orient which resulted in a 3–0 loss for the Wiltshire club.

Alan Hardwick

Hardwick left Derbyshire to become a sub-editor with the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald in Swindon in 1969, then moved on to become a news editor for the now defunct Lincolnshire Chronicle.

Archie Dagg

After retiring from farming, and settling first at Swindon, near Rothbury, and later at Rodsley Court, Rothbury, Dagg took to pipemaking, and particularly reedmaking, for which he became highly respected.

Arthur Estcourt

The son of the Reverend E. W. S. Estcourt, of Swindon, Wiltshire, and a nephew of George Sotheron-Estcourt, 1st Baron Estcourt, Estcourt began his education at Mr C. E. F. Stanford's School, Rottingdean, from where in 1907 he won a Fishmongers' Company Open Scholarship of £50 a year to Gresham's School, Holt, where he remained from 1907 to 1912.

BBC Points West

Points West is produced by BBC West from BBC Broadcasting Centre at Whiteladies Road, Bristol with reporters also based at newsrooms in Bath, Gloucester, Swindon and Taunton.

Ben Joyce

He came along with assistant manager David Byrne, eventually making his first team debut for Swindon Town on 19 April 2008, scoring a goal in the last minute of a 6–0 win.

Beornwulf of Mercia

It must have been with a high degree of confidence, therefore, that, in 825, Beornwulf marched against the West Saxon’s, but was badly defeated at the battle of Ellandun at the hands of their king Egbert, fought at present day Wroughton near Swindon, Wiltshire.

Bert Head

This system produced many future Swindon greats – Trollope, Mike Summerbee, Bobby Woodruff, Ernie Hunt, Keith Morgan, Roger Smart, Rod Thomas, David 'Bronco' Layne and Don Rogers to name but a few – and, as they gradually climbed the league table, the team earned the nickname, "Bert's Babes".

Billy Silto

After retirement, Silto settled in the Swindon area where the sporting heritage would continue with his son Joseph Silto playing and later captaining England at Table Tennis playing against notable world names including 5 times World Champion Viktor Barna, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest players of all time.

British Rail Class 42

The early withdrawal dates meant that TOPS numbers were never worn, although the Swindon-built locomotives were allocated TOPS Class 42 and the NBL examples Class 43.

Britwell

Britwell was one of a number of London County Council estates built at the time, with other estates in places including Langley and Swindon.

Brunel FM

The station broadcast both local and networked programmes which covered Royal Wootton Bassett, Wroughton, Cricklade, Highworth, Purton and Swindon area.

Coate Water Country Park

In 2004, Swindon Borough Council and the University of Bath published plans to develop land next to the park as a new campus.

Coventry Bees

On 28 October 2007, the Bees lifted the Elite League Knockout Cup for the third time in their history, defeating the Swindon Robins in the final, completing a clean sweep of all three major trophies, having already annexed the Craven Shield by beating Swindon Robins and the Poole Pirates over the three leg final.

Darren Dykes

Following his release by Swindon, Dykes had an unsuccessful trial with Maltese side Marsaxlokk before returning to Buckingham Town.

Durocornovium

The town, encompassing around 25 hectares at its peak, was located at Nythe Farm, east of the A419 adjacent to modern Swindon, although the site is usually associated with the village of Wanborough to the southeast.

Egbert of Wessex

It was also in 825 that one of the most important battles in Anglo-Saxon history took place, when Egbert defeated Beornwulf of Mercia at Ellendun—now Wroughton, near Swindon.

GWR 4000 Class 4003 Lode Star

Lode Star was preserved at the Great Western Museum in Swindon from 1962, and was transferred to the National Railway Museum in York in 1992, where it is a static non-working exhibit.

Hulbert

Robin Hulbert, an association football player for Darlington F.C and Swindon Town.

Jasper Fforde

Originating with the Fforde Ffestival in September 2005, the Fforde Ffiesta (cf. Ford Fiesta) is now an annual event built around Fforde's books and held in Thursday Next's home town of Swindon.

John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell

Lord Eatwell was educated at Headlands Grammar School in Swindon in Wiltshire, followed by Queens' College at the University of Cambridge, where he gained a B.A., followed by Harvard University as a Kennedy Scholar, where he obtained a Ph.D. and returned to Queens' as a research fellow.

Jon Gittens

During his four seasons with Swindon, the club reached the play-offs twice (in 1988–89 and again in 1989–90), but failed to gain promotion to the First Division.

Kevin Figes

Quartet gigs in Abergavenny, Cardiff, London (606), Sherbourne, Stratford-upon-Avon, Swindon, Bristol (Be-Bop and The Old Duke) and Glastonbury Festival including a live radio 3 broadcast.

Louis Thompson

Thompson started his career at Swindon Town where he followed his older brother Nathan Thompson through the Wiltshire football club's youth system under the guidance of former Wales international footballer and Swindon coach, Paul Bodin.

Lydiard Tregoze

In 1943, the local authority, the Corporation of Swindon, bought the house and its park from Henry, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke, in a dilapidated state.

Mercian Supremacy

While the precise period during which the Mercian Supremacy existed remains uncertain (depending upon whether the reigns of Penda and Wulfhere are included), the end of the era is generally agreed to be around 825, following the defeat of King Beornwulf at the Battle of Ellandun, (near the present Swindon).

Miles Master

A total of 3,227 Masters were built by Phillips and Powis Aircraft Limited at Woodley, Berkshire; South Marston, Swindon, Wiltshire; and Doncaster, South Yorkshire, the largest number produced of any Miles aircraft type.

Milford on Sea

David Peach (Gillingham, Southampton (FA Cup Final 1976), Swindon Town, Orient and England u/23 footballer).

Mulroney: The Opera

The film, budgeted at $3.8 million (CAD), is directed by Larry Weinstein, who previously worked on nine operas with Dan Redican and Alexina Louie.

Néstor Lorenzo

Lorenzo played 27 times for Swindon scoring 2 goals - one on his debut at the County Ground against Portsmouth F.C. in a 3-0 win and one away at Watford F.C. in a 2-2 draw.

Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council

Its head office was at Polaris House in Swindon, Wiltshire, but it also operated three scientific sites: the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) in Edinburgh, the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING) in La Palma and the Joint Astronomy Centre (JAC) in Hawaii.

Paul Caddis

Swindon began the season with new addition Oliver Risser as captain, but Caddis took the armband after Risser suffered an injury.

Preserved GWR Modified Hall Class locomotives

The locomotive was built by British Railways to GWR specifications at Swindon in January 1949, and named after the Yorkshire stately home.

Queens Park, Swindon

Queens Park is a public park, located near the Regent Circus area of Swindon town centre.

Rhys Evans

When Swindon signed Tom Heaton on loan from Manchester United until 2 January 2006, it allowed Evans to have exploratory surgery on the knee.

Sigismund Payne Best

His ashes were scattered in the Garden of Remembrance of the crematorium in Swindon.

Starfish site

As of 2000, there is a relatively intact control bunker for a co-located Starfish and Quick Light (QL) site at Liddington Hill overlooking Swindon.

Stationary steam engine

This series reproduces some 1,500 images from the Steam Engine Record made by George Watkins between 1930 and 1980, which is now in the Watkins Collection at English Heritage's National Monuments Record at Swindon, Wilts.

Stroudwater Navigation

There was a dip in the carriage of merchandise in 1810, when the Kennet and Avon Canal opened and provided a more convenient route from Bristol to London, but it picked up again after 1819, when the North Wilts Canal opened, providing a link from Latton to Abingdon via Swindon and the Wilts and Berks Canal, which was easier than using the Thames.

Swindon Town F.C. Reserves and Youth

Swindon Town's Youth Team were FA Youth Cup finalists in 1964, where they were beaten over two legs by a Manchester United side containing George Best.

Swindon Works

In the 1960s, Swindon Borough Council applied to demolish much of the village, but poet and railway enthusiast Sir John Betjeman led a successful campaign to preserve it.

William Pitt

William Baker Pitt (1856–1936), founder of Swindon Town F.C. and Catholic prebendary

Wiltshire Museum

The natural history collection includes remains of a plesiosaur called Bathyspondylus found at Swindon in 1774.


see also