Swindon Routes & Networks

Come and visit Historic England’s archive at the Engine House in Swindon! We are the public archive at Historic England and we are located in the Engine House, which was built in the 1840s and was formally the Great Western Railway’s Chief Mechanical Engineers and Drawing Office. We hold a public archive of architectural and archaeological records and hold over 12 million historic photographs, plans, drawings, reports, records and publications covering England's archaeology, architecture, social and local history.

With regards to the Heritage Open Day’s theme of ‘Routes - Connections - Networks,’ we are having a focus on hosting activities to reflect the theme. You will have the opportunity to see our collection and the work that we do.

You will have an opportunity to see historical photographs, participate in games and activities as well as go on a tour of the Engine House, which is part of the wider Swindon Heritage Action Zone. You will also be able to participate in a tour of the Archive store itself and gain knowledge regarding our collection and how we preserve and maintain it.

We are also hosting a poetry and paper marbling workshop around the theme, hosted by writer Olivia Douglass and artist and designer Sam Petherbridge. You can book using the link further down the page.

Timings & Tours

Saturday 14 September:

11am - 4pm (Tours at 1100, 1200, 1330, 1430)

Location & directions

The Engine House, Fire Fly Avenue, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN2 2EH

Directions:

Near the outlet centre and Bristol Street Tunnel.

Contact on day:

Aseye Negedu

Telephone number:

+447920599613

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking required

Booking conditions:

We are hosting tours of The Engine House and Archive that you can sign up to attend. We have four slots throughout the day which you can sign up to. Please meet in the reception area of the building, where you will then be taken on the tour. This will involve a fair bit of walking (1km approximately) so please take that into consideration when booking! Unfortunately we do not have parking facilities for the general public, so we would encourage you to get to the site via other means.

Booking contact name:

Aseye Negedu

Booking telephone number:

+447920599613

Booking email:

[email protected]

Booking website:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/engine-house-and-historic-england-archive-tour-heritage-open-days-2024-tickets-951284927827?aff=oddtdtcreator

Alternative booking website:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/home-soil-poetry-suminagashi-paper-marbling-workshop-tickets-920806726707?aff=oddtdtcreator

Accessibility details

If you need step free access and need to park on our site for accessibility needs, please contact Aseye Negedu: [email protected]

Additional information

Max no of people per tour:

6

Est. tour duration:

1 hour(s)

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