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Joseph Street, SWINDON, SN1 5LW

On the north bank of the former Wilts & Berks canal. Built between 1885 and 1899. The canal closed in 1914.

On the north bank of the former Wilts & Berks canal. Built between 1885 and 1899. The canal closed in 1914.

Double yellow lines and bollards, because this is road access to the back of houses, as well as a public footpath. The Wilts & Berks canal opened in 1810, linking the Kennet & Avon canal with the River Thames and running right through Swindon. It closed in 1914, but is now partly restored.

This terrace of houses is at the southern edge of the small but distinctive area of Victorian houses built by the Great Western Railway specifically for Welsh workers and their families. This is a view to the west. Car parking in the central area of Swindon is at a premium.

Between Westcott Place and Albion Street, Swindon. The Wilts & Berks canal opened in 1810, linking the Kennet & Avon canal with the River Thames and running right through Swindon. It closed in 1914, but is now partly restored.

This small area of housing, contained in an area of about 150 metres by 120 metres, was developed in the 1800s by the Great Western Railway to house workers from Wales and their families. The chapel is now used for other purposes, probably storage. A plaque on the front is dated 1866. Unlike the larger Railway Village http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/511606 Cambria Place never passed into Council ownership and isn't listed so it has become an area of private sector houses. This has meant that it has, to some extent, lost its integrity but I don't think that matters a great deal. Residents here take a pride in their properties.

Facing the end of Clifton Street, with access from both Radnor Street and William Street, Clifton Street Schools comprised both infant and junior schools. They were opened on this site in stages, over a short period of years commencing in 1884. In 1950 there was considerable enlargement and alterations. Over the central windows is engraved "Clifton Street Schools". On the front boundary wall is a street name sign for Radnor Street. When photographed the schools were still in use. Some years ago they closed and pupils went to the newly built Robert Le Kyng Primary School in nearby Westcott Street. Today the buildings have another use, as can be seen in the recent photograph of Brian Robert Marshall:- Image The building externally has not changed much, except that the brick built boundary wall with metal railings, that used to front Radnor Street, has been demolished so as to provide car parking.

This fine Victorian redbrick school building has another life now as the offices of SSSL Ltd (Swindon Silicon Systems Limited) a hi-tech company. To quote from their website: "Swindon Silicon Systems Limited is an innovative fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops and supplies highly integrated, performance driven, affordable, Custom Mixed Signal ASIC's and specialises in sensor interfaces for the Automotive and Industrial sectors."