Historic Buildings

The Railway Village Experience – Swindon. The project is located in the former “New Swindon” town square known today as Emlyn Square. It’s in the Heart of Swindon’s GWR Railway Village Conservation Area and where the Cricketers is located.

The vision is for Emlyn Square to become, once again, a thriving hub at the centre of Swindon’s historic Railway Village with a stream of visitors, residents and schools enjoying our refurbished community spaces and engaging heritage activities. We will do this by consolidating and expanding our strategic placemaking programme, gradually bringing five, historically significant, but run-down public buildings around Emlyn Square, back into viable use. Through this project we will continue restoring the Cricketers to provide additional space for a Visitor Centre, community activities and our wonderful archive and collection of artefacts. New staff will enable Emlyn Square to be regularly open to local residents and tourists plus schools and community groups attending our heritage events. This project will put the Trust on a sustainable footing, by securing income and helping it to grow and develop for the benefit of the community and the historic built environment.