Residents can join a free 90-minute guided tour of Radnor Street Cemetery in Swindon, Wiltshire, on 29 March 2026 to learn about Victorian history and local railway stories. The event starts at 2 PM at the cemetery gates and is part of a series of commemorations marking 40 years since the closure of the Swindon Railway Works.
The walk is led by local historian Frances Bevan and Andy Binks, who is the chair of the Swindon Society. Many early railway workers from the Great Western Railway are buried at the site, which opened in 1881 to provide more burial space for the growing town.
The cemetery contains around 33,000 burials across 11.5 acres, including 104 graves from the World Wars. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, there are 86 burials from the First World War, 14 from the Second World War and 4 classified as non-war grave on the grounds.
This event links to a new exhibition at the STEAM Museum called The Last Blast, which tells the story of the Swindon Works. The factory shut down on 26 March 1986 after 143 years of engineering, and Swindon Borough Council is supporting several events this week to mark the anniversary.
The cemetery stopped being used for new burial plots in the 1970s and was turned into a Local Nature Reserve in 2005. It now serves as a quiet green space for the community, and the upcoming tour is open to anyone aged 12 and over who wants to discover the town’s Victorian past.
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