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Firstly thank you to everyone for their input and suggestions.  My connection to this family is Ann Ballam, Reginald Stroud's paternal grandmother.
Following census records the Swyers family seem to have started off as Swyers and then changed the surname to Richmond around 1861.  In between the 1871 and 1891 censuses they reverted to Swyers and had changed to Richmond again in the 1891 census.
Ellen was born Swyers in 1882, was Richmond in the 1891 census but married Reginald Stroud as a Swyers in 1901.  Her father Frederick was born a Swyers in 1854, married as Swyers in 1878 and died as Richmond in 1899.  His father John (son of Joseph Swyers) was born in 1818 as Swyers, married in 1849 as Swyers and died as Richmond in 1893.
Why the names changed back and forth I shall probably never discover.  Its not as if they started a new life somewhere with a new name so nobody could uncover a dark secret in their past, they remained in the Wimborne area, so their neighbours knew them as Swyers one year and Richmond the next.
Intriguing stuff!
Thanks to all for your posts, helpful as always
Caro

Reginald Stroud married Ellen Swyers (sometimes Swyres or Swyre)  in Wimborne, Dorset in Sep 1901.  They were both single.
In 1911 they are living in Bournemouth, had been married 10 years, there were 6 children of the marriage, 5 living, 1 had died.  The 5 living children, Reginald F (b. 1902), Ellen Kate (1903), Gladys (1904) Rosalie (1905) and Arthur (1909) were all living with the parents and all were born in Christchurch.
A search for the births of Stroud/Swyers children at the GRO (initially to find the child who had died) showed only one child, Reginald F, as having a mother named Swyers.   Ellen, Gladys, Rosalie and Arthur Stroud are shown as having their mother’s maiden name as Richmond, as had the child who died, Walter George (b.1907)
In Sep 1939, Reginald and Ellen were living at the same Bournemouth address together with Gladys and Arthur and also with further Stroud children-  Violet (1911),  Dorothy (1920),  Edward (1921) and Winifred (1924).  Of these only Violet’s mother was Swyers, Richmond being the mother of the others.  There are 3 further entries at the address in 1939 whose names are withheld.  These may well be 3 further children found in the birth registers, born 1917, 1918 and 1925 (all from Richmond) as was a final child, Ronald (born and died in 1930).  All the children were born in Christchurch.  I can find no marriage of a Stroud to a Richmond.  Reginald Stroud died in Christchurch in 1943 and Ellen (Swyers) Stroud in Christchurch in 1956.
Ellen Swyers was born in Sept 1882, could she be the mother of all 14 children, born between 1902 and 1930, or only the two, Reginald in 1902 and Violet in 1911, who are registered with her maiden name.  She must have been very tolerant to care for 12 of her husband’s children by another woman. Were they all adopted perhaps? Where was ‘Miss Richmond’ all this time?
Is there a simple explanation that I have completely missed?  Any ideas most welcome!

To add an even more belated reply..... If any further 'proof' is needed to show that James Parsons (b. 1846 Cranbourne, Dorset) was the rider of Caractacus (winner of the 1862 Derby) then the censuses are the answer.  In 1861 James is listed as an apprentice/groom at the stables of William Day at Woodyates, Dorset, Day trained Caractacus as a two year old in 1861 before falling out with the horse's owner, Mr. Snewing who removed the horse from Woodyates, taking the horse's lad Parsons with him.  The 1871 census show James Parsons is a groom at Tyttenhanger Green, where Caractacus was standing at the Highfield stud as a stallion.

Hello dawnsh, thanks for your reply but have had no luck I'm afraid.
I deleted my account and tried to set up a new one with recent infront of my username but it wouldn't validate settings and I got the message "couldn't finish, your username or password is incorrect"
Also I do not have "delete email from server" option, only" confirm before deleting"(which I have ticked) and "swipe to delete "(which I've tried both with tick and untick) .
I am only thankful that my emails on main computer are arriving and staying put as usual.
Regards Caro.