Pictures of Bedford

About Bedford

After the Saxons built a fortified settlement at Bedford in 915, the Danes pillaged it in 1010, and Henry II granted it a charter in 1166. Today Bedford is the County town with a beautiful riverside setting on the great River Ouse. Bedford is an educational centre noted for its Harper Trust Schools and its associations with with native son John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress, who was born in 1628 at Elstow on the outskirts of Bedford.
Bunyan was arrested in 1660 for Nonconformist preaching and he spent the next 12 years where he began his world famous book; the religious allegory Pilgrim's Progress, which was published in 1678. Since then, Pilgrims Progress has been translated into over 200 different languages and is one of the most successful books ever printed.

Many of Bedfords attractions are centered around John Bunyan, with statues and museums, one of which has on display over 150 copies of Pilgrims Progress from all around the world. The Bunyan Meeting House on Mill Street displays relics of the writers life, and the Bedford County Library contains his work including a copy of his first book which was published in 1656, Some Gospel Truths Opened.