The ceiling is semihexagonal, following the line of the rafters and crosscollars, while projecting down into the room, which is panelled with early 17th-century oak panelling, is a roof truss having thin solid curved braces meeting in the middle with a small carved boss.
In the drawing-room at the north-west of the house is a much restored early 17th-century bay window, containing fragments of old stained glass, and in the south-east of the house, looking into Cardington Street, is an 18th-century panelled dining-room. Further east, on the same side, is a plain, symmetrical fronted brick house, three stories high, bearing the date Before it leaves the town and emerges into the open country traces of the King's Ditch, dating from Saxon times, are to be seen on the south side of the Cardington Road.
The southern part of the town includes the County Hospital, standing in 10 acres of grounds. It was opened in , and occupies the site of a more ancient building founded in As is the case north of the river, numerous new roads are springing up in the south, though here they consist mainly of small modern houses, supplying the needs of an industrial population. The parishes of St. Peter, and St. Cuthbert were inclosed by Act of Parliament in and that of St.
Mary in Unlike most old towns Bedford has now comparatively few ancient inns, though the town appears to have been always well supplied, there being upwards of sixty in the middle of the 18th century. Its history can be traced back certainly to the 15th century, and probably dates from much earlier. In Richard Illyngworth died seised of ' a messuage called the George and four shops in Bedford,' which passed to his son Ralph.
Blackwell,' was used by the Baptists as a place of worship. In the centre is a large gateway, and on one side the figure of St. George under a Gothic niche. Paul's Square and Silver Street. The building, which is of the 15th century, is built of stone with a tile roof, and still preserves its original arrangement and character.
It is in plan rectangular, running parallel with the high road, and is divided into two rooms on the ground floor by a central archway.
Those rooms were entered through doorways in the north and south walls of the archway, which stood opposite one another but are now blocked up. The room to the south had a fireplace in its west wall, on either side of which was a window of two cinquefoiled lights with intersecting tracery under a square head, while at the north end of this wall was a small pointed arched doorway.
There were no openings in the south wall, but the room was lighted on the east side by a large square-headed two-light window. In the east wall of the room on the opposite side of the archway was a corresponding window, and in the north wall was one of a similar character but with cinquefoil headed lights. In the west wall was a fireplace, to the north of which was a two-light window similar to those on the other side of the archway.
The central arches are three-centred and have external drip mouldings, and on either side of the eastern one are small niches containing shields, the blazoning of which is now entirely worn off. Over the south shield and above the string course of the upper story is a bracket supporting what was once the figure of St. George slaying the dragon. The upper story was divided into two rooms by a partition that came over the north wall of the archway under, but there is no evidence now remaining to show how these rooms were reached from below.
The room to the south was lighted by three windows, two in the west wall and one in the east, while the other room, which had a central fireplace in the west wall, had five windows, one on either side of the fireplace, one in the north and two in the east wall.
In addition to those already described, there were two small single-light square-headed windows, one in the east and one in the opposite wall just above the upper floor level and north of the archway. Being so near the floor it is difficult to say for what purpose they were intended.
A little south of the old George Inn stands a Jacobean building now occupied by a fishmonger and at one time used as a court-house. The interior is almost entirely modernized, but the front to the High Street shows the original design. A richly moulded wooden entablature divides the shop from the upper story, and an enriched cornice marks the junction of the tile roof and the wall-head. Three oriel windows project above the shops and stop at the wall-head level, the main cornice being carried round them.
In the roof, centred through with the oriels under, are three dormer windows, while in the centre of the ground floor is a small wooden arched doorway leading through a passage to the yard behind. Above this passage at the back is a gabled wall having nicely carved original oak barge-boards.
The 'Falcon,' a 16th-century hostelry, belonged to the Bourne family in , when Richard Borne died seised of it. It was situated in St.
Paul's parish in the Poultry Market. Cuthbert's Street at the present day, though it is impossible to state with certainty that it marks the site of the ancient house. The 'Cock' and the 'Hart' were 16th-century inns whose names were still retained in The excessive number of the Bedford publichouses appears to have led to some disorderliness, and in the directors of the House of Industry are found complaining that those in receipt of parish relief were encouraged to drink.
The county gaol of Bedfordshire has always been situated within the borough of Bedford, and its history is of unusual interest not only because of John Bunyan's long imprisonment, but also because in Bedfordshire John Howard the philanthropist's schemes for prison reform found their original inspiration.
William Wylde of Biggleswade, accused of the murder of Nicholas Gullyng, complained in that he was imprisoned in Bedford Gaol for three years, 'where the other prisoners died for lack of food as would he have done, if he had not escaped therefrom. John received from the Crown a grant of loads of stone from the late monastery of Warden towards the building. It is during the latter imprisonment that he is supposed to have begun his Pilgrim's Progress , which was not published till Loyes Street.
The new building included a turnkey's lodge, cells for debtors, felons and house of correction prisoners, hot and cold baths and an oven to purify infected clothing. Separate exercise only was allowed in the yards, and meals were taken in the cells. The town gaol of Bedford, used for such offenders as came under the jurisdiction of the borough, was at one time situated in the northern of the two gatehouses on the bridge over the Ouse.
In and again in it was declared to be so out of repair as not to be habitable, fn. A temporary one was then fitted up under the town hall, and is possibly that referred to by John Howard as having no apartment for the gaoler, no courtyard and no water supply. Besides the town gaol there was as late as a lock-up for temporary detention; it then stood on the site of the old county gaol in Silver Street.
At the present time the town and county gaol are one. Bedford, which is at present well furnished with electric light and gas lamps, had in the 17th century a more primitive 'setting forth of lights,' which depended on individual private effort.
In the minutes of the Council Hall stated that from St. Peter's parish to the bridge in St. John's, probably that by which the main street crossed the King's Ditch in St. John's parish. They were to be lit at dusk and kept burning till eight, the candles were to be not more than sixteen to the pound and were to be revived when spent.
The Bedell of Beggars was to make public proclamation in the streets on St. Luke's Day, and all subsequent offenders were to be fined 1 d. Paul's parish and two for St. Mary's on condition that the parishioners subscribed to keep them burning from close of day until nine o'clock.
The following year St. John's parish was also provided with a lamp, and in the period of lighting up the streets was extended from Candlemas to Lady Day. Many field and place-names have been found in documents relating to Bedford borough. The earliest and perhaps the most interesting of such names is Kingsmead, for which in Simon de Beauchamp rendered 20 marks to the Exchequer.
Mention of a field called La Sele, which appears at the same early date, is still to be found in the 17th century. Potter Street, mentioned in the 13th century, existed until recent years, when the name of the thoroughfare was changed to Cardington Road.
High Street has been so-called from the 13th century, and probably earlier, till the present day. Other place-names may be thus summarized: Barkedych, Berdes-stapel, Blakmold, Fullers Street, Hordelhide and Linensmede appear in the 13th century; Halyday in the 13th and 14th centuries; Sannedyche or Severnedich from the 13th to the 15th century; Aldermanbury, le Bocher Rowe, Colles Lane, Forth Street, Scole later Scole Lane , Wulstondown later Wilshamdown from the 13th to the 16th century; Trumpton or Trumpetting Meadow from the 13th to the 18th century.
Loyes, all found in 16th-century documents, exist at the present day. Still, in the 19th century, the population doubled and was at 6, As the population grew, there was a need for better street lighting in Bedford. Through an Act of Parliament, there was a body of men that was created known as the improvement Commissioners. The purpose of the Improvement Commissioners was to pave the way for the street lights. In their quest, some of the old Bedford buildings were demolished so as to decongest the town.
The town got a gaslight in and in , there was the construction of Assembly Rooms for the card and ball games. The construction of the corn exchange in made it easier for people to buy and sell corn. The Bunyan Meeting House was constructed in A common similarity in most towns in the 19th century was that they were dirty and unhygienic.
This led to cholera outbreaks in and The year saw the Bedford Corporation dig several sewers and drains which were followed by the establishment of a water company in to enable the people of Bedford to get piped water. Moreover, in , the first cemetery was opened in Bedford. The Shire Hall was constructed in The Bedford Parks and a hospital were opened in and in respectively.
The Great River Ouse was used to transport wool and grain from Bedford to other markets in other towns. Iron and coal were, on the other hand, brought to Bedford.
The railway reached Bedford in This meant that the people of Bedford had alternative means of transporting their goods to and from Bedford. Through the 19th century, Bedford was a highly agricultural market town. Farm implements and brewing were the main industries, and they continued to boom in this century. With all the massive developments that took place in the 19th century and the centuries before, Bedford grew quite fast in the 20th century.
Its population in was 35, When the century was coming to an end, the population had doubled and was at 74, The rapid growth is largely due to the extension of the Bedford boundaries. This happened in The extension of the Bedford boundaries was made to include Goldington. The inclusion of Manton Heights and Brickhill where new estates were established happened after Even with all the developments, the town still remained deeply rooted in agriculture.
There was the production of farm implements to boost the agricultural sector and other machines. In addition, Bedford started making bricks. With the rapid population growth, there was a need for new and improved social amenities. This, of course, meant that the living and general conditions of the town continued to improve. As such, in , Bedford town opened its first public library followed by the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery in The annual fairs and the weekly markets had positioned Bedford town as a very important shopping centre.
This led to the opening of the Harpur Center in The Harpur Center in Bedford is usually opened seven days a week, hosts over 30 trading stores and is one of the premier shopping places in the town. The Bedford Museum was opened in while The Bunyan Museum first opened its doors in the year The early 21st century in Bedford saw the construction of the Trevor Huddleston statue in in Silver Street.
He lived between — and had greatly fought against the apartheid system in South Africa. George Haffermehl and Mrs. Warren Lewellen. The first mention of what I would consider the Bedford Day we know is in You would be happy to know that even then, the dunking booth was a big draw.
In it was actually a two-day event, with a lot of evening activities the night before. The Saturday of Bedford Day started with a Pancake Breakfast of course , a parade, a cake decorating contest, and a themed costume contest.
There was also a road race as well as a water polo match between the fire and police departments. The whole day ended with a Bean Dinner and a Block Dance for both teens and adults. The location of the modern Bedford day has changed throughout the years.
In the booths were lined up on South Road, in front of the old Town Hall. A lot of the activities took place on Bedford Common. The Citizen of the Year was presented on the steps of the old Town Hall with booths lining the street. Enjoy the day. Its mission is simple: community news for the Bedford Community. The Bedford Citizen tries to add to the sense of community by keeping everyone informed about activities going on in and around Bedford.
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