Bedford

Bedford was first recorded in 1011 as "Bedanfordscir', meaning the shire or county of Bedford, which itself means Beda's ford (river crossing).

An ancient county town on the River Great Ouse where the Embankment is renowned as one of the finest river settings with gardens and water meadows, its suspension bridge and bandstand.

The town has many fine buildings and connections with John Bunyan, Glenn Miller and the lace industry.

Bunyan's Home 17 St Cuthbert's Street is the site of the cottage Bunyan and his family lived in 1655. The cottage was demolished in 1838 but Bunyan's Deed of Gift was discovered behind a brick in the chimney corner. The Deed of Gift made in 1655 left his entire estate to his wife Elizabeth. The document is on display in the Bunyan Museum.

A plaque in the pavement at the junction of High St and Silver St marks where the County Gaol stood till 1801. It is believed that Bunyan served both his prison terms in this gaol from 1660 to 1672, and 1676 to 1677. It was during his first incarceration that he started writing ''Pilgrims Progress" and where he would have written the immortal lines like "I lighted on a certain place where was a den, and laid me down in