Bedfordshire Archives

31/08/2026

Join us this Saturday (5th September) as we help celebrate 100 years of Stewartby history at Stewartby Village Hall from Midday - 4:00pm. Free entry.
We know many of our followers have relatives who worked in the county's brickyards, or who may have even worked / lived in the village themselves. We will be illustrating the village's history with Stewartby and Kempston Hardwick Parish Council along with other organisations including London Brick Company archivist, Andrew Mortlock, David Horn of Prime Media Images and the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership

Bedfordshire Family History Society Heritage Bedford Forterra UK Bedford Architectural, Archaeological & Local History Society

24/08/2026

We will be hosting free activities for children at the new Visitor Information Centre on Silver Street on Friday, 10am-1pm. Come along, entertain the children and if you want to, ask an Archivist about anything family or local history related.

We will have a rats & ladders floor game, seal stamping with plasticine and activity sheets linked to the history of the town centre. All ages welcome!

The Visitor Information Centre is located close to the Silver Faces sculpture.

21/08/2026

Celebrating Poet's Day with the start of a verse about Millbrook by Revd E.W. Bowling, Rector of Houghton Conquest in the 1880s and 90s. At public functions he would recite yards of verse shrewdly commenting on local worthies & events, this is just the start of the poem which in total is 30 verses (150 lines) [Ref: AU39/1/6]

20/08/2026

Thinking of all those students receiving their GCSE results today. Hoping that you have achieved the results you aimed for and were conveyed to your end of year prom in a suitably stylish vehicle - but perhaps not quite the same as this one! This carriage is from a book of horse drawn vehicle designs by Nicholls & Sons of St Mary’s, Bedford. [Ref: X129/3]

17/08/2026

Who loves cats? We certainly do here at the Archives! 🐈‍⬛

To celebrate Black Cat Appreciation Day, we've delved into our collections to find a special feline to share with you.

Meet Pompey, who is waiting very patiently while having his photograph taken. This charming image is just one of the many wonderful snapshots of everyday life preserved in our archives, and we're delighted to share it in honour of our furry companions.

Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day!

14/08/2026

Its not really the weather for a warm beef drink, but we couldn't resist this vintage advert found tucked in a scrapbook for today's post [Our ref: PM3009]

12/08/2026

You know what they say about elephants—they never forget. Well, here at the archives, we certainly haven't forgotten about them! We're celebrating World Elephant Day with this wonderful photograph of Dixie giving tourists a ride in 1932 at Whipsnade Zoo. Elephants have long captured people's imagination, and this image offers a glimpse into a very different era. Dixie certainly looks every bit as majestic today as she did then.

10/08/2026

In addition to Kelly’s Directories (trade directories, which also list private residents), we have a number of street directories here in our searchroom. These are arranged by street, and then by name of resident/business/institution. They list house numbers, occupants and early directories give occupations too. Street directories can be useful for comparing against census data. Early directories may also give the name of a house as well as its number, (if it was a grander property).

The Street Directories we have were published by the newspaper firms (Bedfordshire Publishing Company and Luton News). For Bedford our coverage is 1887-1975 and for Luton 1915-1950. Not every person is listed in a street directory, since you had to pay a fee to be included once the canvassers had been round.

07/08/2026

Happy International Beer Day! 🍺
We hope you're raising a glass to celebrate!

To mark the occasion, we're highlighting a selection of beer mats from the Charles Wells collection, featuring pubs and breweries from across Bedfordshire.

These items offer a fascinating glimpse into the county's rich brewing heritage and the local establishments that have brought people together over the years.

Cheers, and Happy International Beer Day!

05/08/2026

**This Friday 7th August** Why not visit the Luton Hoo Estate Walled Garden to see the amazing repair and preservation work which has been carried out and find out about its history? The friendly and very knowledgeable researchers from Bedfordshire Gardens Trust will be on hand with more information and to answer your queries. Ticket price and times on original post

Visit a historic garden open for the National Garden Scheme: