Bedford
General History
Bedford 1920-1939 by Mr. Frank Richards

Bedford > General History > Reminiscences> Frank Richards

The People

One thing that that was most evident in pre-war Bedford was that it was a very class-ridden town. This was mainly due to the independent schools, but more of them later. The thing that seems ridiculous to us now was the division of social classes into thoroughfares. Roughly speaking, in the old parts of the town a road was socially superior to a street, and to live in an avenue was definitely a sign of the upper bracket. If one wants evidence of this it is to be found in the junction of George Street and Shaftesbury Avenue. The avenue is definitely a continuation of the street but when superior houses were constructed at the end these were designated as being part of an avenue. In the middle of the town, particularly off Midland Road were a number of mean streets, now demolished. The one that bore the lowest stamp of all was Allhallows Lane. To live there was a sign of belonging to the lowest class. Admittedly when the new estates were developed in the outskirts of the town this distinction was dented somewhat but in the centre it was apparent for many years.  I know that the theory that the independent schools were partly responsible for this division is not a new one. It began in the Victorian era when half-pay officers and retired civil servants came back from India and found that they could not afford to send their offsprings to Eton, Harrow or Roedean, but they discovered that there were some good cheaper schools in Bedford. That is why the town had so many of the military class among its inhabitants. If one glances at old directory - say 1925 one will be surprised at the number of men bearing military rank in the "Saints" roads off Kimbolton Road. It is also significant that in the same directory a list of the entire staffs of the Harpur is given but the state schools have only the name of the head teacher. I am not belittling the independent schools. I am merely reciting feats: and let me not be hard on people who wanted a grammar school education for their children and were willing to pay for it. Until the opening of Pilgrim School in 1962 the town had no state grammar school.   This gentility rubbed off to a certain element on the working class. Most of them were very correct about their attire and it was always the custom on Sundays to don one's best suit. Youngsters of to-day who appear to wear whatever casual clothes they fancy will greet with derision the fact that in those days it was the ambition of youth to dress like their parents. To be really in with the town's smart set was to own a dinner jacket in your late teens and take your place at a Saturday night dance!  A lot of peop1e were not well off. Beggars were more in evidence and it was not uncommon to have one knock at your door in the hope of being given something to eat. Before the North Wing of Bedford hospital came into being in Kimbolton Road it was the workhouse or "union" as it was known locally, and it was a regular sight to see a pathetic stream of down-and-outs walking up the road in the early evening in the hope of getting a night's rest. Indeed it was the fate of many destitute townsfolk to finish their days in the "union".  Another fact worthy of note in the town's population was the absence of people of a foreign origin. How many there actually were I have no idea but I was familiar with only four: M de. Choisy, who taught French at the Modern School, the Arpino and Bonugli families who were both ice-cream merchants, and a West Indian bus driver a very popular fellow who lived to a considerable age and in his later years drove his own taxi. There were, of course, several boys of foreign nationality in the boarding houses of the Harpur Schools.  For all its class distinctions which we might deplore today, I honestly believe that Bedford was a much more placid place than it is today, and this not just an attack of nostalgia. A burglary made front page headlines in the local press. I am not saying that there were no brawls around the more disreputable pubs at closing time, but I never saw a serious fight. The police seemed much more in evidence in the town centre that they are to-day and we youngsters had a healthy respect for them. If we were playing football in the street and a copper rounded the corner we picked up the ball and ran for home. Riding a bike at night was almost tantamount to suicide if you hadn't got a light, and, unlike to-day, no one would be daring enough to ride on the pavement. Very few people were afraid of walking home alone at night. In any case, before the days of nite-spots, discos and extended licensing hours things seemed to quieten down very much earlier. I think the situation can be summed up by the fact that if you were in the street after midnight you were liable to be stopped by a policeman who enquired what you were doing. Were they happier days? that surely is a matter of opinion, but I think it is fair to say that they were much less hectic.

Page last updated: 22nd January 2014