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

Bedford > General History > Reminiscences> Frank Richards

The Town

I suppose that there is little point in saying that Bedford was a much smaller place than it is now. Everybody knows that. But it may come as a surprise to the newcomer to learn of the great affinity it had with its surrounding shire, and it is no exaggeration to say that from almost any part of the town one could be in the country in a twenty-minute walk.  These memories of the semi-rural atmosphere flood back to me with great clarity. Castle Road ended just past George Street where one could go through' a little gate leading to some allotments and saunter to the separate village of Goldington. Newnham Avenue, in those days was called Newnham Lane and that is exactly what it was: a quiet country lane. When I look at the continuous stream of noisy traffic down there I think of one of my earliest memories of it: that of seeing a toad crawl across its gravelled surface to disappear in a deep ditch on the other side of the road. Near the southern end on the site of the roundabout was a large pond where we used to catch newts. At the bottom was Newnham Bridge - not concrete, but a delightful rustic construction. I can remember too when there were no houses on the east side of London Road, and the Park Hotel was the last building before the borough boundary in Kimbolton Road. I think that all this atmosphere can be summed up by the fact than in the twenties I stopped more than once in the High Street to let a flock of sheep go by.   Obviously that period saw nothing like the development in the town that occurred in later years, but there was a steady, if slow movement, and I sure that local historians must view with bitterness the number of ancient buildings that were demolished in the name of progress; the seventeenth century houses that stood in the Broadway; the "White Horse" inn on the site of Marks and Spencer's, and "The Old George", the mediaeval hostelry swallowed up by Debenham's.  In those days the shopping centre was undoubtedly the High Street, Silver Street and Midland Road. In the early twenties there were no chain stores, but towards the end of the decade came Woolworth's and later Marks And Spencer. This area abounded with grocers, and in 1930 the High Street and Silver Street boasted nine grocers and five butchers between them. The big banks had their buildings in the High Street much as they do to-day, but estate agents and building societies were rare and they certainly had no gaudy shop fronts as they do now. If one looks at the advertisements in a 1930 directory it is quite evident that the locally-owned business has suffered a sad decline. I should calculate that ninety-per cant of those advertisers exist no longer. I am sure that many of my older readers will recall such names as Braggins, Canvin, E.P.Rose and Henry Bacchus. I think I am right in saying that only three shops in the High Street have survived: Goldings, the ironmongers,and the two tobacconists: Luddington's and Harrison and Simmonds.  Bedford has always been a town rich in public houses, but the interesting fact is that at the end of the thirties there were more than there are now. Admittedly when the new estates were built a few licensed premises were constructed, but these nowhere make up for the number that were demolished. In 1925 there were about eighty pubs in the town, eight of which were in Cauldwell Street. An opposite trend has been in the number of restaurants and cafes. Today they are numerous and one can sample food from practically any country on earth, but eating places then were rare, the most notable being Dudeney and Johnston's, while the tea-rooms, like the Cadena in the Arcade were very genteel establishments.  Although some shops stayed open very late in the evenings, and I can remember Woolworth's closing at nine on a Saturday night, there were none open on a Sunday, which imparted a peaceful atmosphere to the town. Thursday was literally early closing day with scarcely a shop open in the afternoon.  There is no doubt that they were certainly the good old days as far as traffic was concerned. Cars, of course were much fewerand one had to be in the middle-class to own one, as a new car cost a hundred-and-twenty pounds! Not only were there fewer on the roads, but there were no parking restrictions whatever. The most popular means of transport was the bicycle, particularly around five o'clock when the work force from Howard's, AlIen's and the Igranic turned out. This period saw a steady decline in horse traffic although in the twenties the baker and milkman did their rounds in this form of transport. Brewers drays held out held out for quite a time as did the coal merchants and railway delivery carts.  As far as public transport was concerned there was, of course, a bus service with much fewer routes than there are to-day. The two main ones were George Street to Kempston and Queen's Park to Southend. The fare on these was tuppence. The country buses had their terminus in the Broadway and until about nineteen thirty had open tops. Round about the the mid-thirties we saw the introduction of traffic lights, one of the first being at the High Street-Silver Street junction. One way streets were unheard of and I believe the first were round the old St.Cuthbert's Church, while the first roundabout was at the Castle Road-Rothsay Road junction around the circular shrubbery.   Yes, our town was certainly a smaller, quieter, and in some ways a much more rural place than it is to-day. If I may return to my earlier reference to the toad in Newnham Lane, it brings back to me one or two things that illustrate another side of our so-called progress. At almost any spot in the river one could see shoals of minnows; water vole were a common sight swimming to their burrows near Newnham bridge, and one could even get a glance at an occasional otter. Bats fluttered through the air on summer evenings, and in springtime the now dark and polluted waters of Bedford Park lake were alive with millions of tadpoles. Have we really progressed? Materially, yes. But generally, I sometimes doubt it.

Page last updated: 22nd January 2014