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Bedfordshire Heritage Library

Local and family history A-Z > By library

Please do not use hand sanitiser in the Heritage Library; instead, wash your hands with soap and water before you visit.


  • John Bunyan's signatureThe Bedfordshire Heritage Library is a special area in Bedford Central Library housing items from the local history collection that are rare, valuable or delicate and are of particular historical significance. It is open weekly on Tuesdays and at other times by appointment
  • It provides a quiet and peaceful space where you can consult:
    • Page from old John Bunyan editionA selection of old county, town and village histories
    • Local directories and poll books
    • Special collections of works by John Bunyan and Mark Rutherford
    • Early journals and magazines, including 'The Wasp', the journal of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment, 1922 - 1964
    • Bound volumes of newspapers
    • Old maps, including the first edition Ordnance Survey mapping for the county
    • Complete set of Victoria County Histories
    • Book cover illustration of a hot air balloon crossing the channel'Gentleman's magazine'
    • 'Notes and queries' (journal)
    • Volumes of alumni of Cambridge University (from the earliest times to 1900) and of Oxford University (1715-1886)
       
  • The Bedfordshire Heritage Library was officially opened on 11th May 2004 by archaeologist, historian and 'Time Team' television presenter Guy de la Bedoyere

Bedfordshire Heritage Library contact details and opening times


Page last updated: 15th June 2023