Bedford
Commemorative Plaques
Places > Bedford
Below is a list of Bedford's commemorative plaques; including over 50 blue plaques and others, viewed from the street, all within easy walking distance of the town centre.
Plaque erection dates are given in square brackets, where known.
The list is correct as of August 2019.
Thank you to local historian Stuart Antrobus who compiled the list.
- Abrahams, Harold (Athlete) - 30 Rutland Road [2012]
- Adkin, Henry (Businessman) - 57 High Street. Joint plaque with John Usher [2019]
- Allen, William Henry - Hurst Grove, adjacent to Henley Road (site of the former W H Allen's Queen's Engineering Factory) [1927]
- Barker, Ronnie (Entertainer) - 70 Garfield Street [1995]
- Barltrop, Mabel (Panacea Society Leader) - 12 Albany Road [2017]
- BBC (WW2) Staff Club - 52 De Parys Avenue [2017]
- Bedford Park (West Gate) - Park Avenue (Opposite north end of De Parys Avenue [1888]
- Bedford Training College for Teachers (Site of) - Tavistock Street (corner of The Crescent) [1982]
- Buckingham VC, William (Soldier)- St John's Street [2016]
- Bunyan, John (Preacher and religious writer) - Outdoor baptism site, Duckmill Weir, Chethams off Cardington Road [Replaced 2016]
- Bunyan, John - 17 St Cuthbert's Street
- Bunyan, John - Town Bridge, corner with Embankment (Discredited text) [1937?]
- Bunyan John - 34 St John's Street (St John Ambulance HQ). Joint plaque with John Gifford [?]
- Burnaby, Frederick Gustavus [Colonel] (Soldier, Balloonist, Adventurer & Author) - Bedford School (Junior School), St Peter's Green [2018]
- Butterfly Bridge - Between the Embankment and meadow by Longholme Boating Lake [1998]
- Carrington, Dora - 40 De Parys Avenue [2017]
- Carter, (Wilfred) George (Aeronautical Engineer) - 101 Tavistock Street [2019]
- Cherry-Garrard, Apsley (Polar Explorer) - 15 Lansdowne Road [2010]
- Church Arcade (West Arcade) - Harpur Street Entrance transparent canopy bearing the names of Bedford sportswomen and men: Harold Abrahams, Martin Bayfield, Stephanie Cook, Gail Emms, Tim Foster, Geofrrey Millman, Derek 'Budge' Rogers, Matt Skelton [2009 refurbished]
- Corn Exchange - Front facade St Paul's Square, opposite St Paul's Church [1872 Foundation stone] [1874 Opening]
- Corn Exchange - Front facade, (north side of St Paul's Square): BBC Music Day plaque noting the BBC wartime radio broadcasts from Bedford 1941 - 1945 [2017]
- County Bridge - Prebend Street [1884/1992]
- County Gaol (pre 1801 gaol where Bunyan was imprisoned) - Pavement slab on Silver Street at High Street end, to the right of the 2 Faces sculpture
- Dann, Thomas (Cemetery Superintendent/Registrar) - Gatehouse, Foster Hill Road Cemetery. Joint plaque with Albert Prosser [2021]
- Eagles, Sister Fanny Elizabeth (Church of England Deaconess) - 9 Bromham Road. Gable end of the former chapel, viewed from the Crescent. [2019]
- Fire Station - Mill Street, opposite Bunyan Meeting Hall [1888]
- Flood High Water Mark - Former Phoenix Pub, St John's Street [1823]
- Gifford, John (Protestant Minister) - 34 St John's Street (St John Ambulance HQ). Joint plaque with John Bunyan
- Granada Cinema - St Peter's Street [1996]
- Hale White, William (Author) - 3 High Street (2 plaques). Pen name 'Mark Rutherford' [1931]
- Hale White, William (Author) - 3 High Street (2 plaques). Pen name 'Mark Rutherford' [2009]
- Harpur, William, Sir (Benefactor) - 1st Floor niche above entrance to former Grammar School, St Paul's Square. West [1767]
- Harpur Centre Entrance (Royal Visit and WW1 Victory Tower) - Harpur Square entrance to Harpur Shopping Centre (former Bedford Modern School) [1919]
- Harpur Square (Re-opening) - Facade of 1830 Harpur Trust School becoming Harpur Shopping Centre in 1975, opposite the library [1976]
- Hawkins, Hester Piriam (Astronomer and Hymn Writer) - 18 Linden Road. Joint plaque with husband Joshua Hawkins. [2019]
- Hawkins, Joshua (Businessman and 5 times Mayor of Bedford) - 18 Linden Road. Joint plaque with wife Hester Piriam Hawkins. [2019]
- Howard, John (Prison reformer) - 55 Mill Street, adjacent to Bunyan Meeting churchyard and museum [?]
- Howard School Rooms (Sunday School) - Castle Lane, to rear of former Howard Independent Chapel, Mill Street [1878]
- Huddleston, Trevor (Archbishop and anti-Apartheid campaigner) - 44 Chaucer Road (Originally no. 36) [2015]
- Jackson, Thomas Jobson (Architect, Artist & Athlete) - Gatehouse, Foster Hill Road Cemetery [2021]
- Jenkins, Roy [Lord] (1920-2003) (Politician, Statesman) - 8 Cornwall Road [2020]
- Japanese Language School (Secret WW2 code training for Bletchley Park) - 52 De Parys Avenue. Joint plaque with BBC Staff Club. [2017]
- Le Mesurier, John (Actor) - 34 Chaucer Road (originally no. 26) [2015]
- Lester, Thomas (Lace Merchant) - Holly Lodge, 43 The Grove. Joint plaque with John Usher [2017]
- Longholme Bridge - Longholme Way. Two commemorative plaques erected 28 March 1974 and 15 July 1996
- Mackintosh, Aeneas (Polar explorer) - 43 Beverley Crescent [2014]
- Marconi, Gugliemo - 42 Harpur Street [2014]
- Marconi, Gugliemo - 79 Bromham Road [2014]
- Officers Key Club (WW2 social club) - 84a High Street (above door next to Poppins cafe) [2020]
- Owen's Boys School, London (Evacuee school site 1939 - 1945) - To right of the entrance to the Harpur Shopping Centre, Harpur Square [2009]
- Priory Terrace (Restoration) - Corner of Hassett Road and Bromham Road, re numbers 22-48 Bromham Road [1975]
- Philpotts, Bertha, Dame - Horne Lane entrance to Riverside Square [2017]
- Prosser, Albert (Architect) - Gatehouse, Foster Hill Road Cemetery. Joint plaque with Thomas Dann [2021]
- Royal Engineers Bridge - Footbridge between Mill Meadows and lane leading to Cardington Road [1934]
- Smyth, William (Admiral and Astronomer) - 6 The Crescent [2017]
- St Mary's Gardens (Enlarged) - Between Town Bridge and footbridge to Riverside North Development [2017]
- St Paul's Methodist Church (Site of chapel and Sunday school) - By exit from Bedford Central Library, Harpur Square [1972]
- St Paul's Square (Various sites) - 12 rectangular brown wall plaques at various sites around St Paul's Square and the nearby High Street [2009] plus pavement 'location' slabs
- Stannard, Henry John Sylvester (artist) - 68 Spenser Road [2018]
- Stannard, Theresa (artist) - 64 Spenser Road [2018]
- Stansfeld, Margaret (Educationalist) - 37 Lansdowne Road & Plantation Garden memorial stone [2011 & 2018]
- Stott, Stephen 'Etienne' (Olympic champion canoeist) - Golden post box plaque in South-West corner of St Paul's Square [2012]
- Suspension Bridge - Footbridge between the Embankment and Mill Meadowns [1888/1984]
- Town Bridge (West Side) - On the left walking from St Mary's Street to the High Street in Northerly direction. [1813]
- Town Bridge (East Side) - On the left walking from St Mary's Street to the High Street in Southerly direction. [1835]
- Town Bridge - High Street end opposite The Swan Hotel [1940]
- The Turnley Drinking Fountain - St Paul's Square, outside the South-East corner of the churchyard [1883]
- Usher, John (Architect) - Holly Lodge, 43 The Grove. Joint plaque with Thomas Lester [2017]
- Usher, John (Architect) - 57 High Street. Joint plaque with Henry Adkins [2019]
- Walmsley, Amy (Educationalist) - 14 The Crescent. (See also Bedford Training College for Teachers) [2019]
- Western, Kenneth Alfred (Music Hall and Radio Star) - 57 De Parys Avenue [2019]
Page last updated: 3rd March 2023