Welcome to the Elstow Village Website
Contents:
Elstow's Local History Archive
Elstow Picture Archive - includes Old Elstow and Modern Elstow albums
Information about local groups and organisations.
Links to other useful and informative Elstow websites.
Local Events and news
A very brief History of Elstow
Located on the southern edge of Bedford, the village has a long history, with settlements dating back at least to the Neolithic era.
For almost 500 years, it was home to a thriving Benedictine Nunnery , the remains of which are now the parish Church.
The centre of the village is a conservation area, an oasis of tranquillity, with an attractive village green - a good place for a picnic or for children to play. There is the Moot Hall - a unique medieval building, being a combined market-house/ Manor courtroom and guesthouse - and the High Street is lined with 13th and 14th century timber-framed cottages.
Elstow has held a royal charter to hold markets since the 11th century and it's May festivals are thought likely to predate that by many centuries. Images of Elstow events, people and places - ancient and modern - can be viewed in the Elstow Picture Archive.
Elstow is particularly famous for being the birthplace and home of the 17th century non-conformist preacher, reformer and world-famous author, John Bunyan.
The extensive history of this village is well documented and easily accessed: on our Local History page; on the Moot Hall website andon; Bedfordshire Record Office's Elstow Community archive pages.
You can arrange guided tours of Elstow and/or visits to Moot Hall by contacting our webmaster and local historian - Clive Arnold, who is also the Curator of Moot Hall.
For almost 500 years, it was home to a thriving Benedictine Nunnery , the remains of which are now the parish Church.
The centre of the village is a conservation area, an oasis of tranquillity, with an attractive village green - a good place for a picnic or for children to play. There is the Moot Hall - a unique medieval building, being a combined market-house/ Manor courtroom and guesthouse - and the High Street is lined with 13th and 14th century timber-framed cottages.
Elstow has held a royal charter to hold markets since the 11th century and it's May festivals are thought likely to predate that by many centuries. Images of Elstow events, people and places - ancient and modern - can be viewed in the Elstow Picture Archive.
Elstow is particularly famous for being the birthplace and home of the 17th century non-conformist preacher, reformer and world-famous author, John Bunyan.
The extensive history of this village is well documented and easily accessed: on our Local History page; on the Moot Hall website andon; Bedfordshire Record Office's Elstow Community archive pages.
You can arrange guided tours of Elstow and/or visits to Moot Hall by contacting our webmaster and local historian - Clive Arnold, who is also the Curator of Moot Hall.
May Festival
For hundreds, possibly thousands, of years, Elstow village has held a May Festival at the beginning of the month of May. These still take place - on the Saturday of the first May Bank holiday weekend.
Originally a pagan fertility rite and a celebration of the end of winter and the arrival of Spring, these festivals also provided an opportunity for men and women to meet. May festivals were later appropriated by the Catholic church and made into Christian events. Elstow Abbey was, like many others, granted a royal charter to hold huge commercial fairs here in May and, then also in the Autumn.
Elstow's fairs continued after the surrender of Elstow Abbey in 1540. In the 1600s, when the Puritan government banned maypoles Elstow ignored that edict and continued to hold their celebrations. The Elstow MAy fairs were almost certainly the original inspiration for John Bunyan's "Vanity Fair" in his world famous book "The Pilgrim's Progress".
The fairs' cattle and horse market moved, in 1900, to a purpose-built site, beside Bedford river.
From 1925 to 1965, the event was run by the village school and it attracted visitors from all over the world. To see photos from that time, visit our Picture Archive.
The Festival is now run by Elstow Abbey parish church.
For more about the history of May Festivals, go to our Local History pages.
Originally a pagan fertility rite and a celebration of the end of winter and the arrival of Spring, these festivals also provided an opportunity for men and women to meet. May festivals were later appropriated by the Catholic church and made into Christian events. Elstow Abbey was, like many others, granted a royal charter to hold huge commercial fairs here in May and, then also in the Autumn.
Elstow's fairs continued after the surrender of Elstow Abbey in 1540. In the 1600s, when the Puritan government banned maypoles Elstow ignored that edict and continued to hold their celebrations. The Elstow MAy fairs were almost certainly the original inspiration for John Bunyan's "Vanity Fair" in his world famous book "The Pilgrim's Progress".
The fairs' cattle and horse market moved, in 1900, to a purpose-built site, beside Bedford river.
From 1925 to 1965, the event was run by the village school and it attracted visitors from all over the world. To see photos from that time, visit our Picture Archive.
The Festival is now run by Elstow Abbey parish church.
For more about the history of May Festivals, go to our Local History pages.
Elstow, Bedford, UK - Location map
