Talks & Tours Coming Soon...

© The Mutual Security Agency

Brickmaking in Bedfordshire by Alan Cox

Thursday 18th July, 2:30pm

£5.90, (£4.70 Concessions)

As part of the exhibition, The Journey from Bunyan to the Brickworks, join author of ‘Brickmaking: A History and Gazeteer (Survey of Bedfordshire)’, Alan Cox, as he discusses the development of the brickmaking industries and the impact they have made in Bedfordshire.

Cecil Higgins Anniversary Tours
Thursday 25th July, 11.30am & 2pm
£5.90 (£4.70 Concessions)

Explore the internationally renowned Cecil Higgins Art Gallery Collection and celebrate 70 years since it first opened to the public.

What makes this collection so special is that, unlike other benefactors who have supported institutions with a lifetime of collecting, Cecil Higgins collected with the specific intention of opening a museum.

With mesmerising works by Picasso, JMW Turner and Edward Bawden, amazing pieces by William Burges and William Morris and porcelain by Meissen and Chelsea, this is a unique opportunity to find out more about Bedford’s benefactor, Cecil Higgins, and the wonderful collection he gave to his town.

Garden Tours - Transforming the Gardens at The Higgins Bedford 
Thursday 25th July
11:15am, Free

Explore the Castle Gardens in a free, half an hour tour, discover the history of the grounds and find out more about the volunteer-led project to rejuvenate the gardens.

Supported by SDC Community Fund, established by SDC Builders Ltd



Booking is essential for these talks and tours. To book your place, please telephone 01234 718618 or email thehiggins@bedford.gov.uk. 

Exhibition Talks & Tours

Edward Bawden: Home and Abroad Gallery Tour
Wednesday 5th June
12pm - 12:30pm
£5.90, (£4.70 Concessions)

Join exhibition curator Victoria Partridge, for a lunchtime tour of Edward Bawden: Home and Abroad and discover how Bawden's immediate surroundings and overseas travels have influenced his art.

Image: Edward Bawden (1903—1989) Edward Bawden in Portugal —Lisbon, Lithograph after linocut, 1962 ©The Edward Bawden Estate.

Rise and Fall of the Bedfordshire Brickworks by Richard Manning

Wednesday 12th June, 2pm
£5.90, (£4.70 Concessions)

Explore the Rise and Fall of Bedfordshire’s Brickworks with Richard Manning, a former London Brick Company employee of 40 years and Managing Director until 1995. Richard will be sharing his memories of the brickmaking industries in Bedford.

Image: 'Fuelling the brick firing kilns, London Brick Company, Stewartby', 1952 © The Mutual Security Agency

Lunchtime Lecture with Professor Christiana Payne – ‘Round and Round the Garden’
Wednesday 19th June
12pm - 1pm, Free

Join Professor of History of Art at Oxford Brookes University, Christiana Payne, for a lunchtime lecture of the Round and Round the Garden exhibition. Explore our human fascination with gardens and gardening and how they have provided inspiration for artists including, Pre-Raphaelite John Everett Millais, Walter Sickert and Joan Eardley.

This lecture is sponsored by Oxford Brookes University.

Booking is essential for these talks & tours. To book your place, please telephone 01234 718618 or email thehiggins@bedford.gov.uk.

Spring 'Bunyan to the Brickworks' Events & Talks

As part of the exhibition, ‘Pride Inspiration Hope’ The Journey From Bunyan to the Brickworks, enjoy a variety of accompanying events and talks which explores the journeys of pride, inspiration and hope made by John Bunyan and those who came to Bedford after the Second World War to work at the Brickworks.

Stained-glass window of John Bunyan in
Bedford Gaol, Bunyan Meeting,
Bedford. With kind permission from 

Trustees of Bunyan Meeting.

John Bunyan, Bedford and Beyond by John Pestell

Tuesday 7th May, 12pm

£5.90 (concessions £4.70)

Join John Pestell, author of Travel with John Bunyan, for an immersive lunchtime lecture as he outlines the life, times and works of John Bunyan. 

Booking is essential. To book your place, please email thehiggins@bedford.gov.uk.

Remininscence Session: Bunyan to the Brickworks

Thursday 9th May, 11am

Free Entry (£1 for refreshments)
Join the discussion, meet new people and be inspired by memories and stories of the past. Explore the story of Bedford’s long heritage as town, as well as the journeys of John Bunyan and the people who came to work at the Brickworks after the Second World War.

'Algerino De Eso and Alfredo Minggei,
recruited from Italy and working for
London Brick Company, Stewartby',
1952 © The Mutual Security Agency

Pride, Inspiration, Hope: Bedfordshire Brickworks Day
Saturday 25th May
11am-4pm, Free Entry
Explore all things Brickworks in a day filled with fun activities, music and talks. Enjoy a variety of folk songs and stories, including performances from local musicians, Invisible Folk. Participate in an interactive panel discussion, where members of the public are invited to share memories and help build our wall of inspiration.

From Open Fields to Fletton Bricks: a History of Landscapes in Bedfordshire from John Bunyan to Sir Malcolm Stewart by Brian Kerr

Sunday 26th May
2pm, Free Entry
Discover the stories of two historical Bedfordians and how they navigated through a period of change in the town. Join Brian Kerr as he discusses John Bunyan’s use of Bedfordshire’s topography to inform his writing, and Sir Malcolm Stewart’s legacy in the village built for the workers at London Brick, Stewartby.

More Brickworks talks and lectures will take place in the Summer on a variety of topics, including the rise and fall of Bedford’s brickmaking industries.