Elstow History and Guided Tours
History. Elstow is a small but very historic village and most visitors come here mainly because it was the birthplace of the author John Bunyan, our most famous former resident.
However, Elstow dates back many centuries before Bunyan's birth - there was a Saxon settlements here, a Roman burialand artifacts dating back to the Bronze Age have been found.
The present-day Abbey church - a former Benedictine Nunnery - dates back to the 11th century.
The fabulous timber-framed Tudor cottages on Elstow's High Street are thought to be 13th and 14th century but have, of course, been renovated several times over the following centuries.
On the village green stands a unique Tudor building - a beautiful former market house & manor courtroom built for the nuns of Elstow Abbey. It is now a small museum called Moot Hall
and, I am its curator. I have spent decades studying the history of Elstow and its buildings. In an effort to share that knowledge, all my Elstow and Bunyan-related historical information is published on my Elstow village website, where there are both Picture and History archives. There is some further information on; John Bunyan's Bedford
Guided Tours. If you are interested in Elstow's history or how this place inspired Bunyan to write "The Pilgrim's Progress", perhaps you would enjoy a guided tour with Elstow's local historian? This service is free, except for commercial tour companies. Contact me.
Your visit could include a visit to Moot Hall and, possibly, Elstow Abbey.
If, as part of your visit, you would like some refreshments: Elstow Post Office's The Cottage is open all year round and; from Spring to Autumn, Elstow Tea Garden is open Friday to Monday.
Then, perhaps afterwards, you might like to go visit the John Bunyan Church and Museum in Bedford town centre.
However, Elstow dates back many centuries before Bunyan's birth - there was a Saxon settlements here, a Roman burialand artifacts dating back to the Bronze Age have been found.
The present-day Abbey church - a former Benedictine Nunnery - dates back to the 11th century.
The fabulous timber-framed Tudor cottages on Elstow's High Street are thought to be 13th and 14th century but have, of course, been renovated several times over the following centuries.
On the village green stands a unique Tudor building - a beautiful former market house & manor courtroom built for the nuns of Elstow Abbey. It is now a small museum called Moot Hall
and, I am its curator. I have spent decades studying the history of Elstow and its buildings. In an effort to share that knowledge, all my Elstow and Bunyan-related historical information is published on my Elstow village website, where there are both Picture and History archives. There is some further information on; John Bunyan's Bedford
Guided Tours. If you are interested in Elstow's history or how this place inspired Bunyan to write "The Pilgrim's Progress", perhaps you would enjoy a guided tour with Elstow's local historian? This service is free, except for commercial tour companies. Contact me.
Your visit could include a visit to Moot Hall and, possibly, Elstow Abbey.
If, as part of your visit, you would like some refreshments: Elstow Post Office's The Cottage is open all year round and; from Spring to Autumn, Elstow Tea Garden is open Friday to Monday.
Then, perhaps afterwards, you might like to go visit the John Bunyan Church and Museum in Bedford town centre.