Monday 24 March 2008

County Town Books, Bedford


On a recent visit to Bedford I browsed around County Town Books, a marvellous bookshop, situated in the heart of the town opposite St Paul's Church and round the corner from the Swan Hotel on the Embankment of the river Ouse.

For anyone in the north of the county wanting a first rate choice of books about Bedfordshire, this is the place. On the left just inside the shop are around a dozen shelves (possibly more) devoted to Bedfordshire - parish histories large and small, the marvellous book on Bedfordshire Bridges, books on Bedfordshire regiments and airfields, picture books of bygone eras, railways, pubs and some of the current and older publications of BHRS.

I came away with more than I had intended buying - inevitably. One of the specialist books was Bedfordshire Barrels: a directory of commercial breweries in the county by Keith Osborne, which sets out the rise, fall, mergers and amalgamations of Beds breweries over the last 150 years or so. Of a general nature was Sandy Chrystal's Bedfordshire at work on old picture postcards. It shows the wide variety of work undertaken in this "rural" county and is a must for anyone interested in work and working conditions.

County Town Books does not have a website but a phone call or a visit would be well-worthwhile for anyone looking for books on Beds.
County Town Books, 7 High Street, Bedford MK40 1RN
Tel: 01234 341789

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree! Every time I visit Bedford for a Family History Researh trip (from NZ), I make a point of visiting County Books as there would are few places that would have a selection of local history books on the county as them.

Jack