Bedford Museum Museums

With its emphasis clearly focused on the local community the Social History collections reflect both the home and working environments of the people of north Bedfordshire. The collections of some 20,000 items cover the wide range of domestic, corporate, military and agricultural life as well as local crafts and industries.

The Natural History collections comprise some 2,500 vertebrates, invertebrates and herbaria collections, primarily from Bedfordshire, but with comparison material from beyond the county. Some of the collections originate from the Bedford Modern School Museum, while others have been accumulated since 1981.

Bedford Museum is the official English Heritage repository for all archaeological excavations in the north of the county. It houses major archaeological collections, archives as well as individual finds. The collection covers all periods of human activity in Bedfordshire, from the era of the first inhabitants to modern industrial times. The collections cover the entire spectrum of human concerns from survival and artistic endeavour, to the beliefs of our ancestors. .