:: History
The first issue of the Bedford Times was printed on October 18, 1845, priced at five old pence and consisting of only four pages. Its appearance was very different from that of today, with seven broadsheet columns of tightly-packed small print and no pictures.
In all its time weekly production of the newspaper was unbroken, even during the Second World War when paper supplies were heavily rationed, except for just one week during the printing industry dispute of July 1959. Even during the General Strike of 1926 a daily pocket-handkerchief sized issue kept local people informed of what was happening in the country.
In 1997 Johnston Press acquired the Times & Citizen free newspaper created two years earlier when The Bedfordshire Times merged with its sister title The Bedford Citizen. Today the Times & Citizen is based in offices in Mill Street and distributed free to more than 80,000 homes on Thursdays.
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:: Product
Go! is the well established and respected leisure and TV section. It's your guide to everything from cinema to music and nightlife and from theatre and the arts to health and lifestyle. As well as comprehensive leisure and what's on listings, eating out guide, and lots of other features which make it easy for readers to plan their weekend, there's also a weekend TV guide included in Go! every week.
Our Motors Today supplement is recognised as the leading guide to the local motoring market.With thousands of new and used cars available from the largest dealers to individual sellers, it also features weekly road tests and reports on everything from new car launches to local traffic issues. There are also classified listings for car care services, such as MOTs and servicing, alongside motorist centres selling tyre, exhaust and brake components.
If you want to move house, then look no further then Proeprty Today, our leading guide to the local property market. You will also find the area's leading estate agents represented, with commercial and private lettings too, offering properties to fit all budgets.
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:: Why Us?
Why choose the Times & Citizen?
• Established local newspaper.
• Over 1.4 readers per copy.
• Property Today – The area's number one comprehensive local property guide, fulfilling all your property requirements.
• Motors Today – The area's only local motoring supplement, published every Friday.
• Published on a Friday – the ideal day for weekend buying decisions.
• Campaigning newspaper – in touch with the local community patterns.
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:: Area Profile Bedford, reliant for decades on engineering and manufacturing, is currently reinventing itself as a centre for high-tech industry and learning. Local authority economic strategists are positioning Bedford and Mid Beds at the centre of The Arc a so-called ‘knowledge corridor' cutting a swathe across central England and linking Oxford and Cambridge. Established centres of learning include the world-renowned Cranfield University and Business School, while a merger is planned between the University of Luton and De Montfort University's Bedford campuses, to create a ‘University of Bedfordshire'.
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| • River Great Ouse |
Knowledge-based companies already here include Unilever, Millbrook Proving Ground, Power Innovations, INSYS and the Nissan Research Centre.
On a more practical level, the town is also home to a booming logistics industry, with
distribution centres seemingly springing up everywhere. Good communications via the M1, A1, major railway routes and the international London Luton Airport have make Bedford a natural chocie for companies includes argos, Asda and Healthcare Logistics.
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| • Bedford Town Centre |
Bedford itself is a large market town with a full selection of high street names and a thriving independent retail sector. Plans are also afoot for a major redevelopment of the town centre.
The jewel in its crown, by universal agreement, is the River Great Ouse, which runs through the centre of town. The picturesque Embankment is a popular haunt where visitors and locals can while away a few hours with the ducks and geese, while the water provides the main training ground for Bedford's legion of rowers who have included among their number several British, World and even an Olympic champion in recent years. Bedford's famous River Festival, which is staged every other year and attracts up to 600,000 people, is also held here.
Bedford Park provides more greenery north of the town centre and hosts Bedford's outdoor classical music extravaganza Proms In The Park every summer.
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| • Bedford ‘Blues' rugby team |
Historically, Bedford is best known for its connections with John Bunyan, one of the most celebrated writers of the 17th century. He wrote The Pilgrim's Progress in Bedford County Gaol, where he was imprisoned for 12 years for his non-conformist beliefs. This book, a powerful allegory, has been translated into two hundred languages.
The town was also home to prison reformer John Howard, and statues of both men stand in the High Street. Once out of Bedford itself, the attractive villages of the borough offer a more relaxed pace of life. This is also true of Mid Beds, which has at its heart the smaller market town of Ampthill and neighbouring Flitwick, popular with commuters for its rail connection to London.
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| • Wrest Park, Silsoe |
Ampthill offers grand Georgian architecture, local facilities, an array of antique shops and beautiful rolling parkland. Easily accessible is the more formal Wrest Park at Silsoe and the developing Marston Vale Community Forest
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