Bedford Park Prepares to Celebrate 150 Years
A series of events planned for the sesquicentennial
An advert for Bedford Park - 'The Healthiest Place in the World'
December 1, 2024
Next year will be the 150th anniversary of the purchase of 24 acres near the recently opened Turnham Green station by Jonathan Carr.
Recognising the benefits of improved transport, the developer was planning, Bedford Park, a new kind of estate in which aesthetically acceptable houses at modest rents would be set in an informal layout that preserved as many mature trees as possible.
Within a few years of the purchase in 1875, houses, stores, a church, a club with a stage, and The Tabard Inn had been built.
Considered to be the first garden suburb, it was described by the Poet Laureate and heritage campaigner John Betjeman as “the most significant suburb built in the last century, probably the most significant in the western world.”
Perspective view of Bedford Park villas by M.B. Adams
Bedford Park’s buildings and community spirit became an inspiration and model for the creators of later garden suburbs and cities.
The Bedford Park Society and St Michael & All Angels Church are working with other local organisations to launch a series of events, including concerts, a party, an exhibition and a special publication to commemorate the anniversary throughout 2025. Celebrating the rich architectural heritage and social history of Bedford Park, the events will be open to everyone and will be widely promoted under the specially designed 150th logo.
The logo for the Bedford Park 150th anniversary
Full details will be published in due course, but plans for 2025 include:
- New Year’s Day — Wednesday 1 January, 4.30pm at St Michael’s: a Viennese New Year concert, led by David Juritz former leader of the Mozart Players
- Sunday 2 and 16 February at 3.00pm at St Michael’s: Brandenburg Concertos series by Chiswick Chamber Orchestra, led by Sandy Burnett and Andrew Pears. Tickets and information.
- Saturday 1 March, 11.00am to 8.00pm at St Michael’s: Hymnathon 150 — singing of the top 150 hymns chosen by local people, with some of the Chiswick choirs and musicians who took part in the church’s previous Hymnathons in 1987, 2012 and 2017.
- 7 May: Bedford Park Society’s celebratory party at a local venue, open to all.
- May: launch of Bedford Park Society’s portable exhibition focussing on the community and communities attracted to the garden suburb — artistic, political, social and professional – to be displayed in a number of locations in Chiswick during the year.
- June: launch of Bedford Park Society’s special anniversary publication celebrating the architectural beauty of Bedford Park to be distributed free to local residents in the suburb and made available more widely.
- 6 to 22 June: Bedford Park Festival including anniversary celebrations on Green Days (7 and 8 June) and celebratory Choral Festival Mass with choir and orchestra on Sunday 22 June.
- 10 to 17 September: Chiswick Book Festival featuring anniversary events.
- September: Bedford Park Society’s annual lecture with 150 th anniversary theme.
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