A Summer of Celebratory Events Marks 150 Years of Bedford Park

Concerts, exhibitions and a Big Sing all part of the programme

The Big Sing 150 this May aims to follow on from the success of similar events
The Big Sing 150 this May aims to follow on from the success of similar events

April 19, 2025

A full programme of events to mark the 150th anniversary of Bedford Park has been published. They have been organised to celebrate the rich architectural heritage and social history of Bedford Park, the first garden suburb. All events are open to everyone and are being promoted under the specially designed 150th logo.

They are taking place through the summer starting next month with a community ‘Big Sing’ on the May Bank Holiday and a special exhibition of stories and images created by the Bedford Park Society.

Following Chiswick’s ‘Big Sing for the King’ and ‘Big Jubilee Sing’ in recent years, St Michael & All Angels Church and The Tabard pub are inviting local residents to take part in the ‘Big Sing 150’ on the lawn outside the church. From 4.30pm on Bank Holiday Monday 5 May , when street parties are being encouraged, songs will mark VE Day 80 as well as celebrating 150 years of Bedford Park. They will include hits from the ‘golden’ charts of 1967 – the year the Bedford Park Festival was launched.

Two days later, the Bedford Park Society will preview its anniversary exhibition at a celebratory event in the Boston Room of the George IV. Entitled “The Community at Bedford Park 1875-2025 – Ahead of the World in Everything?”, the exhibition focuses on the various communities of Bedford Park from its earliest days to modern times. Stories and rarely seen images and illustrations will paint a vivid picture of the many different groups attracted to the first garden suburb – political, social, professional and recreational. The event on Wednesday 7 May runs from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. Tickets cost £35 per person and include drinks and canapés: a full bar will also be available.

Two more events take place before the end of April: a concert performance of two poems by WB Yeats, which the Nobel Prize winner wrote in Bedford Park, and a Walking Tour of Bedford Park by Peter Murray OBE, for NLA which runs the London Festival of Architecture.

In May, the 40th anniversary of the theatre at the Tabard pub in Bedford Park will be marked by an article in the Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal by Wesley Henderson-Roe.

Events will continue in June at Green Days weekend and the Bedford Park Festival, which will include sessions and walks celebrating WB Yeats, John Betjeman and other key figures in the area’s history. Watch for separate announcement. During that month, the Bedford Park Society will issue an anniversary publication celebrating the architectural beauty of the first garden suburb.

Forthcoming events celebrating 150 years of Bedford Park:

  • Friday 25 April: Performance of WB Yeats’ Lake Isle of Innisfree and Down by the Salley Gardens in a concert by Harriet Burns and Ian Tindale, at St Peter’s Acton Green, 7pm.
  • Saturday 26 April: NLA Walking tour of Bedford Park, led by Peter Murray OBE, 10.30am to 12.30pm.
  • Monday 5 May  The Big Sing 150, marking 150 years of Bedford Park and VE Day 80, led by St Michael & All Angels Church and the Tabard pub, 4.30pm
  • Wednesday 7 May: Bedford Park Society Anniversary Event & Exhibition Preview – Boston Room at the George IV, 7.30pm to 9.30pm – Tickets on sale.
  • Friday 9-23 May: Bedford Park Society Exhibition in St Michael & All Angels Church, open 9am to 5pm
  • In May: The theatrical history of The Tabard pub, marking the 40th anniversary of its theatre upstairs. Article in the Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal, on sale here.
  • Friday 6-22 June– Bedford Park Festival, including Green Days (June 7th and 8th) and other commemorative events..
  • In June – Bedford Park Society anniversary publication, to be distributed free to homes in Bedford Park

In the autumn there will be further anniversary events, including:

  • 10-15 September: Chiswick Book Festival, featuring anniversary sessions
  • 24 September: Bedford Park Society’s annual lecture with 150th anniversary theme.
  • 22 October: I Dreamt I Dwelt: Irish Composers and Bedford Park’s Heyday,organised by the WB Yeats Bedford Park Artwork Project.

The logo for the Bedford Park 150th anniversary
The logo for the Bedford Park 150th anniversary

Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

 

Related links