The link between Bedford and education is a very old one, possibly going back to 1086 or even earlier. It is, however, the connection with the Harpur Trust that has made Bedford educationally famous. This great Charity originated with the gift to the town by Sir William Harpur in 1566 of lands in Holborn containing 13 acres and 1 rood. At the time of Harpur’s gift it was only worth £12 a year. By the time of the Endowed Schools’ Commission (1864-68) it had risen to £13,604, and by the time of the Bryce Commission (1895) to £15,192. For almost the first 200 years the Charity was administered by the Town Council, but after 1764 by a Board of Trustees.

Today the Harpur Trust is known for its four great schools, Bedford and Bedford Modern for boys, and the High and Dame Alice Harpur for girls. What is less well known is the fact that in the nineteenth century virtually the whole of the education of Bedford, elementary as well as secondary, was provided and run by the Harpur Trust. This study attempts to show the extent of the contribution that the Harpur Trust made to elementary education, especially in the last three decades of the century; how a School Board became inevitable by 1897, and how the Harpur Trust’s contribution to elementary education thereafter diminished.

I was able to write this study during a one year full-time course at the Cambridge Institute of Education, and I would like to thank my tutor, Mr. E. J. T. Brennan, M.A., for his help and advice. I also want to thank everyone else who has helped me, especially Miss J. Godber, M.A., F.S.A., Miss P. Bell, m.a., and members of the staff at the County Record Office, and Mr. R. N. Hutchins, LL.B., Clerk of the Harpur Trust.