Bedford's Motoring Heritage

This is a history of a previously undocumented part of Bedford's history that has touched the lives of many.

The rich heritage of pictures and other information about private motoring in Bedford since the turn of the 20th century is revealed here for the first time.

Photographs and adverts illuminate local car transport from the leisurely "Golden Age" of pre-World War II motoring to the modern era of near-universal car ownership.

The authors also look at early changes in the street scene and in street furniture brought about by the motor car - road signs, garage buildings and signs, traffic lights, better road surfaces, and so on.

Driving licenses and tests, as well as the growth of driving schools, also figure.

The book brings the story up to more recent times, and the vast expansion of car ownership.

Drastic changes to Bedford as the planners tried (in vain) to give drivers unimpeded access to the town centre are also documented - as well as the move of garages away from the centre to the outskirts, and the decline of traditional petrol station forecourts.

With its varied content and many illustrations, this is valuable reading for anyone interested in Bedford's history.