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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 February 2009
As Mayor of Bedford when the statue of John Bunyan, presented to that town by the Duke of Bedford, was lately inaugurated, I was led to devote some attention to the history of the great dreamer. During my investigations I was led to the conclusion that his biographers have fallen into some errors.
It is commonly stated that Bunyan was, about the year 1728, born at Elstow, a village near Bedford; this statement is certainly incorrect. He was born at Harrowden, a hamlet belonging to Cardington, a parish subsequently famous as the residence of the celebrated philanthropist, John Howard. The place is called Bunyan End, but it is now a ploughed field. It is not surprising that the mistake should have occurred, since the hamlet of Harrowden adjoins Elstow, and Bunyan, immediately after his marriage, occupied the cottage in the village which has been designated as his birth-place.