St Paul's Church, Bedford

St Paul’s Church stands on St Paul’s Square in the centre of Bedford. It is the largest Anglican church in Bedfordshire, built on cathedral lines with a tall spire that dominates the town. The present building grew from a medieval collegiate church and has been enlarged and altered over centuries. It is officially listed as a Major Parish Church and belongs to the Major Churches Network. The church welcomes thousands of visitors and pilgrims every year. The church has played a notable part in national life. During the Second World War the BBC used its Trinity Chapel to broadcast the Daily Service and The Epilogue to the nation and beyond. In 1941 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Gordon Lang, preached at the National Day of Prayer service here, which was also relayed worldwide. Today the church serves as the Civic Church for the Borough of Bedford and the County of Bedfordshire. It hosts concerts, recitals and exhibitions, and offers fine choral and liturgical worship in the English cathedral tradition. Inside, the church contains a three-manual organ rebuilt in 2010, its pipework drawing on Norman & Beard’s 1900 scheme. There is a ring of twelve bells, ten dating from 1896–97 and two added in 1977 for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. The Early English south porch survives from the 13th century, and the 15th-century Trinity Chapel holds brasses of Sir William Harpur and Dame Alice Harpur. The building’s long history is visible in its architecture, from the 19th-century tower and spire to the 2014 narthex at the west end.