9 October 1899
This must be the oldest written reference to Goldington Reading Rooms.
In the hand-written minutes of the committee meeting (note the penmanship!) it is stated that:
‘The Chairman having invited discussion, in order to ascertain the wishes of the meeting, Mr. Thomas Haynes Jr. moved and Mr. Lewis Armstrong seconded “That if this room cannot be recovered and the Parish require a Reading and Recreation Room there be some means found of building the same, and that it be put in the hands of the Parish Council to find that means.”
Announcement was proposed by Mr. I.J. Harris (?) and seconded by Mr. Alexander, as follows:
“That in the opinion of this meeting it is highly desirable that a reading and recreation room should be provided in the Parish, in the place of the Wing room of the use of which us have been deprived by the action of the Vicar, Rev. Brenner, and that a committee is appointed to consider the best means of carrying out this proposal without delay.”
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29 January 1904
GOLDINGTON A meeting of the Committee of the new Reading and recreation Room, was held on the 21st inst., when it was decided to send out copies of the following letter to all those interested in Goldington:
Goldington, Bedford, January 1904
Sir, for about 26 years, previously to the winter of 1898, the parishioners of Goldington enjoyed the use of a room, known as the Wing Room, for recreation purposes, and a Reading and Recreation Club has been held there three or four evenings a week during the winter months, but is no longer available. At a public meeting of parishioners, a Committee was therefore appointed to endeavour to procure a suitable building, and we have recently received a free gift of a site from Messrs. Conquest, Haynes, and Miller, of Bedford, on the Goldington Grange estate, to be vested in trustees, providing a Reading and Recreation Room, for the use of the parishioners, is built upon it. The cost of a suitable building is estimated at about £250, towards which we have received, or are promised, the following donations, and we shall feel greatly obliged if you can see your way to assist us in raising the further necessary funds, for both building and furnishing the room. Donations may be sent to any member of the Committee, or to Messrs. Thos. Bernard and Co.’s Bank, Bedford. We are, Sir, your obedient servants.
Griffith Jones (Chairman of Committee), A. B. Alexander, E. Bandey, G. Ballinghall, W. Ell, J. Flood, C. Harlop, W.H. Rogers, F. Sharp and J. White
The subscription list is as follows: Lieut.-Col. Shuttleworth £100; Mr. Griffith Jones £50; Mr. Alderman H. Burridge £20; collected by Mrs. Griffith Jones and Miss Jones £51 10s; collected by Mrs. Griffith Jones in smaller sums £22, total, £243 10s
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1904
This beautiful, painstakingly hand drawn and coloured area plan shows Goldington Grange with the donated plot (see previous entry), where Goldington Reading and Recreation Rooms were to be built.
Familiar street and local names such as Barkers Lane, King Edward Road, Alexandra Road (today Queen Alexandra Road) and The (Goldington) Green are already depicted here, but as a whole this area is still awaiting its residential development.
Vicarage and Manor Farm, as seen here on the other side of Goldington Road, also gave way to residential development since.
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The First Board of Trustees (1904)
The building at 1, Barkers lane, Goldington, Bedford was gifted to the parish of Goldington in 1904 as a Reading and Recreation Room for the use and enjoyment of the local inhabitants. The cost of buying the land upon which the building stands and cost of its construction was borne by five local worthies:
Lieutenant General Frank Shuttleworth of Old Warden, Bedfordshire
Joseph Miller of Bedford, Bedfordshire
William Long Fitzpatrick of Woodlands Manor, Clapham, Bedfordshire
William Henry Rogers of Goldington, Bedfordshire
Griffith Jones of Goldington Bury, Goldington, Bedfordshire
They formed the first board of trustees. Under their guidance, Goldington Reading and Recreation Room served its intended purpose over many years, hosting a wide range of activities. However, as the original trustees passed on, they were not replaced. The result was lack of management and no investment in maintenance and upkeep over many years. By the time of its 100th birthday, the building was in a sorry, dilapidated state, and only used a couple of times a week.
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New Chapter (2006)
In 2006, a new board of trustees was formed by group of local residents with the intention of saving the old building and bringing it back in a condition so that it could once again serve the local residents.
The trustees devised a Five Year Plan covering the period from 2007 to 2012, and sought ways and means to fund the necessary and long overdue improvements. After a slow start, grants from both local charities like the Harpur Trust and national concerns such as the Big Lottery allowed to pave the hardstanding in front of the building and provide a wheelchair access, whilst inside the building the electrical installation was completely renewed, a new floor was laid in the main hall and a fully accessible toilet provided. With wheelchair access, the hall could now be used by the Council as a Polling Station, alleviating the need to close the local school for the day. Further funding from WREN and the Harpur Trust made it possible to open a second room suitable for small meetings, modernise a second toilet and refurbish the coffee and tea room. During this time the initiative gained charitable status.
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Repainting Fascias & New Guttering (October 2023)
The original timber fascias were repainted to enhance the period character of our venue.
The old and leaky guttering was replaced with a modern durable plastic one.
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Community Defibrillator (January 2024)
The life-saving device was in part funded with our own means, with contributions from the Bedford Borough Council and from the London Hearts Foundation towards the overall costs.
The defibrillator is now part of the national ambulance service.
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New Floor (September 2025)
A new flooring has been laid across the entire venue – Main Hall, Meeting Room and all the facilities. And a much needed refurb it was; with all the dancing, yoga, martial arts, wellness and fitness activities, not to mention the lively children’s birthday parties, the old floor laid nearly 20 years ago was already warn out.
The works involved an initial inspection of the original floor structure, recommendations of the ideal material, removal and disposal of the old flooring, all the preparatory steps and then actual laying of the new flooring including all the finishing touches. Several local businesses – a floor specialist, a plumber and a carpenter – were invited to deliver a complex job which was completed in a span of two weeks.
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Going digital (November 2025)
History met modernity when broadband was installed across the venue.
Free wi-fi was made available to all users, but mainly, it was an important step for intended modernization of the access system, which would replace a set of three traditional keys with timed fobs (implemented in summer 2026).
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New Bathroom Windows (July 2026)
Duting the extensive heatwave of summer 2026, our rather rattly and draughty wooden single-glazed windows in both our bathrooms were replaced by double-glazed ones.
The original stone window sills were preserved, and so was the size and traditional appearance of the windows. The odd selection of different types of glass panels was replaced by frosted glass for privacy. But mainly: improved insulation of the PVC frames and double-glazing mean no more draught, no more cold, and no more damp on the internal walls.
