John Bunyan Museum
Education at the John Bunyan Museum
Background Information
THE MUSEUM AND THE COLLECTIONS
The church where John Bunyan was once the minister is now known as the Bunyan Meeting Free Church. It occupies the site of the barn which the congregation purchased in 1672 and used as a place of worship. The present church is the second purpose-built church on the site and was built in 1849. There are adjoining community and meeting rooms, and the collection of Bunyan artefacts and memorabilia used to be housed in a small museum room. In 1998 the new purpose-built Museum was opened and is described below.
On entering the Museum, visitors are "greeted" by a three-dimensional model of Bunyan towards the end of his life. Visitors are invited by Bunyan to join him as he looks back over his life. The periphery of the room is made up of a series of tableaux, room sets and reconstructions, interspersed with information points. These cover the following themes:
1. EARLY LIFE
This area is a re-creation of part of a 17th century kitchen and eating area
with work surfaces and reproduction ware. It evokes the kind of home in which
Bunyan and also his first wife grew up. There is an interpretative panel
putting the scene in context.
2. THE TOWN AND WORK
Following on from the early life section the visitor now walks through a
section re-creating a 17th century Bedford scene. There is a two-dimensional
figure of a tinker, which was Bunyan's original trade, as well as an anvil and
tools which can be handled. There are also jigsaw versions of John Speed's
1610 map of Bedford, and one from today.
3. CIVIL WAR: BUNYAN
AS
A SOLDIER
Bunyan's period of service in the Parliamentary army is represented in this
reconstruction of a corner of a barrack room complete with furniture. There is
a two-dimensional figure of Bunyan as a young soldier and an interpretative
information panel.
4. ILLEGAL PREACHING AND
THE FOUNDATION OF BUNYAN MEETING
An information point sets out the context of the founding in 1650 of the group
that became Bunyan Meeting, and includes details about the risks of preaching,
the second prison sentence and the establishment of the new church. In the
later years of his life John Bunyan became a well-known figure in London, and
crowds flocked to hear him preach, at times in the open air, and at times in
various chapels where he was welcomed. One such chapel was Zoar Street Chapel,
Southwark, and the pulpit from which he preached is housed in this section and
can be used by school parties for role play, story telling and discussion.
5. PRISON
This area is a self-contained reconstruction of the dayroom in Bedford Gaol.
The door displayed on the wall is believed to be the door to the prisoner's
dayroom from the County
Gaol, which was situated at the corner of High Street and Silver Street.
Bunyan was imprisoned behind this door for 12 years. The door consists of
three layers of oak laid transversely and fastened together by 112 metal
studs. It still has the original 33-inch-long blacksmith-made hinges, and one
of the two metal hasps which used to lock the door to large staples. The room
is large enough to accommodate a small group of children. There is a costumed
mannequin of Bunyan as a prisoner. A graphic panel expands on the lack of
civil and religious rights.
6. BUNYAN'S LEGACY
This section deals with his later life, death and subsequent impact.
7. LINEAR FEATURE
Dividing the centre of the room is a curved linear feature which comprises
three elements: a graphic presentation of The Pilgrim's Progress; a general
"timeline" showing significant social, political and religious events; and a
Bunyan "timeline" highlighting significant events in Bunyan's life. In
addition a number of key artefacts described below are housed in purpose-built
showcases within the feature, and should not be missed by visiting school
parties.
8. ANVIL (this is in the
Town and Work section)
By occupation Bunyan was a tinker, an itinerant mender of pots and pans. This
is the anvil he used when plying his trade. The anvil weighs some 27.27 kg (60
lb), and is inscribed "J. Bunyan, Helstowe, 1647". The anvil, or brazier's
spike, has a pointed end, so that it could be pushed upright into the soft
earth, and then the tinker could hammer out his living on its flat surface. It
has been wondered how Bunyan could carry the anvil and his bag of tools as he
went round the villages of Bedfordshire mending pots and pans. Bunyan was a
big strong man, with broad shoulders, and he was too poor at that time to have
afforded to keep a horse. So heavy as it was, he must have carried it on his
shoulders; and as he bore the weight of it and felt the relief when he laid it
down, it may have led him to write (in The Pilgrim's Progress) of Christian's
sins as being a heavy burden that he had to carry on his back, until he lost
it at the Cross.
9. IRON VIOLIN
Bunyan must have been more than a humble tinker. This is his home-made violin.
He was fond of music, apparently making his own instrument, not of wood but of
metal. His name is on the back of it, and you can see by its construction that
the maker of it was not just a mender of pots and pans, but a skilled
craftsman. Those who have played it say that it has a remarkably fine tone,
considering that it is made of metal.
10. WOODEN FLUTE
While Bunyan was in prison he had a three-legged stool in his cell, and is
believed to have taken a leg from it, hollowed it out and made himself a
flute. While the gaoler was absent, at the adjoining public house, Bunyan
could have played on it. When the gaoler came round to find out where the
sound of music was coming from, he would have put the leg back into the stool
and sat on it, thus avoiding its discovery and confiscation.
11. STONEWARE JUG
Religious prisoners such as Bunyan were allowed certain privileges. His wife
and children were allowed to visit him, and bring him in one meal a day; and
one of the most treasured relics in the Museum is a small salt-glazed
stoneware jug said to have been used by his daughter Mary to bring his soup
and ale.
12. BUNYAN'S WILL
One of the most important documents in the Museum is Bunyan's will or deed of
gift, dated 23 December 1685. Charles II had died that year and with the
accession of James II religious persecution broke out again. Many
Nonconformist ministers were put in prison, and it may have been because John
Bunyan feared another term of imprisonment that he thought it wise to make
this will, in which he left all his worldly goods to his wife Elizabeth. For
safe keeping the will was hidden in the chimney breast of his house in St
Cuthbert's Street, and was not found until 1838 when the house was demolished.
13. THIRD EDITION OF THE
PILGRIM'S PROGRESS
The third edition of The Pilgrim's Progress is the earliest we have. There are
two first editions in the British Library, and two in America. The first
edition appeared in 1678, and this one early in 1679. In the ten years before
Bunyan's death, in 1688, his book became so popular that it went through
eleven English editions, and five in Dutch. Today it has been translated into
over 200 languages and dialects, more than any other book except the Bible. We
have over 170 of these foreign editions in our library. The illustrations in
some of these editions are of interest. They show how artists in so many
countries and cultures have interpreted the story, like the African one
showing Christian carrying his burden on his head.
14.
BUNYAN'S VESTRY CHAIR
Bunyan was a tall man. This is confirmed by his vestry chair used during his
ministry from 1672 to 1688. One of Bunyan's successors, Joshua Symonds, who
was rather small, found that the chair was too high for him to sit in, and he
had the legs shortened. The chair, made of beechwood, may be seen in the
curved linear feature. The spindles on the back and sides of the chair have
disappeared over the years, possibly taken as souvenirs, and now only one
spindle remains.
Produced by IT Unit
Bedford Borough Council