[2] The school was established in accordance with letters patent issued by King Edward VI in August 1552 and it was endowed by the local merchant and Lord Mayor of London, Sir William Harpur, in 1566.

[3] The building at St Paul's Square was extended to the north to the designs of James Horsford in 1861: the extension created a large assembly hall for Bedford School and featured a prominent lantern at roof level.

[8] King George V and Queen Mary visited the town hall for a civic lunch on 27 June 1918 during the First World War.

[8] Meanwhile, the council decided to demolish the Town Hall Office Block: it was badly damaged in a fire in February 2014 during the early stages of its demolition to make way for the Riverside Development.

[13] Works of art in the old town hall include a painting by Andrew Carrick Gow depicting the Marquess of Montrose at the Battle of Kilsyth in August 1645[14] and a painting by George Harvey depicting John Bunyan imagining the Pilgrim's Progress while imprisoned in Bedford Gaol.