Archive Chronicles: Autumn 2026

Archive Chronicles: From Cowshed to Cricket Pavilion

The original building to be used as a pavilion was an old cowshed, which did duty until the March of 1883, when it was sold for the magnificent sum of £7 10s. Od. A new pavilion erected on the site was the gift of Mr John Govett, of Australia, and it was opened on 26 September, 1883. The building stood with its back to the hedge, which was a continuation of the boundary of the grass tennis courts running due north to Park Avenue.

It was replaced in 1899 by the New Pavilion and opened on the same day as the opening of the new Junior School. Much of the funding was from Henry Cross, Old Bedfordian and Master at the school, and the building became known as The Cross Memorial Pavilion.

It was updated again in the 1930s and then completely refurbished in 2012 and renamed The Langham Pavilion, in recognition of the contribution made by Old Bedfordian John Langham, CBE (37–42), and his wife, Betty. It was opened by Sir Alistair Cook, who was England captain at the time.

From Train Boy to Day Boarder: The Craig Building

The expression ‘train Boys’ was in use from the 1890s and described those boys who were unable to go home for lunch. In the 1920s, the Howard Building started to provide meals for a few ‘train boys’ and within a few years the number doubled. The solution was to build The Craig Building, named after the late Sir Maurice Craig (O.B.), Chairman of the Governors.

“Here resides the Master in charge of the Howard Building, and there are also changing and bathrooms and two spacious day rooms for older and younger boys, providing rest, recreation or supervision for the Day Boarders, as the train boys are now called. These buildings are connected with the School grounds on the north by an archway, constructed in 1933.”
(The Ousel 1948 Vo.52 No. 753)