Blog Post: My visit to The Basement At Bunyan, by Conor Chesterman

During his week of Work Experience in July 2017, Bedford Free School student Conor Chesterman visited the museums in the Cultural Quarter in Bedford. This is his review of his visit to The Basement at Bunyan, and is part of his Arts Award Discover Qualification.


Today I visited The Basement at Bunyan in the John Bunyan Museum in Bedford. It contains a workshop and an art gallery, where people can display and sell their artwork. My first expectations when I walked through the door were very high, it looked friendly and the gallery I saw through the gallery looked very interesting. The staff were very friendly and helpful, one of them even gave me a tour of the building! The museum was clean and antique there were many areas of the building that were refurbished with parts of the old church: for example, one of the rooms had windows made from stained glassed windows.

The Basement at Bunyan offered a variety of activities and courses. For example, some there are art exhibitions such as the Putnoe art group exhibition which I saw today. This contained art in various styles that are painted by the group. The Basement at Bunyan also contained a church on the first floor, as well as restaurant. There were also activities such as book binding and printing. Many of them were also free meaning that you could have a fun and enjoyable afternoon, without spending any money. Many of the activities were aimed at older people, however, there wasn’t any aimed at a younger audience. One thing I would include would be an activity designed towards children such as finger painting and modelling.

Overall, I enjoyed my visit to the Basement at Bunyan. It is very friendly, and it is a good place to spend an afternoon and do something you enjoy. One thing I would improve, which I’ve already mentioned, is include activities for young children and families to interest everyone. Apart from that it is very enjoyable and provides many activities to appeal to a wide variety of people.