Join the volunteers keeping John Bunyan's legacy alive in Bedford museum

The John Bunyan Museum and Library in Mill Street will welcome anyone interested to visit on Saturday, January 23, from 10.30am.

The independent museum is run by a team of dedicated volunteers of all ages and now needs more help to welcome visitors and stay open.

It is also seeking volunteers with skills and experience in working with schools, leading group tours, marketing, admin, or an interest in working with the collections.

Curator Nicola Sherhod said: “We need new volunteers for the 2016 season as a number have left us to use skills gained at the museum in paid employment elsewhere.

“The volunteers do a fantastic job. They work in the museum and the shop, greeting visitors and sharing their own enthusiasm for the amazing story we tell here. Volunteers can also work behind the scenes developing trails, and children’s activities, and helping look after our collections. It’s fascinating and rewarding work, a great way to meet people and develop skills, and as we have some fantastic projects planned for 2016, the more help the better.”

The open morning starts in the Foyer Coffee Shop at Bunyan Meeting, next to the museum. Meet and chat with some of the stewards, have a tour around the museum, and find out what stewards do and how you might get involved.

The museum will reopen on Tuesday, February 16 and is open Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 4pm and admission is free.

John Bunyan Museum tells the story of the Bedford man who wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the greatest novels in the English language. During his remarkable life Bunyan was a soldier, tinker, preacher and dissenter. He spent 12 years in Bedford prison for illegal preaching and it was here that he wrote his masterpiece.

Contact the curator Nicola Sherhod on 01234 270303 or email [email protected] www.bunyanmeeting.co.uk/museum