1628
John Bunyan is thought to have been born in the hamlet of Harrowden in the parish of Elstow.
This was a time of intense social, civil, and religious upheaval through the English Civil War, the Execution of the King, establishment of a Republic (called The Commonwealth) and eventual Restoration of the Monarchy.
1644
His family was poor, and his mother and sister died when he was just 15yrs old. So he left home the next year to become a soldier in Oliver Cromwell’s Army at Newport Pagnell. When he returned to Elstow at the end of the war he was known as a trouble maker, drinking and swearing and generally making a nuisance of himself.
1650+
A chance meeting with a group of women sitting outside St. John’s Church in Bedford helped him reform his ways, understand his faith, and set him on his spiritual journey. The women encouraged him to talk to the pastor of the church, John Gifford, who became the first minister of what is now Bunyan Meeting.
John Bunyan believed people should be free to worship according to their conscience and that churches should be governed by their own members, not by priests, bishops and kings.
1660
A new King, Charles ll, enforced rigid rules of Church government and worship. Anyone who did not obey was persecuted, and John Bunyan was sent to Bedford Gaol for preaching without a licence. He had to agree to stop preaching if he was to be released, but he was not prepared to do this.
Bedford County Gaol had appalling conditions. There was no sickroom, bath or ventilation. Gaol fever was a frequent visitor. He refused to give up what he believed was right and said that he “would let moss grow on my eyes in prison rather than disobey God”.
His blind daughter, Mary, took him food and ale in prison, and his second wife, Elizabeth, acted very courageously in trying to secure his release. At that time it was very difficult for women to travel or confront authorities. She even went to the House of Lords in London to plead for his release, but with no success.
1672
With changes in the law, John Bunyan was freed from Gaol and, with a group of friends, bought an orchard and barn in (then) Mill Lane, where the Bunyan Meeting still stands.
1678
In all, John Bunyan wrote nearly 60 books. The most famous was The Pilgrim’s Progress which tells the allegorical story of the main character Christian and his journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City and the trials and lessons he learns on his way.
For the next ten years, John Bunyan preached in towns and villages, even travelling to London, speaking of his faith, and calling for freedom to speak, act and worship according to conscience, and not under hierarchies of church or state.
1688
John Bunyan died, and is buried in Bunhill Fields, the non-conformist burial ground in London.
The name of John Bunyan is known world-wide. His book, The Pilgrim’s Progress has never been out of print, and his own story still speaks to many issues of our time.