Parish of St Matthew, St Pancras , Church of England

Saint Matthew, Bedford New Town was one of the number of districts formed out of the parish of Saint Pancras in the mid 1840's to serve the ever-increasing population of the area. A contemporary newspaper even remarked that Saint Pancras was 'an immense suburban parish, the population of which is larger than that of most of the continental capitals'. Prior to the building of a permanent church services were held (commencing in June 1849) in a deserted pianoforte factory. The site for the church was given by the Duke of Bedford who subscribed £1000 to the building fund. The foundation stone was laid by Lord John Russell on 8 May 1852 and the church was consecrated on 23 December 1856. In 1956 the parish was united with the Old Saint Pancras church; and the building was later demolished.