Biggleswade is a market town and civil parish located on the
River IvelThe River Ivel is a river in the east of England. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse.-Course of the Ivel:The river Ivel rises just north of Baldock in Hertfordshire, but most of its course lies within Bedfordshire. It flows through Stotfold, Arlesey, Henlow, Langford, Biggleswade, Sandy and...
in
BedfordshireBedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is well served by transport routes, being close to the A1 road between
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the North, as well as having
a railway stationBiggleswade Railway Station serves the town of Biggleswade in Bedfordshire, England. The station is 41 miles north of London Kings Cross on the East Coast Main Line. Biggleswade is managed and served by First Capital Connect....
on the main rail link North from London (the
East Coast Main LineThe East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
).
Geography
Located about 40 miles (60 km) north of Central London and 20 miles (30 km) west-south-west of
CambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, the fastest train to
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, King's Cross, takes 35 minutes, while a car journey to central Cambridge takes about 35 minutes. In 2001 the population of the town was about 15,383. The Biggleswade civil parish also includes the nearby
hamletA hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of
Holme, BedfordshireHolme is a hamlet located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England.The settlement is close to Edworth and Langford. The nearest town to Holme is Biggleswade....
.
The town lies on the B1040, which leads to
PottonPotton is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is 10 miles from Bedford and the population in 2001 was 4,473 people. In 1783 the 'Great Fire of Potton' destroyed a large part of the town. The parish church dates from the 13th Century and is dedicated to St Mary...
to the north and the A6001 (a section is the former A1), which leads to
Langford-Canada:* Langford, British Columbia - Canadian municipality on Vancouver Island* Langford, Manitoba-England:* Langford, Bedfordshire* Langford, Essex* Langford, Norfolk* Langford, Nottinghamshire* Langford, Oxfordshire* Langford Budville, Somerset...
and
HenlowHenlow is a village and civil parish in the district of Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England.RAF Henlow, is located nearby, but is in fact nearer to the village of Stondon...
to the south.
Romans
The area around Biggleswade is thought to have been inhabited from around 10,000 BC, with
arrowheadAn arrowhead is a tip, usually sharpened, added to an arrow to make it more deadly or to fulfill some special purpose. Historically arrowheads were made of stone and of organic materials; as human civilization progressed other materials were used...
s dating from this period found in the region. In
RomanRoman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
times, a loop road known as the White Way passed through Biggleswade (possibly along the course of the present-day Drove Road), linking up with the
Ermine WayErmine Street is the name of a major Roman road in England that ran from London to Lincoln and York . The Old English name was 'Earninga Straete' , named after a tribe called the Earningas, who inhabited a district later known as Armingford Hundred, around Arrington, Cambridgeshire and Royston,...
at
GodmanchesterGodmanchester is a small town and civil parish within the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, in England. It lies on the south bank of the River Great Ouse, south of the larger town of Huntingdon, and on the A14 road....
.
The Saxons
In the 5th century AD, Saxon invaders settled here - the name Biggleswade is thought to be derived from Biceil, an
Anglo-SaxonOld English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
personal name and Waed, the Saxon word for ford.
In 2001 a gold coin bearing the name
CoenwulfCoenwulf was King of Mercia from December 796 to 821. He was a descendant of a brother of King Penda, who had ruled Mercia in the middle of the 7th century. He succeeded Ecgfrith, the son of Offa; Ecgfrith only reigned for five months, with Coenwulf coming to the throne in the same year that Offa...
was discovered at Biggleswade on a footpath beside the
River IvelThe River Ivel is a river in the east of England. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse.-Course of the Ivel:The river Ivel rises just north of Baldock in Hertfordshire, but most of its course lies within Bedfordshire. It flows through Stotfold, Arlesey, Henlow, Langford, Biggleswade, Sandy and...
. The 4.33 g (0.15 oz)
mancusMancus was a term used in early medieval Europe to denote either a gold coin, a weight of gold of 4.25g , or a unit of account of thirty silver pence. This made it worth about a months wages for a skilled worker, such as a craftsman or a soldier...
, worth about 30 silver pennies, is only the eighth known Anglo-Saxon gold coin dating to the mid to late Anglo-Saxon period. The coin's inscription, "DE VICO LVNDONIAE", indicates that it was minted in London. Initially sold to American collector Allan Davisson for £230,000 at an
auctionAn auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
held by
SpinkSpink may refer to:* Chaffinch, a small bird in the finch family* Spink , a fictional species* Spinka * Spink, brand name of an anti-spill device produced by Dreamfarm-People:* Alfred H. Spink, sportswriter...
auction house in October of that year, the British Government subsequently put in place an export ban in the hope of saving it for the British public. In February 2006 the coin was bought by the
British MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
for £357,832 with the help of funding from the
National Heritage Memorial FundThe National Heritage Memorial Fund is a non-departmental public body set up under the National Heritage Act 1980 in memory of people who gave their lives for the United Kingdom....
and
The British Museum FriendsThe British Museum Friends is a registered charitable organisation in the UK with close links to the British Museum, and was set up in 1968...
making it the most expensive British coin purchased until that date.
Medieval times
In 1132,
Henry IHenry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
granted the manor of Biggleswade to Bishop Alexander - Alexander the Magnificent - of
LincolnLincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
to help endow
Lincoln CathedralLincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...
. The town was granted a charter to hold a market during the reign of
King JohnJohn , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
(1196–1216) - a market is still held in the market place in the centre of the town every Saturday. The church is dedicated to St. Andrew.
Biggleswade CastleBiggleswade Castle was a castle in the market town of Biggleswade in Bedfordshire.The existence of this castle was discovered by aerial photography, in 1954, which showed the remains of a motte and bailey castle with a double ditch around the motte and a single ditch around the bailey.Some...
existed in earlier times.
On June 16, 1785, there was a large fire in the town. The fire started at the
The Crown Inn and spread rapidly through the neighbouring streets. By the time the fire had been brought under control, nearly one-third of the town had been destroyed, including 103 houses leaving 332 people homeless. A national appeal was launched to raise funds for the many people who had lost their homes and their livelihoods.
Transport history
The
Great Northern RailwayThe Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
opened in 1850, and Biggleswade was the third town in Bedfordshire to have a
mainline stationBiggleswade Railway Station serves the town of Biggleswade in Bedfordshire, England. The station is 41 miles north of London Kings Cross on the East Coast Main Line. Biggleswade is managed and served by First Capital Connect....
(on the
East Coast Main LineThe East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
) after Bedford & Dunstable.
The town was bypassed in 1961.
Buses in the town were provided by Eastern National until 1952 when the western division of Eastern National was handed over to United Counties. The company had a garage in Shortmead Street opposite Ivel Gardens until 1989 when it was sold for redevelopment into flats. United Counties was acquired by Stagecoach in November 1987 and moved to the current site in Hitchin Street in 1989, which was acquired from Charles Cook.
Other bus operators based in Biggleswade included Charles Cook European Travel who operated in the area between 1947 and 1998 and Fairway Coaches although both of these operators have ceased to operate.
Industrial history
Traditionally, Biggleswade has been a vegetable- and produce-growing area with trains often taking daily loads of vegetables to London's produce markets. Even though much of this has now stopped, Bedfordshire Growers, based on the outskirts of the town, still supplies major supermarkets with UK-grown potatoes and onions.
Biggleswade is also the base of the Jordan's cereals business who produce their own brand of breakfast Muesli, Country Crisp and Crunchy Oats and cereal bars which are sold across Europe as well as in Canada. There used to be a
Felix cat foodFelix is a European brand of cat food. It is owned by Purina, and sold in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Slovenia, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria, as well as France, Italy, Greece, Sweden and Denmark , and Finland .The Felix brand was acquired from Quaker by Dalgety plc...
factory located on
Potton Road. However, this moved away in 1970. There also used to be a Glass Bottle factory on Brunts Lane which was later destroyed by fire in 2000.
The town was also home to the Ivel Cycle Works, founded by
Dan AlboneDaniel Albone was an English inventor, manufacturer and cyclist. He invented the world's first successful light farm tractor, and the Ivel Safety bicycle.-Childhood:...
. This factory ultimately produced
bicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s,
motorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s and light
tractorA tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
s. It went into receivership in 1920.
Other goods which have been made in Biggleswade include
BerkeleyBerkeley Cars Ltd of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England produced small economical sporting microcars with motorcycle-derived engines from 322 cc to 692 cc and front wheel drive between 1956 and 1960.-History:...
Caravans and Sportscars, who had a
factoryA factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
in the town, which was later used by Kayser Bondor who made ladies' underwear and stockings in the town until the mid-1990s. The factory was demolished and is now a housing estate, with roads named
Berkeley Close and
Kayser Court after the businesses that used the factory.
The town had a large
breweryA brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
in the town centre for many decades; its last owners were
Greene KingGreene King is a British brewery established in 1799 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. It has grown to become one of the largest British owned breweries in the UK through a series of takeovers which have been the subject of some criticism. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent...
but it closed down in October 1997 and the site is now occupied by an
AsdaAsda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
supermarket.
Biggleswade had two long serving motor dealers, A.W Watkin were agents for locally made
Vauxhall-Demography:Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within...
Cars and Bedford lorries for many years and had a large showroom and repair site in Shortmead Street, but the dealership closed in 2002 and the was site redeveloped into houses which are in a road named Watkin Walk. The other dealer was the Mantles business which originally had a site for Austin cars near the old Swan Hotel in the town. Mantles moved to a larger site opposite the old work house on London Road where they sold British Leyland and later Austin Rover cars. They also had a caravan dealership. Mantles still sell cars here, but since the collapse of MG Rover now sells Mitsubishi and Ford cars. The caravan business closed in the early 1990s.
Facilities
Biggleswade Swimming Club website at www.biggleswadesc.org celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2006. It now uses the new indoor
Saxon Pool and Leisure Centre. The town has two football clubs -
Biggleswade TownBiggleswade Town F.C. is an English football club based in Biggleswade. The club are currently members of Division One Central of the Southern League and play at the Carlsberg Stadium.-History:The club were established in 1874 as Biggleswade & District...
and
Biggleswade UnitedBiggleswade United F.C. are a football club based in Biggleswade, England. The club is affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association.- History :...
. Biggleswade also homes a Skatepark.
Biggleswade is the home of
Biggleswade Rugby Club, which has 3 senior sides and an active Mini and Youth section with sides from under 7 through to 17 years. See Biggleswade rugby.
Culture
The town is mentioned twice in the diaries of
Samuel PepysSamuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
. On 22 July 1661, Pepys stopped off in Biggleswade (called 'Bigglesworth' by Pepys) to buy a pair of warm woollen stockings.
John Byng, 5th Viscount TorringtonJohn Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington , styled Hon. John Byng until 1812, was one of the most notable of English eighteenth-century diarists...
often refers to the town and the Sun Inn.
Nearby is the
Shuttleworth CollectionThe Shuttleworth Collection is an aeronautical and automotive museum located at the Old Warden airfield in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of the most prestigious in the world due to the variety of old and well-preserved aircraft.- History :...
of vintage aeroplanes.
Education
Biggleswade, as part of the former authority of Bedfordshire County Council, has a
three-tierThree-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types. A similar experiment was also trialled in Scotland....
schooling system with lower schools catering for ages between 5 to 9,
middle schoolMiddle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
s from 9 to 13 and Stratton Upper School continuing education up and into Sixth Form.
List of Schools:
- Stratton Upper School and Community College
Stratton Upper School and Community College is a notable upper school located in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of the town...
- Holmemead Middle School
- Edward Peake Middle School
- St Andrews Lower School http://www.standrews.beds.sch.uk
- Lawnside Lower School
- Southlands Lower School
- Ivel Valley School
Ivel Valley School is a coeducational special school, located in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England. The school accepts pupils from all over the Central Bedfordshire area, and was opened in September 2010 on the site of Sunnyside School.-History:...
, a special school for children with moderate or severe learning difficulties
- Holme Court School, a private school for dyslexic children, which was opened in 2005 just off the A1 to the west of Biggleswade (note - although still signposted from the A1, this school has relocated to Cambridge as of September 2011)
Notable residents
- Dan Albone
Daniel Albone was an English inventor, manufacturer and cyclist. He invented the world's first successful light farm tractor, and the Ivel Safety bicycle.-Childhood:...
, inventor, manufacturer and cyclist, credited with making the first practical farm tractor, 'The Ivel Agricultural Motor'.
- Chris Roycroft-Davis
Chris Roycroft-Davis is a journalist working in the United Kingdom. He was chief leader writer of The Sun, Britain’s biggest-selling morning newspaper.-Early life:...
, journalist
- Philip E. High
Philip Empson High was an English science fiction author.- Life :Philip Empson High was born in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.His writing career spanned over 50 years before his death in Canterbury, Kent on 9 August 2006...
, science fiction writer
- Charles Penrose
Charles Penrose was an English music hall and theatre performer, and later radio comedian, who is best known for his unusual comic song "The Laughing Policeman"...
, radio comedian and singer of The Laughing Policeman.
- Henry Ryland
Henry Ryland was a British painter, decorator and designer. He was the son of John Benjamin and Elizabeth Ryland and was born in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire in 1856.He studied in London at the South Kensington Art School, and at Hatherley's...
, Pre-Raphaelite painter born in Biggleswade in 1856.
- Mary Tealby, one of the founders of the Battersea Dogs Home, is buried in St. Andrew's Churchyard.
- Stevie V, dance act famous for the song Dirty Cash (Money Talks), that reached #2 in the UK Top 40 in 1990.
- Richard Walker
Richard Stuart Walker was an English angler.One of the first to apply scientific thought to angling, 'Dick' Walker wrote many books on the sport. He also wrote for the angling press, most notably for the Angling Times...
, angling journalist, author and photographer.
- John Buglass, archaeologist
- Pam Rhodes
Pam Rhodes is a British television presenter best known for presenting the BBC television long-running religious series Songs of Praise....
, novelist and BBC Songs of Praise presenter
- Gurpareet Bains
Gurpareet Bains is an Anglo-Indian chef and Nutritionist.His first book - Indian Superfood - was released in July 2010, published by Absolute Press....
, chef and food writer, attended Stratton Upper School in the town
External links