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Coordinates: 52°05'08?N 0°15'21?W? / ?52.0855, -0.2557
Biggleswade is a market town on the River Ivel in Bedfordshire, England. It is well served by transport routes, being close to the A1 road between London and the North, as well as the main rail link North from London (the East Coast Main Line).
Located about 40 miles (60 km) north of Central London and 20 miles (30 km) west-south-west of Cambridge, the fastest train to London, King's Cross, takes about 37 minutes, while a car journey to central Cambridge takes about 35 minutes. In 2001 the population of the town was about 15,383.[1]
[edit] History
The area around Biggleswade is thought to have been inhabited from around 10,000 BC, with arrowheads dating from this period found in the region. In Roman 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 Way at Godmanchester. In the Fifth century AD, Saxon invaders settled here - the name Biggleswade is thought to be derived from Biceil, an Anglo-Saxon personal name and Waed, the Saxon word for ford.
In 1132, Henry I granted the manor of Biggleswade to Bishop Alexander - Alexander the Magnificent - of Lincoln to help endow Lincoln Cathedral. The town was granted a charter to hold a market during the reign of King John (1196-1216) - a market is still held in the market place in the centre of the town every Saturday. The dedication of the church is to St. Andrew.
The town is mentioned twice in the diaries of Samuel Pepys. On 22 July 1661, Pepys stopped off in Biggleswade (called 'Bigglesworth' by Pepys) to buy a pair of warm woollen stockings.
In 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. A national appeal was launched to raise funds for the many people who had lost their homes and their livelihoods.
Biggleswade Town June 2000
The Great Northern Railway opened in 1850, and Biggleswade was the first town in Bedfordshire to have a mainline station.
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.[2]
Biggleswade is also the base of the Jordans cereals business [3] which supplies animal feeds but also produce their own brand of breakfast muesli and cereal bars which are sold across Europe as well as in the USA and Canada. There used to be a Felix cat food factory located on Potton Road. However, this moved away in 1970.
Other goods which have been made in Biggleswade include Berkeley Caravans and Sportscars, who had a factory 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 brewery in the town centre for many decades; its last owners were Greene King but it closed down in October 1997 and the site is now occupied by an ASDA supermarket.
Biggleswade Swimming Club celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2006. It is now running in the new indoor Saxon Pool and Leisure Centre.[4]
[edit] Education
Biggleswade, as part of Bedfordshire, has a three-tier schooling system with lower schools catering for ages between 5 to 9, middle schools from 9 to 13 and Stratton Upper School continuing education up and until Sixth Form.
List of Schools:
- Stratton Upper School and Community College
- Holmemead Middle School
- Edward Peake Middle School
- St Andrew's Lower School
- Lawnside Lower School
- Southlands Lower School
- Holme Court School, a private school for dyslexic children, which was opened in 2005 just off the A1 to the west of Biggleswade.
[edit] Twinned towns
 Erlensee, (Germany) since 2000.
[edit] Notable residents
- Dan Albone, inventor, manufacturer and cyclist, credited with making the first practical farm tractor, 'The Ivel Agricultural Motor'.
- Charles Penrose, radio comedian and singer of The Laughing Policeman.
- Mary Tealby, one of the founders of the Battersea Dogs Home, is buried in St. Andrew's Churchyard.
- Henry Ryland, Pre-Raphaelite painter born in Biggleswade in 1856.
- Stevie V, dance act famous for the song Dirty Cash (Money Talks), that reached #2 in the UK Top 40 in 1990.
- Richard Walker, angling journalist, author and photographer, described as having the greatest influence on the sport since Isaac Walton. Richard Walker has an angling shop dedicated to him in the local town centre.
[edit] References
- , National Statistics Online
- , Bedfordshire Growers website
- , Jordans: Our story
- , Biggleswade Swimming Club website
[edit] External links
(Source: Wikipedia) |