Biggleswade

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 52.0855
longitude= -0.2557
official_name= Biggleswade
population = 15,383
shire_district= Mid Bedfordshire
shire_county = Bedfordshire
region= East of England
constituency_westminster= NE Bedfordshire
post_town= BIGGLESWADE|postcode_district = SG18
postcode_area= SG |dial_code= 01767
os_grid_reference= TL1944
static_

static_image_caption=Biggleswade town centre

Biggleswade is a small and quaint 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).

Geography

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. [ [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ National Statistics Online] ]

The town lies on the B1040 and A6001 (a section is the former A1) which also leads to Henlow to the south.

History

Romans

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.

Medieval times

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 church is dedicated to St. Andrew. Biggleswade Castle 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 Railway opened in 1850, and Biggleswade was the first town in Bedfordshire to have a mainline station (on the East Coast Main Line).

The town was bypassed in 1961.

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. [ [http://www.bedgrow.co.uk/ Bedfordshire Growers website] ]

Biggleswade is also the base of the Jordans cereals business [ [http://www.jordans-cereals.co.uk/our-story-introduction.phtml Jordans: Our story] ] who 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.

Facilities

Biggleswade Swimming Club celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2006. It is now running in the new indoor [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/613196 Saxon Pool] and Leisure Centre. [ [http://www.biggleswadesc.org Biggleswade Swimming Club website] ] The town has two football clubs - Biggleswade Town and Biggleswade United. Biggleswade also homes a Skatepark.

Culture

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.

Nearby is the renowned Shuttleworth Collection of vintage aeroplanes.

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:
*Holmemead Middle School
* 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.

Twinned towns

flagicon|GER Erlensee, (Germany) since 2000.

Notable residents

* Dan Albone, inventor, manufacturer and cyclist, credited with making the first practical farm tractor, 'The Ivel Agricultural Motor'.
* Chris Roycroft-Davis, journalist
* Philip E. High, science fiction writer
* Charles Penrose, radio comedian and singer of "The Laughing Policeman".
* Henry Ryland, 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, 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.biggleswadehistory.org.uk Biggleswade History Society]
* [http://www.biggleswade.org Community Web site]
* [http://www.standrews.beds.sch.uk St Andrews Lower School]
* [http://www.stratton.beds.sch.uk Stratton Upper School & Community College]
* [http://www.findnewlife.org.uk/ New Life Church]
* [http://www.biggleswade.org/aog/ Biggleswade Pentecostal Church]
* [http://www.st-peters.eu St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church]