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This is a
summary of just some Biggleswade streets, yards and corners
and their origins:
Anne Street
Named after Princess Anne.
Back Lane Later Brewery Lane, now Church
Street
Back
Street The back way to
Stratton Street, Victoria Place was named after Queen
Victoria.
Banks Road
Isaac Banks put up 67 freehold building
plots for sale by auction on 19th June 1901 he died in
1905.
Barnett Close Named after Squire Charles Barnett and
his wife Lucy (nee Gregory) of Stratton Manor, they were here
from 1764 until 1908. Find out about Lucy in our booklet Townsfolk of Biggleswade Volume 1.
Baulk, The
Originally an unmade roadway between
fields; was Cemetery Road and reverted to the old name on
22/12/1900.
Benson's Row A row of cottages that ran from Chapel Fields toward
Shortmead Street. They were named after Samuel Benson (a note
that his second daughter, Mary Ann, married on 6th November 1851
at the Baptist Meeting House in Biggleswade to Robert Coates Mitton
of Wellingborough, Northants).
Boddington
Gardens Boddington Piece was the Land between The
Baulk, Drove Road and London Road.
Winton Hayes Ltd owned Boddington Works
in Drove Road and they built Boddington Gardens.
Bond's
Lane
John Bond was a baker at 15 Hitchin
Street from about 1839. His son John carried on until
1915, when he sold the business to Maurice
Bennett.
Fred Knott of Letchworth bought it in
1929. In recent years it was The Granary now Lucy Mays tea
room. Originally Bonds Lane ran from Hitchin Street to
the New Inn Yard. A previous name was "Flander's Lane"; source
"History of Our Church- Old Meeting Baptist", 1909.
Boothey
Close "
Honest" John Boothey was a prominent town
councillor.
Brewery Lane
Earlier the Backway, Backside or Back
Lane, changed to Brewery Lane now Church Street.
Bridge
Street This appears in census records but is not
mentioned in contemporary records. It is not always
separated from Shortmead Street, but it seems to have been from
The Black Swan/Ivel Hotel and Royal Oak to the
bridge.
Brunswick
Close Brunswick House is nearby.
Brunts Lane William Brunt was a china and glass dealer in
Shortmead Street in 1877.
Chapel Fields
The first Wesleyan Chapel was built in
Cowfairlands in 1795 and the vicinity was known as
Chapel Place.
A new Chapel was built in Shortmead
Street in 1834 and the old building was converted into four
houses; it was demolished 1957.
Chapman's
Corner On one side of Crab Lane,
William Chapman lived at Stratton House
Church Street
Originally the southern end of Shortmead
Street until Brewery Lane was re-named, previously Back
Lane
Crab Lane
The road from London Road to Sun Street,
possibilities Shaped like a crabs claw, Crab Apple trees grew
there.
Dark
Lane This lane leads from Shortmead
Street to the river; It was enclosed on both sides by brick
walls.
Dells Lane
Leading to an old field called The
Delves.
Down's Maltings Now it is just called The Old Maltings in
Church Street.
Eagle
Farm Road The Spread Eagle
Inn was there, later, Spread Eagle Farm then Eagle Farm,
demolished in 1960.
Empire Close
Built on the site of the Empire
Cinema.
Fairlands It was once called Cowfair Lands and was
previously a meadow and possibly where the Wet Shod Fair for
cattle was held in November. Another contender for the Wet
Shod Fair is Fairfield on the other side of Sun
Street
Fairfield Road
Leading to Fairfield House.
Flander's Lane See Bond's Lane.
Foundry Lane
Morton & Kinman’s foundry was at the
end of Palace Street now only 1 Foundry Row
remains.
Franklin Road
Named after Henry Franklin the
miller.
Furzenhall Road
Leading to Furzenhall Farm.
George Court
Site of the old George
Hotel.
George Street A temporary street populated with
"Pre-fabs"in 1948; it linked the two ends of Holme Crescent
extending parallel to the railway. It joined the
footpath which still run from what was the southern edge of
the George Hotel (now George Court) through to the western end
of Saffron Road. It is still shown on the 1968 town map
but had gone by 1971.
Havelock Road Quite probably named after Major General Sir Henry Havelock (1795
- 1857) - see here and here (Thanks to Rob Cooper for the
information)
Hick's
Pit Today it is the rough car park
in front of what was Rose Lane School (now residential); it
was a pit and belongs to the Lord of the Manor.
High Street, The Town Centre, Market Square or Market Hill
Henry I granted the manor of Biggleswade
and Holme to Bishop Hugh of Lincoln in 1132. There was a
Town Development Scheme 1190 to 1200 with burgage plots rented
out at a shilling a year. King John (1199 to 1216) granted
right to hold a market. The southern side bounded the manor of
Holme.
Hitchin Street Previously Holme Street and Hitchin
Lane.
Hogge's
Garden The opposite side of Crab Lane to
Stratton House, Mr . William Hogge lived at Ivel
Bury.
Holme Court Avenue Holme Court is a large house at Holme
Green.
Kayser Court
Site of wartime Kayser Bondor
factory; the original works was
opposite.
Kitelands Road
Old field name.
Lawrence Road
Earlier, Cemetery Street.
Lindsell Crescent
The Lindsell family who were partners in
the brewery and lived at Fairfield House and Holme
Court.
London Road
was known as Baldock Lane in 1755 when
the turnpike road opened from The Spread Eagle (now Eagle Farm
Road).
Mill Lane
Leading to Franklins Mill.
Newtown
later
Potton Road; it was once the new part of
town at its northern edge.
Palace Street
Extended from The New Inn Yard to Taylors
the saddlers in Station Road and included the narrow lane
through to Saffron Road. Biggleswade used to be in the diocese
of Lincoln covering a vast area and the Bishop had a residence
in Biggleswade when passing through. Part changed to Bonds
Lane sometime after 1957.
Railway
View or Railway Bank Beside the
railway.
Redman
Gardens
The Redman family were controlling
shareholders in Wells & Winch Ltd. Dudley Redman was
chairman of the Biggleswade Urban District Council
Rose Lane
The Rose & Crown coaching inn was at
the corner, now rebuilt and renamed The Rose. The two rows of
workmen’s houses, Rose Terrace and later Alexandra Terrace,
date back to the wedding of The Prince of Wales and Princess
Alexandra in 1863. Alexandra Rose Day in aid of hospitals
commemorates her charitable work.
The Rowlands
Old field name
Royal Oak Close Site of Old Inn.
Ryland's
Corner Corner of Market Square &
Hitchin Street. John Ryland was trading
as a grocer and tea dealer here by 1827.
Saffron Road
Another new Road from the Railway Station
to Hitchin Street on the site of Saffron Fields. (The saffron
crocus)
St Andrews Street
This area was connected with the parish
church. The Conservative Club was called St Andrews. It
was last in the private hands of Dr James.
St. John’s
Street
St. John’s Church was there
Shortmead Street This
ran from just before the Methodist
Church to Ivel bridge and Shortmead End. There is another
Victoria Place here. Note that the sale plan for
Ivel Bury (now the site of Millennium House, previously the
Drill Hall and TA offices) included the garden opposite on the
corner of Shortmead Street and Sun Street. This was
earlier The Sun Inn garden, described in 1787 as a
"handsome garden in front of the house, well fenced" The
Biggleswade Chronicle mentions on17th July 1929 a"wall built
around a dangerous gravel pit"The Sun closed in 1836. H
A Collings opened his tractor depot on the site in 1935, it is
now Hamilton Cars.
Spring Close Spring’s nursery was here.
Station
Road Access to the
Railway Station in 1850, created by The Great Northern
Railway.
Stonelands Avenue
Old field name.
Stratton Street
Ran in the direction of the manor of
Stratton from Camden House to Rose Lane but became part of
High Street in 1947.
Sun
Street Here was The Sun
Inn.
Swanbourne Close Swanbourne was the private residence of
George Thomas, landlord of Swan Hotel.
It was demolished.
Whitfield's Corner. Dr Whitfield was a former
occupant.
Wilshere’s
Road Miss Wilshere
owned land in the area, she had a connection with Hitchin.
(Note that the road was incorrectly named Willsheres by the
Mid Beds District Council who failed to consult with the
Biggleswade History Society but has eventually been corrected in
2009).
Windmill
View The finest and tallest windmill
in Bedfordshire (1858-1967) was between Hitchin Street and the
river Ivel. It is quite likely that residents would have been
unable to see the windmill from their houses in this
road.
Ken Page
3rd August
2005 and others.
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