The Biggleswade History Society hosts, or takes part in, several events and exhibitions throughout the year. Volunteers from amongst the membership often help us to run a stall run and is aimed at promoting the Society, answering questions raised by visitors and selling our numerous publications.
2025 | |
| Biggleswade History Society was established fifty years ago. | |
2022 | |
| 2-5 June | In conjunction with Biggleswade Town Council we will have a stall in the Market Square. Date and time still to be decided. |
| 10 September | Astonishing Inventions of Biggleswade" - an Exhibition in "Footprints", Trinity Methodist Church, Shortmead Street. Open from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm. Admission Free. Held in conjunction with the nationwide Heritage Open Days. |
2021 | No events owing to Covid |
2020 | |
| 9 May | Stall in Market Square to celebrate VE Day. |
| 20 June | Coach trip to Ely Cathedral. |
2019 | |
| 17 March | The Chairman and Secretary represented the society at the annual Mayor’s Service, held at St Andrew’s Church. |
| 7 April | Biggleswade Garden Spring Show was held at the Wetherley Centre, where we had a stall. Many members and visitors asked questions, give us information and bought our publications. A very interesting and worthwhile afternoon enjoyed by our society volunteers. |
| 19 May | The Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire’s Service for Volunteers and Charities was held at St Mary’s Church, Woburn. This is a beautiful church and well worth a visit. Jennifer and Lesley again represented the society. |
| 15 June | An excited coachload of members and guests set off for the Black Country Living Museum in Worcestershire where we received a warm welcome. Apart from a torrential downpour, everyone enjoyed their day learning about life in days gone past. |
| 10 August | Many members attended the wedding at St Andrew’s Church of Johannes (committee member) and Leah. |
| 14 September | For this year’s Heritage Open Day, we held a stall in the Market Square. On a lovely sunny but not too hot day, the archive team decorated the stall with group photographs plus old pictures of the Market Square, all of which were much admired. A great day for publicising the society and our work. Thanks to all who volunteered. |
| 10 November | Ten members of Biggleswade History Society led by our President, marched in the Remembrance Day Parade with Lesley and David laying the teardrop shaped wreath. |
| 2 December | We made a welcome return to the Conservative Club for our “Christmas Gathering” with quizzes, laughter, much chatter and good food. Forty two members were present. |
2018 | |
| 20 January | It was with great sadness that we learnt of the death of our much loved Life President, Ken Page. |
| 31 January | Sandra Ransom (Chairman and Archivist) gave a talk to the local branch of the British Legion on our WW1 Soldier’s Project. This large index is now being opened for research by the public. |
| 5 February | Jane Dale and Jennifer Topham represented the society at the Family & Local History Day held in Biggleswade Library by the Bedfordshire Archives & Records Service. |
| 18 March | The Biggleswade Town Mayor’s Civic Service was held at St Andrew’s Church. Jane Dale and Jennifer Topham attended. |
| 2 April | BHS attended the Biggleswade Garden Show where we had a stall. Jane Dale, Jennifer Topham, Anne Skinner, Geraldine Mason and Lesley Chapman “manned” the stall at various times during a very enjoyable day. |
| 7-8 September | The Society held a two day exhibition at Trinity Methodist Church to commemorate the end of World War One. In the Main Hall, our Archive team put together a wonderful display of the work undertaken by our volunteers on WW1 soldiers together with a display of medals and WW1 memorabilia. Lesley, our Secretary made a "Trench Cake" to a contemporary recipe, which used vinegar instead of eggs. Most of the visitors enjoyed this, with its rather strange taste! During the exhibition the archives were open to members and visitors, most of whom were astonished at the material the society holds. It is hoped that in the future this material can be made more accessible. Throughout the exhibition, members of TMC ran a very interesting film on the renovations of the Church, as well as serving tea and coffee with delicious cakes in the Footprints Room. Approximately 120 visitors attended - less than hoped for, but it meant that our team of committee members and volunteers were able to spend time with everyone, making it a great opportunity for promotion of the society. This event was held as part of the 2018 Heritage Open Days scheme. |
| 16 September | Biggleswade is proud to have within the town some beautiful mosaics, each depicting part of the town's history. So, again as part of Heritage Open Days, Jane Dale and her team of volunteers led two walks around the town, telling the story behind each mosaic. This was well received with about 40 people attending. |
2017 | |
| 24 June | Our Editor and Secretary, Jane and Stephanie, attended the Bedfordshire Local History Association AGM and Conference. |
| 10 September | Heritage Open Day 2017. Jane Dale and her team, Sandra Ransom, Rosemary Williams and Pauling Worsley, once again led walks along Shortmead Street, under the wonderful title of “Cracking Tales and Dark Deeds in Old Biggleswade”. Car boot book sales were good and the walks well attended. |
2016 | |
| 8 May | Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire’s Service of Thanksgiving for Voluntary Organizations was held at St Paul’s Church, Bedford. Sandra Ransom, Jane Dale, Stuart & Rosemary Williams represented our society. |
| 12 June | We had a stall at St Andrew’s School Fun Day, where Sandra, Jane and Jennifer enjoyed meeting and talking to visitors. |
| 18 June | Paul Artiss and Roy Chadwick attended the Bedfordshire Local History Association AGM and Conference on behalf of the society. |
| 11 September | “Cracking Tales and Dark Deeds in Old Biggleswade” - a walk along Shortmead Street led by Jane Dale, Sandra Ransom and Anne Skinner. This was our contribution to this year’s Heritage Open Day 1916. The four groups were very well attended. We did some brisk selling of books and publications from the car boot in Dan Albone car park! |
| 30 Nov 2016 | The Story in Stone community project is underway! A good cross section from the three towns of Sandy, Potton and Biggleswade dropped in at Robert Peel Lower School in Sandy on 30 November to meet the artist, Oliver Budd, and see his designs for the mosaic panels on which work is soon to begin. The attractive designs cleverly encapsulate key features of the history and character of the towns. The themes for Biggleswade centre on the three Rs – River, Road & Railway – which were essential to our town’s development. They include depictions of Biggleswade’s Saxon origins on the river crossing (Biccel’s Waed, meaning Biccel’s ford), later becoming a small market town; the Great North Road with highwaymen, coaches and inns, including the Crown where the 1785 Great Fire began and changed the face of the town, and, later, Dan Albone’s Ivel cycles racing to and fro; the Ivel river and canal trade which brought merchants here from King’s Lynn; the Great Northern Railway which boosted market gardening and ushered in the era of the Brussels sprout; Dan Albone’s tractor heralding a 20th century revolution in agriculture; the growth of sports clubs, leisure and associated industries, like Berkeley caravans and sports cars made here in the 1950s & 60s; and the world of advertising, film and TV which spawned Lady Penelope’s pink Rolls Royce! See the designs and follow the progress of this exciting project for our community at www.storyinstone.org.uk |
2015 | |
| 14 Nov 2015 | BHS Bookstall on Biggleswade Saturday Market |
| 10-13 Sep 2015 | Heritage Open Days celebrating England's local history and giving free access to thousands of places usually closed to the public. The Soicety's contributon will be announced in good time for you to plan to visit our event. |
| 30 May 2015 | BHS Bookstall on Biggleswade Saturday Market |
2014 | |
| 16 Sep 2014 | Biggleswade & District Art Society 30th anniversary. Our display of artists Henry Ryland (1856–1924) and Neville Howard Noller (1882-1978) |
| 12-13 Sep 2014 | Heritage Open Day at Trinity Methodist Church A Display of 55 Biggleswade soldiers lost in WWI. |
| 25 May 2014 | Willington Open Day we presented our display of Dan Albone's story. |
| 11 May 2014 | Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Annual Service at Woburn Parish Church, D Day veteran Vic Brunt was given royal treatment. |
| 7 May 2014 | Market Stall book sales. |
| Apr 2014 | Jordan's Mill Heritage Centre1st anniversary. A number of members attended. |
| 16 Mar 2014 | Mayor's Annual Civic Service held at Trinity Methodist Church witnessed the dedication of stone in the porch to remember nine Bourne Chapel WWI soldiers, Vic Brunt was present. |
2013 | |
| 25 Nov 2013 | Eric Lund and Ken Page hosted a presentation to a local Scouts group about the History of Biggleswade based on data prepared by Mike Strange, to young enthusiastic audience. |
| 16 Nov 2013 | Market Stall book sales. |
| Oct 2013 | Kingdom Hall demolished. |
| 13 Sep 2013 | After the success of the previous year St Andrews Parish Church was again opened morning and afternoon to take part in the National Heritage Open Day Scheme. 26 visitors attended. |
2012 | |
| 7 Sep 2012 | St Andrews Parish Church was opened for Heritage Open Day with a guided tour round the church in the afternoon, with the help of Phillip Rutt. 52 visitors attended. |
| Apr 2012 | BigglesFM invited us to take part in a monthly broadcast to promote the History Society on the last Thursday on the month between 8.30 - 9.00am. This still continues to this day (2014). |
| 10-11 Sep 2011 | Again for the second year running Biggleswade Cemetery Chapel in Drove Road was opened as part of the national Heritage Open Day This Heritage. There was an attendance of 80 visitors. |
| 14 Apr 2011 | We took part in the Library Open Day to show the work of our Society along with other local groups. The weather was fine and sunny, attendance was good. |
2010 | |
| 11-12 Sep 2010 | The National Heritage Open Days scheme is a scheme that opens, for free, buildings of interest that would not normally be open to the public and has been running since 1994. Noticing that Bedfordshire was not well represented in compared with other counties; we decided to find a building worthy of opening. It was decided to open Biggleswade Cemetery Chapel in Drove Road. We opened for the first time with the agreement of the Town Council. It was a great success with 88 people attending over the two days. The local favourably commented on hearing the tolling of the bell for the first time in many years. |
| 2 May 2010 | 10th Anniversary of the twinning of the town with Erlensee, near Frankfurt, Germany with Biggleswade. An event was held on the Market Square with a number of stalls & displays. We were happy to take part with our own stall showing our activities. |
2007 | |
| Jun 2007 | 50th Anniversary of the Biggleswade Carnival. |
| 13 May 2007 | Stratton School Farm Plant Sale and Farm Fun Day - We were delighted to be asked to attend this event and with many thanks to member Graham Rook we had many fascinating farm implements to add to our own exhibits. The terrible weather "dampened" spirits a little but our hosts ensured we were taken care of. |
| 15 Apr 2007 | Stratton School Music Festival - In support of this event we provided an exhibition of our work and the forthcoming carnival and a quiz "Textures of Biggleswade" drew some interest. |
| 7 Feb 2007 | Centenary Celebration at New Spring Waterworks - We provided for Anglian Water Authority an exhibition of the history of the Biggleswade Water Board and development of the water works that still supplies Biggleswade. A presentation of the history of the works prepared by Mike Strange was made to Sam Whitbread, HM Lord Lieutenant for Bedfordshire and grandson of the benefactor of the original well. |
2006 | |
| 23-31 Oct 2006 | A Dan Albone Commemorative Exhibition in Biggleswade library - A photographic display of the achievements of this great man of Biggleswade. |
| 29 Oct 2006 | Commemorative service at St. Andrew’s Parish Church - Members of the Society presented images of Dan and a synopsis of his life and inventions. The service included Dan’s favourite hymn and readings of accolades that were bestowed upon him both during his lifetime and at the time of his funeral at St. Andrew’s. |
| 15-17 Sep 2006 | Steam Fair at Shuttleworth - Photographs of the "Made in Bedfordshire" exhibition are here. |
| 2 Apr 2006 | Biggleswade Gardening Club held their Spring Flower Show and we had a book stall and small exhibition. |
| 27-28 Jan 2006 | Kramp (UK), of Stratton Business park, Biggleswade, held an open for their clients and suppliers. The Biggleswade History Society were invited to present a display related to Dan Albone, inventor of the Ivel Agricultural Machine; this being directly relevant to Kramp being a supplier of agricultural machinery spares and equipment. Our exhibition was well received and Kramp's appreciation was shown by a most welcome donation for which we are delighted to publicly thank them. Also, thanks to John Tolson, Rex Skinner and Eric Lund for helping Jean and myself (Mike Strange) support the stand for the two days. Click here to see photos. |
2005 | |
| 16 Oct 2005 | VE/VJ Day Celebrations and Commemoration were arranged by the staff of the Biggleswade Town Council and we had a marquee on the Market Square with displays of various material featuring "Britain at War and Biggleswade on the Home Front", "VE/VJ Day celebrations in 1945" and "Rebuilding for the Future". We also had exhibitions of ephemera and artefacts. We had a fantastic response and sold a good quantity of publications and signed up more new members than we have at any exhibition. a big thank you to all who came and helped to make the day one to remember Click here for the full programme that was on offer. See our photo gallery. |