BIGGLESWADE, urban district, Bedfordshire, England, m. N. by W. of London by the L.N.E. railway. Pop. (1931) 5,844. It lies on the east bank of the Ivel, a tributary of the Ouse, on a plain in which vegetables are largely grown for London mar kets. Biggleswade (Bichelswade, Beckeleswade, Bickleswade) is an ancient borough by prescription. The borough court was held by the lord of the manor. At the time of Edward the Confessor, Archbishop Stigand owned the manor. Henry I. granted it to the bishop of Lincoln, under whose protection the borough evidently grew up. In 1547 the bishop surrendered his rights to the king, and in the i7th century Biggleswade formed part of the jointure of the queens of England. Annual fairs were held here from early times. Biggleswade was formerly engaged in straw-plaiting and lace manufacture.