Description
Leighton Buzzard, a union town and a parish in Beds. The town stands on the river Ouse, at the boundary with Backs, adjacent to the Grand Junction Canal, and on the L. & N.W.R., 19 miles SW by S of Bedford, and 40 1/4 NW of London. The railway station is half a mile from the town, and is in the adjoining parish of Linslade, in Buckinghamshire. The town is thought by some writers, but without good evidence, to be the Lygeanburg, mentioned in the Saxon Chronicle as having been taken in 571 by Cuthwulf, brother of the King of Wessex; and it derives its suffix name, according to some, from corruption of the name Beaudesert, according to others from the Bozards or Basarts, an ancient family, one of whom was knight of the shire in the time of Edward III. A Cistercian monastery, a cell to Wobum Abbey, was founded at the town in the time of Henry II., and an alien priory, a cell to Fontevrault Abbey in Normandy, stood within the parish at Grovebury. A very ancient pentangular Gothic cross, supposed to have had some connection with the Cistercian monastery, stands in the market-place; appears to have been erected about 1330; was repaired in 165U, and restored in 1852; is about 40 feet high, and consists of five steps and a surmounting arch, supporting five niches, occupied by hagiological statues. The town consists chiefly of one long wide street, extending N and S from the market-place. The town-hall, which was rebuilt in 1851, stands near the centre of the market-place, and is adorned at its western entrance, and also on the south wall, with ancient statues removed from the Market Cross on its restoration. The corn exchange, situated in the corn market, was built in 1862 on the site of the old George Inn, at a cost, including site, of £7500. It is a building of stone in a modern Italian style, has a two-storey front with Venetian windows and open balustrade, surmounted by an ornate tower about 85 feet high, and contains a hall with accommodation for about 800 persons, and an assembly-room with accommodation for about 325. The temperance hall, in Lake Street, erected in 1845, will seat about 480 persons. The working men's club and institute, in North Street, contains a good library and reading-room, has been acquired by the town, and is managed by a body of trustees. The parish church, or Church of All Saints, is spacious, cruciform, and chiefly Early English; consists of chancel, nave, aisles, transepts, north, south, and west porches; and has a central massive tower, with an octagonal spire 193 feet high, with chimes which were restored in 1865; and contains an ancient font, stalls, and some ancient monuments. It was restored at a cost of upwards of £3000 in 1885-86, and contains several beautiful stained glass windows. St Andrew's Church, at the N end of the town, was built in 1866 at a cost of about £4000; is in the Early Decorated style, with a spire upwards of 100 feet high; and measures, within walls, 110 feet by 50. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely; net yearly value, , £224 with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Ely, or the Prebendary of Leighton Buzzard in Lincoln Cathedral. There are also two Baptist, Primitive Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels, and a Friends' meeting-house. There are almshouses for ten poor widows and several useful charities. The cemetery, in Miletree Road, was formed in 1882, has a mortuary chapel of stone and brick, and covers an area of 8 acres. The town has a head post office, two banks, a police station, several good inns, and is the head of a petty sessional division and county court district. A weekly market is held on Tuesday for corn, cattle, and provisions, and there is a general market for provisions on Saturday. Fairs for horses and cattle are held on 5 Feb., second Tuesday in April, Whit-Tuesday, 26 July, 24 Oct., and the Tuesday following 10 Dec. There are also a large wool fair, which is held on the first Friday in July, and a statute (pleasure) fair on the first Tuesday after 11 Oct. The manufacture of straw-plait is carried on, and much transit traffic is conducted both by railway and by canal.
The parish proper includes Billington, Eggington, Heath and Beach, and Stanbridge, all of which are noticed under these headings, and has a total area of 8911 acres; population, 8814. The area of the township of Leighton Buzzard is 2426 acres; population, 6704.
