This post features: Bedford, Leighton Buzzard and Biggleswade
Bedford
The River Ouse:
St Paul’s Church:
The Town Centre:
The Museums:
Leighton Buzzard
Biggleswade
Biggleswade is where Dan Albone, inventor of the tractor, was born and where Berkeley cars were made…
Dan Albone was born in 1860 and, from the age of 9, became interested in and proficient at riding bicycles. In 1880 he founded the Ivel Cycle Works and his lightweight bikes quickly became popular with racing cyclists. Biggleswade became known as the Home of Modern Safety Bicycles and modern Cycle Road Racing and Touring.
With the invention of the internal combustion engine, Dan Albone designed and manufactured motorcars with many new improvements such as: independent spring suspension, axle boxes, electric ignition and a reverse gear.
Dan Albone’s greatest invention was the first practical and successful farm tractor. After five years of research, he took out a patent for his tractor in February 1902.
See: https://www.biggleswadehistory.org.uk/research-2/research/people/dan-albone/
It should be noted, however, that in 1892 in the tiny village in Northeast Iowa, John Froelich (1849 -1933) invented the first successful gasoline-powered engine that could be driven backwards and forwards. The word “tractor” wasn’t used in those days, but that’s what it was. See: https://www.froelichtractor.com/the-tractor.html
Berkeley Cars were produced in Biggleswade between 1956 and 1960 at the Berkeley Coachworks factory. In 1946 the company moved to Biggleswade and began making caravans and, by 1949, were reputedly the largest manufacturer of caravans in the world. By the mid-1950s the market had become increasingly competitive and the company looked to diversify and in 1956 launched the Berkeley Sports SA322. Production of cars ceased in 1960 and caravans in 1967.
