Timeline of Events in Leighton Buzzard
1086: Leighton is described in the Domesday Survey as the richest market in Bedfordshire, worth more than Bedford or Luton. It was taxed by the King at £13 7s. 6d a year. The settlement is noted as having some three to four hundred people and two mills.
1164: Henry II grants the Manor of Leighton to the French Abbey of Fontevrault in Anjou. The monks built a Priory at Grovebury which was frequently visited by the Plantagenet Kings.
1166: St. Marys Church at Old Linslade built by the Beauchamp family who had been given the Manor of Linslade by William the Conqueror.
1220: The building of All Saints Church was started during the reign of Edward I. It was built where a Saxon church had once stood.
1254: Leighton Buzzard granted the right to hold a three day fair on St. Dunstan’s Day in May.
1277: All Saints Church dedicated. The oldest object in the church is the font which probably belonged to the Saxon church which previously stood on the site.
1299: The Bishop of Lincoln banned pilgrimages to St. Marys Church in Linslade. The Church had become famous for its holy well.
1453: Market Cross built (approx.). It may have been a gift from Alice, Duchess of Suffolk (the granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer, author of Canterbury Tales). She owned the Manor of Leighton Buzzard until her death in 1475.
1582: Leighton Buzzard described by Francis Thynne as a "faire churche and a reasonable great towne".
1630: Leighton Buzzard Almshouses built by Edward Wilkes in North Street (rebuilt in 1857).
1644: The lower half of the south side of the High Street in Leighton Buzzard was burnt down by Roundhead soldiers of the Civil War pillaging and stealing food. The damage was valued at £14,378.
1726: A tomb stone in Leighton Buzzard churchyard was erected with this inscription " In memory of Elizabeth Strudde widow late of Heath in this parish she died 8th August 1726 in ye 112 year of her age." (Bedfordshire Notes and Queries, Vol. 1, p.21).
1750: Basket making industry starts in Leighton Buzzard around this time. Lake Street was the centre for the industry. By 1800 between two and three hundred people were employed in this type of work.
1751: Two women denounced as witches beside Leighton Buzzard Market Cross
1771-1832: A regular wagon service operated between Leighton Buzzard and London.
1789: Friends Meeting House built in North Street.
1792: An advertisement placed in the Northampton Echo appealing for investors to express interest in building a canal from London to Birmingham (to be called the Grand Junction Canal, renamed the Grand Union Canal in 1929).
1800: The first barge passes through Leighton Buzzard on 28th May.
1805: Grand Junction Canal opened linking London with the Midlands.
1820: St. Andrews Ironworks founded by James Gilbert in Mill Road. Some years later the works moved to St. Andrews Street. The works were finally auctioned in November 2000after four generations of the Gilbert family had run the foundry and blacksmiths workshops (LBO, 7/11/2000).
1835: Leighton Buzzard Gas and Coke Company formed.
1840: The Swan Hotel built.
1840: Wool Fair started.
1848: Parish Church of St. Barnabas opened, designed by Benjamin Ferrey
1848: LNWR railway line opened between Leighton Buzzard and Luton (closed 1st January 1966). The line was engineered by George Stephenson.
1849: St. Barnabas Church built at Linslade. The Church has a window designed by William Morris.
1862: The Corn Exchange built in Lake Street at a cost of £7,500 including the land.
1882: Leighton Buzzard cemetery in Miletree Road formed at a cost of about 3,000 including the Mortuary Chapel.
1885: The Knolls built in Plantation Road by the architect R. Norman Shaw. It was originally the residence of local banker Frederick Bassett. The Cox Long family purchased it in 1955 and in 1972 six squash courts were added.
1886: The Leighton Buzzard Corps of the Salvation Army formed.
1862: Linslade described as having "several streets of genteel residences and large inns".
1867: St. Andrew’s Church consecrated on the 11th July (demolished 1964 after being declared unsafe).The church originally cost 3,800 to build.
1884: Pulford School opened.
1893: Beaudesert Boys School built.
1903: Pages Almshouses built in Church Street.
1903: Memorial fountain erected by the people of Linslade in honour of Henry Finch Esq. JP in the recreation ground.
1917: Vickers Vimys (first world war bombers) built in the town from this date.
1919: Narrow Gauge railway built.
1919: In June, the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic was made by two Britons, Captain Alcock (pilot) and Lieutenant Brown (navigator). The flight took some 16 hours and was made in a Vickers-Vimy plane that had been built in Leighton Buzzard. The plane was loaded with three and half tons of petrol and was one of 50 commissioned by the War Office
1920: A memorial cross unveiled in Linslade Square to commemorate the soldiers of the First World War. In 1955 it was moved to the Memorial Gardens in Mentmore Road
1921: The Cedars School in the High Street opened, it moved to Mentmore Road in 1973. The building was subsequently used for Leighton Middle school.
1923: H. A. Rolls and Partners architects founded in Leighton Buzzard (company closed in 1995). The company designed many factory units in Leighton Buzzard and was largely responsible for the Lancer Boss development plans.
1931: The Royal Scot train derailed at Leighton Buzzard.
1931: Showroom for Leighton Buzzard Gas Company opened on Church Square.
1934: Leighton Buzzard Rugby Football Club formed on 27th June.
1946: Leighton Buzzard Rotary Club formed by 74 local gentlemen at a meeting in the Swan Hotel.
1949: The National School, Linslade, built. It is now used as church hall.
1950: A tornado hits Linslade on Sunday May 21st causing considerable damage.
1958: Leighton Buzzard twinned with Coulommiers, France.
1959: Lancer Boss, the fork lift manufacturers set up in Leighton.
1962: Redland purchase Leighton Buzzard Tiles which was owned by Eastwoods, in Grovebury Road, and Driroof Tiles (Stonehenge) in Mile Tree Road
1963: Great Train Robbery takes place at Linslade on August 8th between Leighton Buzzard Station and Bridgego Bridge at Cheddington. Mail bags were seized containing old bank notes to a total of 2,500,000
1963: In the third week of January there was a blizzard that completely cut off Leighton and Linslade. This was followed by a 43 degrees frost when temperatures fell to eleven degrees below zero fahrenheit making Leighton the coldest place in Britain (Leighton Buzzard Observer, 15th November 2005, p19).
1965: Leighton Buzzard and Linslade amalgamated to form Leighton Linslade Urban Council.
1968: The Corn Exchange demolished. The Bedfordshire Magazine (Vol.11, no.86) reported that seven coins and some charcoal were found under the foundations. It was thought that the charcoal could be the remains of a list of the Corn Exchange directors
1971: The Martins burnt down and demolished. Only the Lodge remains today.
1972: Leighton Buzzard twinned with Titsee-Neustadt.
1979: Clock presented to Leighton Buzzard Library. It was originally given to St. Andrews Church School by Miss Charlotte Willis on September 23rd 1871
1979: Redland (roof tile firm) open state of the art purpose built Vandyke Works on the old Stonehenge site.
1985: All Saints Church devastated by a fire destroying the organ, chancel windows and some of the bells.
1988: RAF Stanbridge granted the freedom of Leighton Buzzard. A parade took place from Church Square to the High Street with a ceremonial drill in front of the Town Mayor and guests.
1989: Sports Pavilion in Pages Park officially opened by the Town Mayor
1989: Safeway Store in Lake Street officially opened by the Chairman of South Bedfordshire District Council.
1990: Work on the Leighton Linslade Southern Bypass started (it was officially opened by MP David Madel in November 1991).
1990: Final planning approval granted for Texas Homecare and Tesco superstores in Vimy Road.
1994: Oxendon House Childrens Home closed down (it reopened in 1997 as a Swiss Cottage Nursing Home).
1994: Lancer Boss (maker of lift trucks) sold to the German company Jungheinrich
1997: Grovebury Road Scout Hut redeveloped at a cost of £175,000.
1999: 70,000 appeal launched to purchase Linslade’s water meadows for the town
1999: The congregation and clergy of St. Barnabas's Church, Linslade, celebrated the 150th anniversary of their place of worship (LBO, 5th January 2000).
1999: The Royal British Legion celebrate the official opening of new premises at the Bossard Hall (LBO, 5th January 2000).
2001: Freedom of Entry to the town bestowed upon the cadets of 1003 (Leighton Buzzard) Squadron Air Training Corps. (LBO, 24th April 2001)
2003: Jungheinrich close Lancer Boss fork lift factory.