Biggleswade: The Crown Hotel
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Biggleswade: The Crown Hotel by Nigel Cox as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Biggleswade: The Crown Hotel
Image: © Nigel Cox Taken: 11 Nov 2007
The Crown's history as a coaching inn on the old A1 road through Biggleswade is evidenced by the large and high gate at the far end where the old sign advertising livery and bait for sale has been retained. However the Crown's main claim to fame is that it was the place where the Great Fire of Biggleswade began on 16 June 1785. It was apparently started due to the carelessness of a servant who dumped ashes from the kitchen fire in the hotel yard near some dry straw. The ensuing inferno destroyed nearly a third of Biggleswade. The loss was estimated at £22,500, a fortune at the time. The Crown was however rebuilt and opened again in 1793. The hotel's website http://www.crownhotelbiggleswade.co.uk/ ironically offers a warm welcome...
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Image Location
Latitude
52.08609
Longitude
-0.266109