Biggleswade Town Football Club is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, This figur ...

, Bedfordshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at Langford Road.

History

The club were established in 1874 as Biggleswade, later becoming known as Biggleswade & District, and played only friendlies and cup matches until the late 1890s.Blakeman, M (2010) ''The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935–2010, Volume II'' In 1902 they were founder members of the Biggleswade and District League, and were its first champions, also winning the Bedfordshire Senior Cup that year.History
Biggleswade Town F.C. The club went on to win the league twice more before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, also playing in the Bedford & District League between 1909 and 1912 and winning one title. In 1920 Biggleswade Town joined the Northamptonshire League, which became the

United Counties League The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''GCE Hire Fleet Ltd. United Counties League'') is an England, English association football, football league covering an area including the English Counties of the United Kingdom, ...

in 1934, and won the Bedfordshire Premier Cup in 1922–23 and 1927–28. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the club adopted its current name and joined the

Spartan League The Spartan League was a football league in England covering London and adjacent counties. Established in 1907, it merged with the South Midlands League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League. History The Spartan League was establi ...

in 1945. They returned to the UCL in 1951, before switching to the

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk ...

in 1955. During their time in the ECL they set the record for biggest away win with a 12–0 victory over Newmarket Town. In 1963 they returned to the UCL due to the increasing transport costs. The 1975–76 season saw them finish bottom of the Premier Division, resulting in relegation to Division One. In 1980 they joined the Premier Division of the

South Midlands League The South Midlands League was a football league covering Bedfordshire and some adjoining counties in England. It was founded in 1922 as the Bedfordshire County League and merged with the Spartan League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands ...

. They were relegated to Division One in 1983, but were promoted back to the Premier Division in 1987. When the Spartan and South Midlands leagues merged to form the

Spartan South Midlands League The Spartan South Midlands Football League is an English football league covering Hertfordshire, northwest Greater London, central Buckinghamshire and southern Bedfordshire. It is a feeder to the Southern Football League or the Isthmian League, ...

in 1997 the club were placed in the Premier Division North. The following season they were placed in the Senior Division, and after finishing fifth, were promoted to the Premier Division. In 2007–08 Biggleswade Town won the Bedfordshire Premier Cup for a third time, beating

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

3–2 in the final. The following season they won the league title, earning promotion to Division One Midlands of the Southern League. In 2010 the division was renamed Division One Central, and the 2010–11 season saw Biggleswade finish fourth, qualifying for the promotion play-offs and losing 2–0 to Daventry Town in the semi-finals. In

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

they finished fourth again, and in the subsequently play-offs they beat Godalming Town 2–1 in the semi-finals and Rugby Town 3–1 to earn promotion to the Premier Division. In 2014–15 the club reached the first round of the

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for the first time, losing 4–1 at

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. In 2018 the club were placed in the Premier Division Central of the Southern League as a result of league reorganisation. The 2021–22 season saw them finish second-from-bottom of the Premier Division Central, resulting in relegation to Division One Central. In 2023–24 they were Division One Central champions, earning promotion back to the Premier Division Central.

Season-by-season record

Ground

The club originally played at the Fairfield Road ground, which was shared with a local cricket club. A wooden stand was erected in the 1920s, and for several years had an

Anderson shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...

on either side. Floodlights were installed in 1989, and the wooden stand was demolished after being condemned in the 1990s. In 2006 the club left Fairfield Road and groundshared with Bedford United & Valerio whilst a new ground was built on Langford Road. The new ground, named the Carlsberg Stadium for sponsorship purposes, was opened for the start of the 2008–09 season, with the first game on 13 August 2008 between Biggleswade Town and Hertford Town resulting in a 1–0 for the home team.Picture Tour
Biggleswade Town FC The ground has a capacity of 3,000, of which 300 is seated.

Managerial history

Honours

*Southern League **Division One Central champions 2023–24 *United Counties League **Premier Division Cup winners 1973–74 **Division One cup winners 1963–64, 1979–80 **Division One Cup winners 1979–80 *South Midlands League **Premier Division Cup winners 1991–92 **League Challenge Trophy winners 1992–93 **Floodlit Cup winners 1995–96, 2002–03 *Spartan South Midlands League **Premier Division champions 2008–09 *Biggleswade & District League **Champions 1902–03 *Bedfordshire Premier Cup **Winners 1922–23, 1927–28, 2007–08 *Bedfordshire Senior Cup **Winners 1902–03, 1907–08, 1946–47, 1950–51, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1966–67, 1973–74, 2018–19 *Huntingdonshire Premier Cup **Winners 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2002–03

Records

*Best

performance: First round, 2013–14 *Best

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

performance: Fourth round, 2024–25 *Best

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...

performance: Quarter-finals, 2008–09

References

External links

* {{coord, 52, 04, 36.7, N, 0, 16, 7.8, W, display=title Football clubs in England Football clubs in Bedfordshire Association football clubs established in 1874 1874 establishments in England Biggleswade United Counties League Spartan League Eastern Counties Football League South Midlands League Spartan South Midlands Football League Southern Football League clubs