History
The village toponym is derived from the Old English for either house in a valley or Byttel's valley. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the village is recorded as Betesdene.
In 1147 Ernald de Bosco founded the Cistercian Biddlesden Abbey. In 1315, the village was granted a temporary charter to hold a weekly market. When the abbey was seized on behalf of Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries it was assessed to be earning in excess of £175 annually in rents and tithes.
Although the abbey continued after this time as living accommodation for those in favour with the monarch, the building was not maintained thoroughly and fell into disrepair. By the 18th century the abbey was in ruins and was finally demolished in 1727. The country house of Biddlesden Park was built on the same site.
Within the parish of Biddlesden there was the hamlet of Evershaw. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle at the time of King Edward the Confessor this settlement was listed as being in the possession of a "certain bandy-legged man". Evershaw's toponym is derived from the Old English for "boar wood". The family names "Evershaw" and "Eversaw" are derived from this place. No trace of the hamlet remains today.
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