Briggs was born in Toton, Beeston, Nottinghamshire, on 29 September 1944. Her mother died of tuberculosis when she was young. Her father, Albert, was severely injured in World War II and she was raised in Toton by her Aunt Hilda and Uncle Bill, who also brought up Hilda's youngest sister, Beryl, and their own daughter Betty. In 1959 she hitch-hiked with a friend to Edinburgh. They stayed overnight with Archie Fisher, who was at that time prominent in the revival of folk music in Scotland, and through him she met Bert Jansch, who had just begun to compose his own songs. Jansch and Briggs had an instant rapport and were an influence on each other for several years.