TIME LINE

Dunstable Time Line compiled by Rita Swift, additional information welcome. Please email Rita on rita.swift1@ntlworld.com or use our online feedback form.

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1st Century (Top)

044
The beginning of Roman Dunstable (Durocobrivis). Around this period, construction of the Roman road, now known as Watling Street, would have taken place. The crossroads in the centre of town is where it crosses the old Icknield Way.

5th Century (Top)

C 410
The last of the Romans leave the area

6th Century (Top)

571
The Saxons raid and destroy Durocobrivis

10th Century (Top)

921
The Danes raid and destroy the Saxon village built on the site of Durocobrivis

11th Century (Top)

1086
The enumerators sent by William the Conqueror find nothing but burnt ruins on the site of the present Dunstable, so do not mention it in Domesday Book.

12th Century (Top)

1109
Probably around this time, Henry I establishes a town around the crossroads.

1110
The first performance of a miracle play in England given at the Priory.

1123
King Henry I and his full court spend Christmas at Kingsbury, Dunstable

1131
King Henry grants the first Charter to the town

1132
Work starts on building the Priory by Augustinian Canons under the patronage of Henry I. It included a hospitium (guest house) for travellers.
King Henry spends Christmas at his palace at Dunstable.

1135
Death of King Henry, December 1st, aged 68

1137
King Stephen keeps Christmas at Dunstable

1154
King Stephen and Henry, the Duke of Normandy, hold a meeting at Dunstable.
King Stephen died the same year.

1164
The burgesses are summoned by King Henry II to send members to Parliament, which they refused

13th Century (Top)

1202
Richard de Moring made Prior by King John. He held office for 40 years

1203
A three-day fair in May granted by King John who also gave the whole of the Manor of Houghton with its rights and profits to the Priory.
The body of St. Fremund brought from Oxfordshire to Dunstable Priory. Fremund was said to have been a prince, the son of the Mercian King Offa, and to have fought against the Danes. He was perhaps murdered by Oswy, an officer of his father, possibly on the instigation of Cenwulf.

1204
The Palace at Kingsbury granted to the Priory by King John

1210
Great storm, many houses destroyed

1213
Dunstable Priory consecrated by Hugh II, Bishop of Lincoln
Dunstable burnt by accident

1215
King John passes a night at Dunstable on his journey north.
The barons under the Earl of Perche, passing through the town, cause much damage.

1217
Itinerant justices come to Dunstable and take the people’s oath of allegiance to Henry III
Lewis the Dauphin, with the English barons, in arms against the king, halt for a night in Dunstable, after their defeat at Lincoln, and do great damage to the church.

1219
Court of Assizes held at Dunstable.
The town partially destroyed by fire.

1220
Robert, Bishop of Lismore, and Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, at Dunstable

1221
Mossy, a Jew, unsuccessfuly sues the prior for £700. His friends pay the king a marc of gold and £100 to save him from hanging for forgery.

1222
One of the two towers at the Priory blown down in a great storm

1224
People from Dunstable help storm the castle at Bedford after a siege.

1227
The Priory obtains a confirmation of the charters of Henry I and Richard I

1228
First Court held for Weights and Measures

1229
Henry III, passing through Dunstable, lodges at the Priory
Quarrel between townsmen and the canons

1232
First tournament at Dunstable takes place

1244
Numerous discontented barons and knights assemble at Dunstable and Luton under the pretence of holding a tournament. The tournament is banned by the King.

1247
Henry III, his Queen, Prince Edward and Princess Margaret stay in Dunstable.

Squatters ejected from waste land in the town,

1249
Bishop of Lincoln at Dunstable

1250
Bishop of Lincoln at Dunstable

1254
A cup of silver gilt worth 100 shillings sent to the king.
Tournament prohibited at Dunstable

1256
Tournament prohibited at Dunstable

1258
Boniface, Archbishop of Canterbury, visits Dunstable

1259
Convent of Dominican Black Friars established opposite the Priory. This was the only house of the order in Bedfordshire.

1263
Simon de Montfort visited Dunstable and became a brother of the Priory

1264
Two men hanged on the top of Pascombe Pit for sheep stealing
Tournament prohibited at Dunstable

1265
King Henry III, his queen and legate and Simon de Montfort at Dunstable
Tournament prohibited at Dunstable

1266
King Henry III and Richard, King of Germany, at Dunstable

1267
Two Welshmen beheaded for robbery
Henry III and Richard, King of Germany, at Dunstable

1272
Four marks paid by the Priory for Prince Edward’s crusade in the Holy Land
A blind man taken into the Priory “for his soul”

1274
Eudo la Suche throws down the Prior’s gallows at Edessuthe (Blow’s Downs) and sets up a gallows below Pudele, later Gibbet Arch beyond Puddle Hill

1275
Henry, a converted Jew, obtains the Pope’s letters that the priors maintain him and his family. The official of Lincoln “provides for him elsewhere”
Five thieves hanged, a sixth turns evidence and as a result 13 more are hanged.
The royal family lodge at the Priory and King Edward I gives one “rich banddekyne” or valuable cloth.
Richard, Bishop of Lincoln, at Dunstable

1276
King Edward I at Dunstable

1277
Work is begun on a large room for Edward I, next to the Prior’s chamber.
The Archbishop of Canterbury stays for 5 days

1279 - 1293
Tournaments held at Dunstable

1280
Two tournaments held

1283
Oliver, Bishop of Lincoln at Dunstable
The Prior dines with John Durrant, a rich wool merchant in the town. The Priory owes him “much money, so he dares not offend him”.

1284
Bishop Oliver Sutton and John, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Dunstable

1287
Bishop Oliver Sutton at Dunstable

1288
Bishop Oliver Sutton at Dunstable
General chapter of Augustinians at Dunstable

1289
Tournament held

1290
The funeral cortege of Queen Eleanor, wife of Edward I, spends a night at Dunstable on its way to Westminster Abbey

1292
Tournament held in Dunstable

1293
Tournament held in Dunstable
A great cross painted in the church, with the images of St.Mary and St. John.

1294
The pope’s nuncio at Dunstable
King Edward I orders a search for wealth laid up by monasteries, cathedrals etc. Although all the secret places were searched in the Priory only £40 was found. This belonged to Walter Rudham and was later returned.
Bishop Oliver Sutton and Archbishop Winchelsea at the Priory

1295
Two notorious robbers escaped from the Borough Gaol.
Dunstable sent two members to Parliament until 1338.
The gaol is rebuilt.

14th Century (Top)

1311
Queen Eleanor’s Cross erected in the centre of the town, commemorating the resting place of her funeral cortege. It remained standing for 370 years until it was destroyed by Roundheads while pursuing the soldiers of Charles I., who were marching to Bedford.

1312
Tournament prohibited at Dunstable

1319
Tournament prohibited at Dunstable

1341
Edward III and Queen Philippa attend a grand tournament at Dunstable
Final tournament in Dunstable. Jousts were usually held in the flat fields at the base of Blow’s Downs or in the flat fields near Bull Pond Lane, the old Butts.

1349
During the plague, the townsmen made themselves a new bell which they named Mary

1375
Confirmation of the liberties of the Priory by Edward III

1381
A rebellious mob extort a charter from the Prior whish is later revoked

1390
Birth of John of Dunstable, a world famous musician.

15th Century (Top)

1414
William Murlie, a Dunstable brewer and Lollard, hanged at Harringay, near London

1453
Death of John of Dunstable, musician. He was buried at St. Stephen's, Walbrook, London

1457
Henry VI and Queen Margaret at Dunstable

1459
Henry VI, at Dunstable; issues a proclamation to the townsmen

16th Century (Top)

1533
A court sitting in the Priory annuls the marriage of Queen Catherine and King Henry VIII. The Queen is ordered by Archbishop Cranmer to appear at Dunstable but she refuses. The decision is read in her absence in the Lady Chapel of the Priory.

1536
Death of Queen Catherine at Kimbolton, Huntingdonshire

1539
Dissolution of the Priory; Gervase Markham the last Prior.
The Priory lands subsequently appropriated by the Crown.

1540
Henry VIII at Dunstable. It is reported in “Willis’s Mitred Abbeys” that he wished to make Dunstable a cathedral city.

1541
Henry VIII revisits Dunstable

1552
Edward VI grants the rectory and advowson of Dunstable to the Dean and Canons of Windsor

1561
Gervase Markham, the last Prior, died in September and was buried at Dunstable.
The site of the Priory granted by Queen Mary to Dr. Leonard, Chamberlain.

1569
A primitive fire-engine made

1572
Visit by Queen Elizabeth I

17th Century (Top)

1603
The earliest reference to stagecoaches here appears in a London to Chester “Itinerary”, published in 1603.
Serious cholera epidemic in the town

1607
The last Assize for the county to be held at Dunstable.
Two malefactors executed on the Downs at Pascombe.

1625
Serious cholera epidemic in the town

1638
Daniel Fossey’s halfpenny token struck

1643
Queen Eleanor's Cross demolished by Parliamentary forces

1644
Royalist soldiers plunder the town and commit great outrages in the church during divine service, shooting the minister in the pulpit and wounding several of the congregation.

1645
Charles I and his army on their way to Naseby, stop at Dunstable. The king sleeps at the “Red Lion” inn.

1648
Elkanah Settle, dramatist, poet and political writer, born in Dunstable. He died in 1724 at Charterhouse

1654
Intention of marriage betwixt Thomas Wats and Jane Long, both of Dunstable, “published in the Market”

1661
Cholera very fatal at Dunstable

1664
William Strange leaves by will £10 for the poor of the parish, but none to be given to “Quakers or common beggars”.

1666
Elizabeth Pratt accused of witchcraft but died in Bedford Gaol before she could be tried.

1667
William Chew’s halfpenny struck.
Four Dunstable women accused of witchcraft, the most serious charge being that of bewitching small children to death

1668
Daniel Finche’s halfpenny token struck

18th Century (Top)

1708
Followers of John Bunyan establish themselves in St Mary's Street, this being a great rallying place for Baptists.

1715
Chew's Charity School founded

1717
The Sugar Loaf hotel built

1720
Mr Clemenson robbed after leaving Dunstable for London

1722
The Cart Almshouses built. They were named after Jane Cart, their founder, and were built to house six elderly women who did not have the funds to look after themselves.
The sisters Cart & Ashton present a picture (now destroyed) to the church representing the Last Supper, similar to that in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, painted by Sir James Thornhill

1742
The ‘Litchfield & Birmingham’ stagecoach started from the “Rose Inn,” Holborn Bridge, London. This is supposed to have been the only stagecoach passing through Dunstable for a considerable time

1743
Court Rolls commenced.
Several persons fined for encroachment on open spaces in the streets.

1751
Catherine Smith sentenced to be whipped at Dunstable

1770
Urn full of Roman coins of Antoninus and Constantine found near Whipsnade Turn on Dunstable Downs

1773
The manor leased to the Duke of Bedford for three lives

1776
Eight ancient bells in the Priory are recast

1777
The Rev. William Dodd, vicar of Hockliffe, hanged for forgery

1781
Dunstable Church robbed

1782
A new coach road is made on the west side of Chalk Hill, around the hill, at a cost of £16,000

1784
Road made from Dunstable to Luton. A route previously ran from Dunstable to Leagrave.
Road made from Oxford to Cambridge passing through Dunstable

1789
James Oliver, licensee of Sugar Loaf, acquires Kingsbury House

1790
A second Baptist chapel built

1793
Death of Nanny Burton. She established and taught in the first Sunday School in Dunstable, said to have been the second Sunday School in England.

1798
John Warren sentenced to death for horse stealing but reprieved and sentenced to transportation for seven years.
Great enclosures of land.

19th Century (Top)

1801
A squatter named Peters built the first house on waste land in Church Street, called “The Ringer’s Hall”. This house was built of wood and carried by the ringers to the waste Peters sitting on the top of the house.

1802
Money left to establish a Church Sunday School in Dunstable

1803
The Old Gibbet Post, at the corner of Gib Close, Chalk Hill, destroyed by Irish recruits. On this post a man from Sewell had been secured with chains for robbing the mail coach between Dunstable and Chalk Hill.
Several houses removed from the middle of the road in the High Street, where the site of Queen Eleanor’s Cross was discovered, set round with oak posts, in front of “The Rose and Crown.” This house stood opposite the “Red Lion,” with the front towards London.

1805
The Old Market House removed from the middle of the street, and rebuilt on what became the site of the old Town Hall.
John Saunders of Dunstable, convicted of theft, sentenced to one month hard labour and to be whipped on market day.

1807
Dunstable telegraph constructed on Dunstable Downs but abandoned in 1814 for a simpler semaphore system.
The Bunyan meeting house or Old Baptists’ Chapel in St. Mary’s Street enlarged and a Sunday School founded.

1809
A prize fight between John Gulley v Bob Grigson on Dunstable Downs suppressed by 120 Dunstable Volunteers.

1810
Jubilee of George III celebrated with an ox roast on the square

1811
A row of large beech trees in Priory Churchyard cut down

1812
Wesleyan Methodists first appear in the town

1814
Encroachment in Church Street. Two cottages erected on waste land by Charles Bowstead.
William Gutteridge finds a Palaeolithic implement near Caddington.

1815
Fire at the Saracen’s Head

1818
Hannah Sapwell of Dunstable charged with wilful murder. Acquitted of murder but found guilty of concealing the death of her child – two years gaol

1829
Dunstable Tub Fire Engine – oldest fire appliance in existence - goes to British Museum

1831
First Wesleyan Methodist Chapel built

1833
The “Liverpool Express” Stage Coach overturns near Chalk Hill; a man named Stern is killed

1835
The site of the Friars Preachers’ buildings excavated and examined in Spittle Close, opposite the Half Moon Inn.

1836
Dunstable Workhouse, a comfortless and dilapidated structure of 14 rooms, on the north side of the “Swan Inn”, High Street South, abolished and 42 paupers rehomed inUnion House in Luton

1837
Chalk Hill cutting made at a cost of £10,000.
A man named Warner accidently killed by a bell in the Priory belfry
Gas introduced into the town, 7s per 1,000 feet. Previous to this date lanterns, candles and oil lamps lite the town.

1838
Regular stage-coaches cease running through the town after the opening of the London and Birmingham railway

1839
The Manor reverts to the Crown.
Church-Sunday and Day-Schools erected on south side of Church Street on the site of a former weekly plait market

1841
Queen Victoria & Prince Albert visit the Sugar Loaf en route to Woburn
Great fire – 19 houses destroyed in High Street and Church Street.
Temperance Hall opens on corner of West Street & Victoria Street

1843
Dunstable made the centrre of a Wesleyan circuit with local preachers and “Bible Schools” opened

1844
The Wesleyan Chapel and a number of farm buildings destroyed by fire. Cost of rebuilding Chapel £2,000.
Beating the bounds by Free-School boys discontinued

1845
Nineteen portions of waste land leased to Dunstable residents

1847
The Crown Inn posting house converted into a straw hat manufactory.
Baptist Chapel, West Street, erected; at a cost of £2,500

1848
Railway Station in High Street North opens for service between Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard.
Lease for 21 years granted to Alfred Oliver for two pieces of waste land in Church Street.

1849
The Bunyan meeting house damaged when part of roof collapsed. A new chapel erected at a cost of £500

1850
Tumulus excavated on the Downs by the Bedfordshire Archaeological Society

1851
Restoration of Priory Church commenced in August

1852
Restoration of South Aisle of Church

1853
Underground telegraph laid on the west side of the town.
Smallpox epidemic in Church Street.
Wesleyan Day School opened.

1854
Primitive Methodist Chapel built, cost £1,400

1855
First local newspaper the 'Dunstable Chronicle and Monthly Local Reporter' published by James Tibbett, a Dunstable printer. In 1856 he went on to publish the Dunstable Chronicle & Advertiser.
A savings bank established at the Town Hall

1856
Festival to mark the end of the Crimean War included dinner on the Square for 1,000 persons and tea for 1,200 children.
Lawson’s Shooting Gallery for rifle and pistols opened in Saracen’s Head Yard.
Fire Brigade formed

1857
New fire engine for Dunstable
Services held in Iron Church while work in progress in Priory Church
Penny Saving’s Bank - first accounts opened
Fire at Priory House

1858
Railway station in Church Street opens with trains running from Dunstable to Luton

1859
Priory House purchased by Munt and Brown, straw hat manufacturers. Part of the house itself was used as the manager's residence. A third storey was added to the extension for the factory premises
Grand Wesleyan Bazaar in the Priory grounds opened by Lord Charles Russell
Dunstable Volunteer Corps established.
All England cricket match in Dunstable Park.

1860
First meeting of Volunteer Rifle Corps
Priory Churchyard closed except for those with a family plot.
Dunstable Cemetery, West Street, opened. Cost £3,000

1861
British Land Company purchased land from Mr. R. Gutteridge.
New streets opened.
Ashton Schools, Church Street, erected

1862
Three miles of new streets with houses laid out by the British Land Company, mostly in West Street, although no piped water or proper sewers were in place.

1863
Marriage of Prince of Wales commemorated by a dinner on the Square.
Telegraph posts erected through the town.

1864
Dunstable incorporated by Royal Charter on December 8th. The Corporation consisted of a Mayor, four Alderman and 12 Councillors and a new coat of arms was designed

1865
First Borough Council elections
Dunstable Police Force established
The Dunstable Borough Gazette established by Daniel Tibbett, the son of James Tibbett, a prominent Dunstable printer

1866
Commission of the Peace issued
Old market hall converted into Town Hall by the Corporation

1867
The only sewer in town runs into an open ditch which flows down the side of Church Street
New Police Station in Icknield Road

1869
The Town Clock erected on the first Town Hall
Borough Council names streets and numbers houses
Services held in the Iron Church while the Priory Church being restored

1870
Market tolls and Crown lands purchased by the Corporation.
Sale of Temperance Hotel in West Street
Fire destroys much of railway station at Church S'treet
Statute Fair “Statty” dates back to approximately this date. According to the charter the fair can be held on the fourth Monday of every September

1872
Wesleyan bazaar in Priory grounds raised £672.
Postmen granted uniforms
Corn Exchange opened
Gas Lighting available for homes
Completion olf Priory Church restoration at a cost of £10,000
New fire engine house at the back of the Town Hall completed.

1873
Sale of land in front of Kingsbury by the Corporation.
Water Works opened
Foresters’ Fete in the Park
Bedfordshire Volunteers encamped on Dunstable Park
Serious accident on the railway between Dunstable and Leighton, several persons injured.
The Turnpike between Dunstable and Hockliffe, known as the Puddlehill Gate, abolished
The Red Lion Hotel agrees to provide 2 horses and a driver for each fire engine at cost 19s. 6d
Quoits Club formed at the Sugar Loaf Hotel
The Iron Church vacated
Old Fire Station and Lockup, South Street, purchased by William Marshall for £65
New Plait Hall opened

1875
Trees planted in the public streets
A ballad was composed by A P Wire to shame the rector of Dunstable into repairing the Priory Churchyard. It was about a fictional character called Sally the Witch
Houghton Regis Public Baths open daily

1876
Grand Bazaar at Ashton Schools in aid of Church restoration, opened by Countess Brownlow

1877
Volunteer Review in valley at foot of the Downs, Easter Monday.
Ashton Charities public enquiry..
Tenancies under the Crown expire.
Sale of England Estate (around England Lane)
Last toll taken at the Toll Gate, south Dunstable. Vandals demolish house and toll gate.
Sale of Star public house

1878
The Old Fire Engine House and Lock-up sold to the Saracen’s Head Friendly Society, the adjoining owners, for £40.
1879
Town Hall destroyed by fire
Churchyard wall rebuilt by public subscriptions £300.

1880
Town Hall rebuilt
Commemoration – Sunday School centenary.
Sudden death of Dr. William Forbes Laurie by poison
Extension of Free Schools

1882
Bell, “Big Paul”, passed through the town

1883
King Street opened
The Chew Trustees open a second school, next door to Chew's Charity School, as education of children aged five to ten years becomes compulsory.
Death of Rev. Frederick Hose after 38 years as Rector of Dunstable

1885
Tramp ward closed
Salvation Army arrives in Dunstable

1886
Dunstable’s ancient Fire Engine, 317 years old, sold to Messrs. Shand and Mason, London. (When Shand and Mason ceased business the “engine” passed into the possession of Merryweather’s, the well-known fire engine constructors, who handed it to the British Museum in 1929.)
New Mayoral robes.
Great Northern Road opened

1887
Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Free tea for 400 poor children
West Street road improvements

1888
Public rights on the Downs established and extended.
Ashton Grammar School opened for boys (now the Ashton Middle School).
Two “Red Indians” of the Delaware tribe visit Dunstable
Totternhoe land enclosures

1889
Responsibility for Borough Police transferred by Local Government Act to County Council

1891
Waterlow’s Printing Works established

1892
Brewer’s Hill Road formally opened to the public after public controversy
New sewage van and pump

1893
Great fire in Middle Row

1894
Seats placed on the Downs and 100 trees planted.
New well, 175 feet deep, and pumping station near Half Moon Hill.
Harrison Carter’s Iron Works established in Bull Pond Lane

1896
Horse and carts purchased by the Corporation
Four new bells cast and new fittings for Priory Church

1897
Telephone exchange opened at The Gazette office
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – procession, tea, illuminations, beacon fire,
Sewer relaid, High Street North
Renovation of Town Hall.
Electric Light first introduced into business premises by the Mayor Alderman Garrett
Work begins on a sewage system for the town

1898
Gold Mayoral Chain and Badge of Office provided by the Mayor

1899
Clock face for Priory Church to commemorate Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee

20th Century (Top)

1900
Salvation Army Barracks For Sale, 2 Market Hill, High Street North
Houses renumbered

1901
Drainage of Dunstable completed
Death of Benjamin George – complier of historical events

1902
Riots lasted for two days after Coronation festivities postponed due to the King’s illness

1903
Worthington George Smith presented with 1st Honorary Freedom of the Borough

1904
Communion plate stolen from the Priory Church
Burr Street made up under Public Health Act

1905
Dunstable police station connected to telephone network
Priory Middle School opens as Britain Street Council School
Rifle Club established
Isolation Hospital (later Priory Hospital) opens in Beech Road
Purchase of 2 cottages at Chalk Hill
Purchase of Council Chamber furniture
Bennett’s Brewery destroyed by fire

1906
Enquiry re extension of boundaries
Bagshawe & Co. Ltd engineering works established in Church Street

1907
Land north of Union Street (known then as Upper Houghton) transferred to Dunstable
Burr Street School building work commenced
Grammar School laboratory opened; Dog Kennel path diverted

1908
Dunstable Stray Animal Pound dismantled
Mr Charles Moore opens Moore's Department Store.
Icknield Lower School opens as Burr Street Council School
Wesleyan Church and school destroyed by fire
Royal visit of Prince Francis of Teck to Grammar School
Death of Squire Brandreth – carried to grave on wreath-covered fire engine
Bowling Club formed
Arsonist starts numerous fires

1909
Wrecked ‘airship’ found at Sewell – advertising stunt
Dunstable Reading Room closed
Fire brigade reorganised
Foundation stone of the Wesleyan Methodist Church laid
Workmen dig foundations for Cross & Co

1910
Gary Cooper enrols as a pupil at Dunstable Grammar School
West Street corner widened

1911
Britain Street Council School opens

1912
New Post Office built

1913
New organ dedicated by Bishop of Ely to celebrate 700th anniversary of Church consecration
An application by Mr Munt, Priory House, to build a wall to prevent flooding is rejected
Waterlow & Sons Ltd, works sports ground and pavilion instituted

1914
First company of Dunstable Girl Guides registered
London to Birmingham underground telegraph laid through the town
Dunstable transferred from the Diocese of Ely to St. Albans
New well sunk at waterworks
Council purchased allotments at French’s Gate
Dunstable Company of the 5th Beds Regiment & Dunstable Squadron of the Beds. Yeomanry leave for French battlefields
Food riots outside Ernest Mowse grocer shop, 81 High Street North
Crossroads roped off in search for German “spies”
First arrival of Belgian refugees
Thousands of troops billeted in Dunstable
Town Hall used as Soldiers’ Institute
Death of Canon Macaulay, former rector

1915
Public meeting on the Square expressed loyalty to war leader Lord Kitchener
Dunstable Volunteer Training Corps formed
1st 5th Bedfordshire Battalion marches through town
“Canvas City” for troops near Brewers Hill farm
Bedfordshire regiment sustains heavy casualties at Gallipoli
Street lighting reduced and warning hooters arranged in case of air raids

1916
Dunstable Appeals Tribunal under the Military Service Act appointed
Continuing news of heavy casualties at the Western Front

1917
Bomb dropped from German Zeppelin on Harrison Carter Works
Death of Worthington G Smith
Dunstable Food Control Committee appointed

1918
Food ration card scheme in force after U-Boat blockade
Dunstable hears about end of war when train arrives from Luton crowded with cheering people.

1919
Peace Day celebrations
First Dunstable Brownie pack formed
Lord Cavan, Commander of the British Forces in Italy, welcomed home at a dinner at the Town Hall
Beds Agricultural Show held at Dunstable for the first time

1920
Bennett Memorial Recreation Ground bequeathed to the Town

1921
First Council houses completed in Garden Road at weekly rent of 13/4d
Excavations of barrows on Dunstable Downs begin (also 1925-6, 1927, 1929)
Wesleyan Church war memorial unveiled
Mr F T Garrett made Freeman of the Borough
Mr L C R Thring retired as Headmaster of the Grammar School

1922
The Dunstable branch of the British Legion founded (Closed 2010)
Priory Church War Memorial unveiled
Waterlow & Sons Ltd’s war memorial unveiled
United Services Club opened (High Street South)

1923
Lloyds Bank opens in High Street North
Mayoress’s Gold Chain and badge of office provided

1924
Sir William Waterlow of Waterlow's banknote printing firm is unwittingly drawn into a currency swindle to print false Portuguese banknotes
New Council offices erected
Sir Herbert Hambling and Mr C Boskett made Freeman of the Borough
Resignation of Canon W W C Baker, Rector for 21 years
Death of Mr C C S Benning, Town Clerk for 32 years
Excavations at Scott’s Garage on the site of the Dominican Friary of Dunstable
Parts of 4 Saxon skeletons fond at the “Rifle Volunteer” inn, West Street

1925
First Motor Fire Engine purchased
British Standard Time made permanent feature
First lady Mayor, Councillor Miss Lucy Dales, elected
Dunstable Library & Museum opened at the Town Hall
Luton Electricity Extension order approved for supply to Dunstable and other places
Council houses erected at Watling Street site
Memorial altar in Priory Church dedicated in memory of the late Town Clerk, Mr C C S Benning

1926
Dunstable Portland Cement Company’s works opened
Church Hall, Church Street, opened
Cemetery enlarged in West Street
New motor fire engine
Council houses erected in West Street

1927
Kingsbury Stables become town museum
The British Archaeological Association visited Dunstable

1928
Dunstable Free Library opened

1929
A new police station in High Street South costs £8,755
Sir Mortimer Wheeler leads excavation of one of the barrows in the Five Knolls, revealing nearly 100 skeletons
Dunstable’s ancient fire engine, the oldest known, presented to British Museum by Messrs Merryweather
126th Beds Agricultural Show held at Dunstable
Contingent of foreign Boy Scouts from the Jamboree at Birkenhead entertained by the town
Airship R101 passed over the town on her first trial flight

1930
Council houses erected at Chiltern Road
Death of Canon W W C Baker, former rector

1931
London Gliding Club starts operating from Dunstable Downs
Whipsnade Zoo opens
Restoration of the Priory Church Tower completed
Tombstone of Alice Durant (late 13th century) found built into a buttress in the west front of the Priory Church
Messrs. Benjamin Bennett, the last hat factory in Dunstable, closed
Blow’s Downs leased to Dunstable Town Council for 21 years as a recreation space by Mrs Crawley Ross Skinner

1932
Sir Herbert Hambling, banker, Freeman of the town died
First Dunstable Eisteddfod
The Thorn “Meeting”, the parent church of Dunstable and Houghton Regis Baptist Churches, repaired and its church yard improved
Headquarters of the Luton Division of the County Police transferred from Luton to Dunstable

1933
First electric street lamps erected in High Street North
Borough boundaries enlarged
Civic Week pageant held

1934
Fayrey Pall returned from Victoria & Albert Museum
A C Sphinx Sparking Plug Co’s Works transferred to Dunstable from Birmingham
New Dossal at Priory Church dedicated in memory of Canon W W C Baker, former rector. (A dossal is a cloth hung at the back of the chancel, behind the altar, varying in colour according to the church’s seasons)

1935
King George V Silver Jubilee celebrated
California Swimming Pool opened at Dunstable Downs
Improved street lighting adopted for centre of town

1936
Grove House and Gardens purchased by the Corporation
Northfields Senior Council School opened. In 1946 it becomes a Secondary Modern School and an Upper School in 1972
Ashton Schools reconstructed
Extension of street lighting in High Street
Laying of “safety” crossings

1937
Grove House becomes Dunstable’s new Civic Centre
Coronation Day celebrations

1938
Dunstable Library opens at Chew’s School, High Street South (now Little Theatre)
Air raid shelters dug in Grove House Gardens
Evelyn Road junior and infants school opened
Jubilee of Dunstable Grammar School
British National Gliding contests at the London Gliding Club. New Word Record endurance flight in a two-seater glider
Alderman Alfred William Webb made a Freeman of the Borough
Empire Rubber Company factory built in London Road

1939
Queen Mary opens Luton & Dunstable Hospital
4,000 evacuees arrive from London
First season of car parking fees on the Downs – net income £136.16.4
Lord Luke opened new Fire Station and the Memorial Gates and Pleasure Grounds of Grove House Gardens
Big Air Raid Precautions exercises
Dunstable Museum closes.

1940
German air raider machine guns Dunstable High Street
Spitfire £5,000 Fund launched

1941
War suspends Good Friday custom of Orange Rolling
Compulsory Fire Watching introduced
ARP mock enemy attack on town

1942
Admiralty grant official recognition of Dunstable Sea Cadet Unit 115
Vauxhall Motors plant in Boscombe Road opens
Dunstable won £50 prize for salvage in National Waste Paper recovery contest
Scout VC (the Cornwall Badge) awarded to Troop Leader Alfred Gurney of the 58th St. Peter’s, Dunstable Troop. He died before receiving the award.
Kingsway Health Centre opened
Town Council prepare post-war plan for a Greater Dunstable

1943
First news of Dunstable prisoners of war in Japan after fall of Singapore
Book Recovery Drive a big success
Town council report a loss of £1,317 on their farming scheme – decision to discontinue

1944
German bomb dropped in grounds of Northfield School
Hospital Sunday held at Dunstable for first time
Town Council bought remainder of Beecroft Estate as a site for housing scheme at cost of £11,900 for 35,348 acres
Chief Guide Lady Baden-Powell visited Dunstable in course of her tour of South Beds
Inaugural luncheon of Dunstable Rotary Club
Col. Mary Booth, granddaughter of the founder of the Salvation Army, visited the Methodist Church, The Square

1945
Farm stock perished in fire at Brewers Hill Farm
Dunstable Rotary Club receives its Charter
V.E. Day Thanksgiving Service in Grove House Gardens
V.J. Day Thanksgiving Service in Grove House Gardens
Waiting List for Council houses opened
Thanksgiving Savings Week
First meeting to discuss War Memorial

1946
Italian Prisoners of War, based at the London Gliding Club, dig the footings for the Beecroft Estate
Town Council acquire Priory House and Gardens for the Town
First prefabs arrive
War Memorial Fund launched

1947
Priory House Gardens opens to the public
Local government boundary Commission rejected Luton’s bid for amalgamation with Dunstable
Dunstable, by poll, decided to allow cinemas to open on Sundays

1948
Green Lanes controversy begin
Windmill at West Street commissioned as the Training Ship Lionel Preston for Dunstable Sea Cadets

1949
Minister of Town & Country Planning banned further building development in the area to the west of Dunstable “with the exception of certain rounding off of the Borough”
New headquarters of Dunstable Pioneer Boys’ Club opened
Dunstable Inner Wheel received Charter
South Beds Preservation Society contest in the High Court, power of Minister of Transport to make the Order permitting the closure of some of the Green Lanes for quarrying extension

1950
Clean Food Conference at Health Centre, Kingsway – then Exhibition Week at Town Hall
Preservation Society win Green Lanes issue
Road Safety Week
Court of appeal allowed the appeals by the Ministry of Transport and Rugby Portland Cement Co. Ltd for authority to close parts of Totternhoe green ways to permit extension of chalk workings
The town’s war memorial to be an inscribed plaque in an alcove in Priory House Gardens
Jack Smith appointed Dunstable town clerk
Land purchased for Kingsbury School
Dunstable Cricket Club opens in Bull Pond Lane
Beecroft housing estate established
Dunstable Civil Defence formed

1951
Cordova officially opened in West Street as an ‘old people's welfare centre’
Ludun factory for disabled workers is opened
Festival of Britain exhibition in town hall

1952
An increase to 9d per week to rent a typical Council house
Beecroft Primary School opens
An 80 foot well discovered 50 yards from the Town Hall
The war memorial in Priory Gardens, in memory of those who died during World War II unveiled. The ceremony was led by the then Mayor of Dunstable, Ald. Tommy Sandland
Down Your Way radio team visit
Road islands completed in High Street
AC Sphinx Spark Plug Co changes its name to A C Delco Division of General Motors Ltd
Miss E Boyes retires as headmistress of Burr Street School after 26 years

1953
Average wage at Dunstable Vauxhall reaches £10 per week
Population reaches 17,000
Dunstable Girls’ Choir appeared on television on Caroll Levis and His Discoveries show
Work starts on new Commer Cars factory in Boscombe Road
Manshead Archaeological Society formed

1954
Bell from cemetery chapel sold for £22
Five bus shelters erected in town at cost of £336
Chade Razor Blade Co in High Street South closes down
Dunstable Young People’s Club opens using the premises of the Pioneer Boys Club
Meat rationing ends

1955
Cattle Market on the Square closes
300 chairs destroyed by fire at Grove House
Tornado hits Dunstable but no damage sustained
Road beneath the railway bridge at High Street North lowered by 14 ½ inches
Orange Rolling revived
Cross Paperware factory almost gutted by fire but work carries on

1956
Duke of Edinburgh opens Ludun Works in Liscombe Road
First Premium Bond issued in Dunstable
First open air service in the Tree Cathedral, Whipsnade

1957
Sixth century Saxon burial ground unearthed at Marina Drive by Manshead Archaeological Society

1958
Vauxhall Motors present the Mayor of Dunstable with a Mayoral car
New Eight Bells opens in Westfield Road after the old Eight Bells had been demolished in Ashton Street
Six schoolboys go to Buckingham Palace to collect gold awards from the Duke of Edinburgh
A 2,000 year old bread roll excavated at Puddle Hill
Demolition of empty shops in Church Street begins, ready for road widening scheme

1959
Queen Eleanor’s School for Girls opens in Langdale Road with Miss Christina Scott headmistress.
M1 Motorway opens and Dunstable’s through traffic is halved
Rt. Hon. Harold Macmillan visits Dunstable to give an election speech
Have a Go Wilfred Pickles radio show broadcast from Town Hall
Dunstable Excelsior Band appears on BBC Tonight programme
St.Augustine’s Church, Downside, opens
Downside Lower School opens
Highwayman Hotel opens in London Road
Citizens’ Advice Bureau opens in Priory House

1960
WVS take over and run the Meals on Wheels service
California Ballroom opens
New pavilion at Bennetts Recreation Ground
Cross Paperware gutted by fired again
Telephone exchange goes automatic.
Old Palace Lodge opens as 5 bedroom hotel
Scotland Yard called in to investigate the murder of a man whose body was found in a shed on part of Dunstable Downs

1961
Dunstable College opens
Church Street road widening starts

1962
Old Palace Lodge granted a full licence
Young People’s Club and Pioneer Boys Club open next door to each other in Manchester Place
Foundation stone laid for new Roman Catholic Church, West Street
New Railway Bridge in Church Street completed
Brewer's Hill Middle School opens as a County Secondary School and becomes a Middle School in 1973.

1963
New Post Office opens in High Street North
The Red Lion (parts of which were over 400 years old) and The White Lion (dating back some six centuries) were pulled down to facilitate the widening of Church Street
Pageant performed at Priory Meadow
Red Lion and White Horse closed prior to Church Street road widening
The new Court House opens
Priory Church Service televised on ATV

1964
3rd East Anglia Regiment receives the Freedom of the Borough
Sir Alec Douglas-Home gives an election speech in The Square
The Rolling Stones perform at the California Ballroom
Mill Vale Middle School opens as a County Secondary School. Becomes a middle school in 1973
Roman Catholic Church, West Street, completed at a cost of £75,000
Civic Hall opened. Later renamed Queensway Hall
Market in High Street moves to Queensway car park
Dunstable courthouse opens
Dunstable Amateur Operatic Society formed

1965
The last train ‘The Skimpot Flyer’ left Dunstable North Station at 7.25pm on 24th for Welwyn
Swan Jewel discovered at Friary Field by Manshead Archaeological Society
The Winston Churchill Public House opens in Church Street
The White Hart in High Street North closes
New Fire Station at Brewers Hill Road
Town Hall sold to Pearl Assurance Co Ltd for £35,000

1966
Jack Smith resigned from his office after serving nearly 16 years as the Borough of Dunstable Clerk
Bob Monkhouse opens the Quadrant shopping centre. The centre was designed by Willoughby Fletcher and Associates. The mural was designed by William Mitchell and Associates and the three-sided clock by the Scottish designer Robin Cameron Don
Demolition of Town Hall

1967
Dunstable North Railway Station demolished following its closure in 1965
The new library opened at Vernon Place
Rt. Hon Edward Heath visits Dunstable

1968
The Little Theatre opened by actor Bernard Bresslaw
Anglican Church of St. Fremund the Martyr completed
Orange Rolling ends after concerns about safety concerns and lack of sponsorship
£11,000 wages snatch at the Empire Rubber Co
Empire Rubber Co becomes Miles Redfern Ltd

1969
Ardley Hill Lower School opens as Lowther Road New Lower School. Named Ardley Hill School in July of that year
Rifle Volunteer, West Street, demolished

1970
The Windsock opens at the foot of the Downs

1971
Dunstable changes to natural gas from the North Sea
Barclays Bank opens in High Street North
Chemical toilets erected at the top of the Downs
Dunstable Grammar School closes to make way for Ashton Middle School. More than 300 boys move to Southern Campus Site near Caddington Turn, now known as Manshead School.

1972
Queensbury Upper School is formed from the amalgamation of Kinsgbury Mixed Grammar School and Queen Eleanor's Girls School.
Bagshawe’s announces closure of factory in Church Street

1973
Prince William of Gloucester opened the European Gliding Championship of Dunstable Downs
Ashton C of E Middle School opens.
California swimming pool closed

1973
Old Railway Hotel, bottom of Westfield Road, closed down same day the Chiltern opened 300 yards further up from the Railway at the bottom of Chiltern Road on the old brewery site.

1974
George Best plays for Dunstable Town against Manchester United and Dublin Celtic
End of Borough status. Town becomes part of South Bedfordshire District Council

1975
First Town Carnival for 14 years
Mary Peters OBE at the opening of the Recreation Centre in Court Drive
Queen’s Head, St. Mary’s Street, demolished
Midland Bank, West Street, raid of £196,000

1976
Priory Gardens purchased
Streetfield Middle School opens. Second and final phase of construction of the school is completed in 1980
A new visitor’s block and permanent toilets planned for the Downs
New Health Centre opens, near Priory Church

1977
Dunstable fireman preparing for strikes
Woolwich Building Society opens in Dunstable

1980
The Book Castle opens in Church Street
California Ballroom demolished
Fire at Cross Paperware, High Street South
Dunstable Cricket Club opens new pavilion at Bull Pond Lane ground
"Down Your Way", popular BBC Radio show with Bryan Johnston, features Dunstable
Short-time working at Vauxhall

1981
A 25 foot high bonfire built on the Downs, for the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer
1,000 jobs shed at Vauxhall
Sewell Cutting Nature Reserve opened

1982
Princess Anne opens new offices of ABC Travel Guides Ltd in Church Street
200 embroidered hassocks produced for the Priory Church to mark its 850th anniversary
The Miles Redfern rubber factory in London Road becomes BTR

1983
The 78-year-old Town Hall clock overhauled for the first time in 20 years
Buckle’s in Middle Row, one of the oldest menswear specialists, closes after 60 years.
Dunstable Round Table celebrates its 30th anniversary with TV personality Lance Percival as guest of honour
75th anniversary of Dunstable Town Bowling Club

1984
Demolition of The Windsock, West Street
Miss Christina Scott, headmistress of Queensbury School, retires after more than 40 years in teaching
Princess Anne visits the Queensway Hall

1985
New shopping precinct in High Street North, Dunstable, is named after Queen Eleanor and a modern statue of the queen is built
Dunstable Town Council formed
"Darkie" - Amos Cameron - retires after selling newspapers in High Street North for over 40 years. He died in 1986
Priory Hospital closes
The Old Sugar Loaf, High Street North, is refurbished
Les Matthews, founder of the Manshead Archaeological Society, made a Fellow of gthe Royal Society of Antiquarians

1986
Rear of the Post Office in High Street North demolished, leaving only the facade
Start of South Beds Dial-a-Ride service for the disabled

1987
Vauxhall Motors plant in Boscombe Road closed
Hoppenstopper buses introduced
Tourist Information Centre opens in Dunstable Library
Herington's, in town for 100 years, opens new pharmacy in Ashton Square

1988
Beacon on Dunstable Downs lit to mark the 400th anniversary of the sighting of the Armada
DHSS moves into renovated "Old Post Office"
Dunstable Arts Festival
Modernisation of Dunstable Telephone Exchange

1989
Tesco superstore opens at Skimpot
Dunstable Town Council moves into Grove House
South Beds District Council opens new office in High Street North
Pavilion at Skimpot opens, dedicated to Peter Newton, twice Mayor of Dunstable
Marchioness of Tavistock opens victim support suite at Dunstable police station

1999
White Lion Retail Park opens
Market Cross and Clock built in time for Millennium celebrations

21st Century (Top)

2000
Queensway Hall, Vernon Place, is demolished
Post Office in High Street South is closed
Five public telephone boxes in Dunstable are taken away
Announcement that Vauxhall car plant in Luton is to close in 2007

2001
Asda opens in Vernon Place
The population of Dunstable now stands at 33,805

2002
Royal Golden Jubilee celebrations
The unsuccessful 'Green Wave' traffic scheme comes into operation
BRT factory (formerly the Empire Rubber Company) closes.

2005
Work starts on the £2.5 million Chilterns Gateway project on Dunstable Downs
Sally the Dunstable Witch (1875 poem) reprinted by Town Council
Priory House Heritage Centre opened
Work begins on building the Grove Theatre
Demolition of water tower on former Bedford truck factory site in Boscombe Road

2007
The Chilterns Gateway Centre, on Dunstable Downs opens
Ashton St Peter's Lower School moves from Church Street to Leighton Court

2008
Long-established Moore's department store in High Street South is closed

2009
Woolworth's store in High Street South is closed
New fire station opened in Brewers Hill Road, near previous station, by Princess Royal

2010
Dunstable branch of the British Legion disbanded
Disused Renault Trucks factory demolished in Boscombe Road
Railway bridge in Church Street removed

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