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London Luton Airport, opened in 1938, is one of England's major airports. During the Second World War it doubled as an RAF base.
The University of Bedfordshire is based in the town.
The Luton Carnival, held on the late May bank holiday, is the largest one-day carnival in Europe.
The town was for many years famous for hat-making and was also home to a large Vauxhall Motors
factory; the head office of Vauxhall Motors is still situated in the town. Car production at the plant began in 1905 and continued until 2002, but commercial vehicle production remains.
History
Early history
The earliest settlements in the Luton area were at Round Green and Mixes Hill, where
Paleolithic encampments (about 250,000 years old) have been found. Settlements re-appeared after the ice had retreated in the Mesolithic period around 8000 BC. Traces of these settlements have been found
in the Leagrave area of the modern town. Remains from the Neolithic period (4500-2500 BC in this area) are much more common. A particular concentration of Neolithic burials has been found at Galley Hill.
The most prominent Neolithic structure is Waulud's Bank - a henge dating from around 3000 BC. From the Neolithic onwards, the area seems to have been populated, but without any single large settlement.
The first urban settlement nearby was the small Roman town of Durocobrivis at Dunstable, but Roman remains in Luton itself consist only of scattered farmsteads.
The foundation of Luton is
usually dated to the 6th century when a Saxon outpost was founded on the River Lea, Lea tun. Luton is recorded in the Domesday Book as Loitone and also as Lintone. Agriculture dominated the local economy
at that time, and the town's population was around 700-800.
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St Marys Church, Luton town centre
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The Wenlock chapel within St Marys
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In 1121 Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester started work on St Mary's Church in the centre of the town. The work was completed by 1137. A motte and bailey type
castle which gives its name to the modern Castle Street was built in 1139. The castle was demolished in 1154 and the site is now home to a Matalan store.
During the Middle Ages Luton is recorded as being home to six watermills. Mill Street, in the town centre, takes its name from one of them.
King John (1166–1216) had hired a mercenary soldier, Falkes de Breauté, to act on his behalf. (Breauté is a small town near Le Havre in France.) When he
married, Falkes de Breauté acquired his wife's house which came to be known as "Fawkes Hall", subsequently corrupted over the years to "Foxhall", then
"Vauxhall". In return for his services, King John granted Falkes the manor of Luton. He was also granted the right to bear his own coat of arms and chose the
mythical griffin as his heraldic emblem. The griffin thus became associated with both Vauxhall and Luton in the early 13th century.
By 1240 the town is recorded as Leueton. The town had a market for surrounding villages in August each year, and with the growth of the town a second fair was granted each October from 1338.
In 1336, much of Luton was destroyed by a great fire, however the town was soon rebuilt.
The agriculture base of the town changed in the 16th century with a brick making industry developing around Luton, many of the older wooden houses were rebuilt in brick.
17th century
During the English Civil War of the 17th century , in 1645, royalists entered the town and demanded money and goods.
Parliamentary forces arrived and during the fighting four royalist soldiers were killed and a further twenty-two were
captured. A second skirmish occurred three years later in 1648 when a royalist army passed through Luton. A number
of royalists were attacked by parliamentary soldiers at an inn on the corner of the current Bridge Street. Most of the royalists escaped but nine were killed.
18th century
The hat making industry began in the 17th century and became synonymous with the town. By the 18th century the
industry dominated the town. Hats are still produced in the town on a much smaller scale.
Luton Hoo, a nearby large country house was built in 1767 and substantially rebuilt after a fire in 1843. It is now a luxury hotel.
19th century
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A map of Luton from 1888
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The town grew strongly in the 19th century. In 1801 the population was 3,095. By 1850 it was over 10,000 and by 1901 it was almost 39,000. Such rapid
growth demanded a railway connection but the town had to wait a long time for one. The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) had been built through
Tring in 1838, and the Great Northern Railway was built through Hitchin in 1852, both bypassing Luton, the largest town in the area. A branch line
connecting with the L&BR at Leighton Buzzard was proposed, but because of objections to release of land, construction terminated at Dunstable in 1848. It
was another ten years before the branch was extended to Bute Street Station, and the first train to Dunstable ran on 3 May 1858. The line was later extended
to Welwyn and from 1860 direct trains to King's Cross ran. The Midland Railway was extended from Bedford to St Pancras through Leagrave and Midland Road station and opened on 9 September 1867.
Luton received a gas supply in 1834. Gas street lights were erected and the first town hall was opened in 1847.
Newspaper printing arrived in the town in 1854. The first public cemetery was opened in the same year. Following a
cholera epidemic in 1848 Luton formed a water company and had a complete water and sewerage system by the late
1860s. The first covered market was built (the Plait Halls - now demolished) in 1869. Luton was made a borough in
1876. A professional football club - the first in the south of England - was founded in 1885 following a resolution at the Town Hall that a 'Luton Town Club be formed'.
The crest also includes a hand holding a bunch of wheat, either taken as a symbol of the straw-plaiting industry, or from
the arms of John Whethamsteade, Abbott of St Albans, who rebuilt the chancel of St Mary's Church in the 15th century.
20th century
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Luton Museum & Art Gallery in Wardown Park
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In the 20th century, the hat trade severely declined and was replaced by other industries. In 1905, Vauxhall Motors opened the largest car plant in the United
Kingdom in Luton. Electrolux built a household appliances plant which was followed by other light engineering businesses.
In 1904 councillors Asher Hucklesby and Edwin Oakley purchased the estate
at Wardown Park and donated it to the people of Luton. Hucklesby went on to become Mayor of Luton. The main house in the park became Luton Museum & Art Gallery.
The town had a tram system from 1908 until 1932 and the first cinema was opened in 1909. By 1914 the population had reached 50,000.
The original town hall was destroyed in 1919 during Peace Day celebrations at the end of World War I. Local people
including many ex-servicemen were unhappy with unemployment and had been refused the use of a local park to hold
celebratory events. They stormed the town hall setting it alight (see Luton Town Hall). A replacement building was
completed in 1936. London Luton Airport opened in 1938, owned and operated by the council.
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The first town hall was destroyed in 1919
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In World War II, the Vauxhall Factory built Churchill tanks as part of the war effort. Despite heavy camouflage, the factory made Luton a target for the
Luftwaffe and the town suffered a number of air raids. One hundred and seven died and there was extensive damage to the town (over 1,500 homes were
damaged or destroyed). Other industry in the town, such as SKF which produced ball bearings, made a vital contribution to the war effort. Although a
bomb landed at the SKF Factory no major damage was caused.
Post-war, the slum clearance continued and a number of substantial estates of
council housing were built, notably at Farley Hill, Stopsley, Limbury, Marsh Farm and Leagrave (Hockwell Ring). The M1 motorway passed just to the
west of the town in 1959. In 1962 a new library (to replace the cramped Carnegie Library) was opened by the Queen in the corner of St George's Square.
In the late 1960s a large part of the town centre was cleared to build a large covered shopping centre, the Arndale
Centre, which was opened in 1972. becoming the first shopping mall in Europe. It was refurbished and given a glass roof in the 1990s.
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The town centre still has some of the old hat factories
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In 2000, Vauxhall announced the end of car production in Luton; the plant closed in March 2002. At its peak it had employed in excess of 30,000 people.
Vauxhall's headquarters remain in the town, as does its van and light commercial vehicle factory.
21st century
A major regeneration programme for the town centre is underway, which will include upgrades to the town's bus and train stations as well as improvements to
the town's urban environment. St George's Square has been rebuilt[25] and reopened in 2007. The new design won a Gold Standard Award for the Town
Centre Environment from the annual British Council of Shopping Centres awards.
Work is beginning on an extension to the Mall shopping centre facing St Georges Square, The Mall has already let the
largest of the new units to TK Maxx. Planning applications for a much larger extension to The Mall Arndale shopping
centre (In the Northern gateway area - Bute Street, Silver Street and Guildford Street) and also for a new centre in
Power Court (close to St Marys Church) have been submitted. On the edge of Luton at Putteridge Bury a
high-technology office park, Butterfield Green, is under construction. The former Vauxhall site is also to be re-developed
as a mixed use site called Napier Park. It will feature housing, retail and entertainment use, including a new casino.
Governance
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Logo of Luton Unitary Authority
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The town is situated within the historic county of Bedfordshire, but since 1997 Luton has been an administratively independent unitary authority. The town remains part of
Bedfordshire for ceremonial purposes.
[edit] Parliamentary representation
Main article: Politics in Luton
Luton is represented by two Members of Parliament. The constituency of Luton North
has been held by Kelvin Hopkins (Labour) since 1997. Luton South has been held by Margaret Moran (Labour) also since 1997. Luton is within the East of England (European Parliament constituency).
Local council
Lutonians are governed by Luton Borough Council. The town is split into 19 wards, represented by 48 councillors.
Elections are held for all seats every four years, with the most recent local elections held in May 2007 and the next due
in May 2011. The Council is controlled by the Labour group, who have 26 Local Councillors (a majority of 5). The next
largest party is the Liberal Democrats with 17 seats, followed by the Conservative Party with 5 seats.
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