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Luton is an important town outside of London, located in Bedfordshire. As the center of the University of Bedfordshire, it has many young people. Its London Luton Airport is among the more important airports in England. With a rich and varied history, the town today plays host to the Luton Carnival, Europe's largest single day carnival event.
History and Architecture
A noteworthy remain from Neolithic times is the Galley Hill Neolithic burials. Along with this is the Waulud's Bank, which is a henge that dates back to 3,000 B.C. The city has been a populated area from the Neolithic era forward.
Luton's foundation as a town dates to the Saxon outpost Leat Tun in the sixth century that was located on the River Lea. The Domesday Book recorded the town as Loitone and Lintone. In the early years of the Norman conquest, the town was primarily agricultural and had a population of between seven and eight hundred residents.
St. Mary's Church was built here by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, and completed in 1137. There was a castle here from 1139 that was destroyed in 1154, now the home of a Matalan store. Luton boasted of six watermills in the Middle Ages period. Milt Street in the town center is named for one of them.
The town's symbol the Griffin dates back to the coat of arms of the knight Falkes de Breaute, who was given the manor of Luton by King John in the early 1200's. The town flourished as a market center until 1336 when a great fire destroyed most of the town. It was quickly rebuilt afterward. A brick making industry grew up around Luton in the 1500's. Several minor skirmishes during the English Civil War took place in the town in the late 1640's.
The hat making industry started in Luton in the 1600's and grew to be the town's main industry by the 1700's. Hats are still made here, though not on that scale any longer. The town grew up quickly in the 1800's. The population roared from a mere 3,095 in 1801 to 39,000 by 1901. Gas arrived in Luton in 1834, and street lights and the town hall in 1847. Newspapers began printing here in 1854. By the late 1860's, the town had its own complete sewage and water systems in place.
The twentieth century saw the hat industry decline, only to be replaced by the opening of what was the largest car manufacturing plant in Great Britain, that of Vauxhall Motors. The town population by 1914 had grown to fifty thousand. Luton Airport opened up in 1938. World War II saw the constant bombing of the town by the Nazis. A significant amount of damage to the town resulted, including more than 1,500 homes being impacted, with 107 people dying as well.
Shopping
Luton has earned a reputation as a shopping center for the Bedfordshire area. The Mall Arndale proves to be the principal shopping section of Luton. It was built atop a large number of the older buildings in town. A second significant shopping section is the Bury park that features many shops that cater to the many minorities living in Luton.
Dining
Luton also boasts an exciting international restaurant scene. There are Italian, Caribbean, Indian, Chinese, Malaysian, Thai, and English cuisine restaurants all found here. Asian restaurants are concentrated in Bury Park, while pubs and clubs are found mostly in the town center, where they cater to the university students.
Culture
The largest one day Carnival celebration in all of Europe is held in Luton annually. It is commonly held on the May Bank Holiday. Attendance is regularly upwards of 150,000 people.
St. Patrick's Day is another big festival in Luton. Nine years after it started, this festival features market stalls, a parade, and music stands. There are also Irish themed events held.
The Library Theater calls Luton home. There is a children's theater held here, along with local dramatic society productions and one night runs of touring theater outfits.
Luton features several interesting museums. The Luton Museum and Art Gallery is found in a big Victorian Mansion in Wardown Park on the edge of the town center. Hat making and lace making are the main focuses of the museum that has pieces of lace from the 1600's.
Stockwood Craft Museum is also found here. It features a collection of rural trades and crafts. This is a mostly county wide and neighboring counties exhibit.
Finally, the Mossman Carriage Collection is found here. It remains the biggest and most important vehicle collection in Great Britain. It showcases carriages from the 1700's to the 1900's, illustrating horse drawn transportation around the island from Roman times to the 1930's.
Accommodation in Luton
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