Anne Allsopp's new History of Luton (see below for publication details) is particularly strong on the town's recent history over the last 100 to 150 years, although in traditional style it begins with early habitation. 

After opening chapters on the early history of the town, where incidentally the author makes the point several times that little of the early town survives to be seen above ground or in the archaeological record (the exception being the parish church, shown here), she focuses on the themes that contributed to modern day Luton with chapters on country houses, education, industry, wartime, migration, leisure and the town. Under these headings she has woven together hundreds of strands including

Luton Airport

• brickmaking (with an account of how bricks used to be made)
• brewing and temperance
• Stattie fairs to the Luton carnival
• straw plaiting schools (where young children laboured and were denied an education) to the University of Bedfordshire
• hatmaking
• a medieval gild, non-conformity, Quakers,
• the multi-ethnic composition of today's population and the Luton Council of Faiths
• the town's musical and theatrical activities 
• roads, railways and the airport
• Vauxhall Motors and the connection with Vauxhall Bridge in London

Wardown Park

.... and the list could go....   The book is a treasure house of information about Luton's past, often in the words of people who were there, and supplemented by wonderful photographs and maps. 

This is a book for locals, who will revel in the memories of how Luton was - and is.  For others who are curious about the towns and cities of this country, this book is more than just a history of Luton, it is also a record of how people worked and lived in a time not long gone.  

Anne Allsopp A History of Luton from Conquerors to Carnival.  Andover, Phillimore, 2010. ISBN 978-1-86077-621-2  £20


Photos:  Parish Church © Barbara Tearle; Luton Airport © Jack Hill (Creative Commons); Wardown Park© Nigel Cox (Creative Commons)
 

New History of Luton

A History of Luton: From Conquerors to Carnival, by Anne Allsopp has been published this week by Phillimore (hardback at £20)

The publisher says - 

"In the past, Luton was a market town and, for many years, was also a centre for the brewing industry. In the 19th century it became famous for hat making, and more recently it has grown into a thriving industrial centre. During the Second World War it played an important part in the manufacture of army vehicles, and children bound for school had to dodge the Churchill tanks on their way
to various theatres of conflict. 
Nowadays, Luton Airport is the gateway for all types of traveller and the town is well known for its famous football team.
Luton owes its existence to the river Lea, which is now a small stream but once powered seven mills. Archaeological discoveries have revealed that people have settled in the area for thousands of years. Julius Caesar may have passed through in A.D. 54 and William the Conqueror came this way one thousand years later. The parish church, still standing near Park Square, was built in medieval times.
The town has since acquired a reputation as a solid working class place, the sort of community where ‘almost everyone earns his living’. This independent spirit has also had its downside, particularly on the occasion when disillusioned citizens burned down the town hall, and this well-informed narrative manages to capture Luton’s distinctive character.
Luton has always provided visitors with a warm welcome and many have stayed and made the town their home. Local industry offered employment opportunities in the early 20th century and many had cause to be grateful for its relative prosperity during the Great Depression. Following the Second World War, immigrants from the Indian subcontinent and from the West Indies brought with them colourful new cultures that are celebrated in the annual Carnival.
This fascinating and illustrated account of Luton’s past will inform and delight anyone who lives in the town and inspire those who grew up there."

The author, Anne Allsopp, was born in Luton and attended Luton High School for Girls. She taught in local schools before gaining an MA and PhD at the London Institute of Education. She has published books on Luton High School and the Technical School,  another for BHRS on the education and employment of girls in the town. Her particular interest is the lives of ordinary people, and her latest research has helped her appreciate Luton’s unique character and reputation for being quite unlike anywhere else.

A review will follow.  Meanwhile the book can be ordered through bookshops or from Phillimore's online bookshop.

Lutonian Odyssey

Recently published by Dr Clive Field OBE, formerly of the British Library, is his mother’s account of growing up in Luton between the wars, entitled Lutonian Odyssey: reminiscences of Lily Field for 1915-52.

The introduction explains that Lily worked on the text over a number of years. The account of her life has both the immediacy of the first hand account and the accuracy of Clive’s editing.

It is particularly interesting for being an account of a financially, but in no other way, impoverished life. Lily’s father died when she was very young. She makes light of their poverty, concentrating on the highlights in her life especially her sister, who also sadly died young. A picture of support from her grandfather and from neighbours emerges. There are firsthand accounts of the excitement of visits beyond Luton and of her later immersion in Methodist culture. The description of places and transport in Luton gradually brings out how small the town was then.

At first I felt that insufficient attention was given to their financial hardship but then I realised that this is an account of happily making the best of what they had – a lesson for today.

This book should be read by Lutonians, who will be interested in the people and places described, and by anyone who is caught up in that period of Bedfordshire’s (and England’s) social history.

To buy a copy, price £6, email Clive at c.d.field@bham.ac.uk