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Aerial view of AC-Delco	This aerial view of the former AC-Delco factory in north Dunstable, alongside the Watling Street, was taken in January 1978. Brewers Hill Road stretches across the foot of the photo with the fire station alongside. Delco's football pitches are clearly visible near the crossroads. The sports fields near the top of the photo, alongside French's Avenue, were used by employees of Waterlow's. The football pitch at the top left is Dunstable FC's ground at Creasey Park.	AC-Delco football	Seen during a football match on AC-Delco's old football ground alongside the Watling Street.	AC-Delco gunnery	Crowds watch a gunnery demonstration on the AC-Delco playing field. The factory, now demolished,.can be seen in the background. The AC Sphinx Sparking Club company transferred to its Watling Street site in Dunstable from Birmingham in 1935.	Airship crash, May 1909
Airship wreck, 25-5-1909		Aldous (Edwin) the "upside down artist";	Edwin Aldous was a Dunstable artist of unusual talent. He had the extraordinary ability to paint pictures the wrong way round, hence his fame as "the upside-down artist". Television was fascinated by his skill and he was often featured on Children's Newsreel. In the cinema he appeared in a short film with the comedian Richard Hearne - Mr Pastry - who stood on his head to view Mr Aldous's work in progress.	The Anchor Archway	The ancient Anchor Archway adjoined Dunstable town hall in High Street North. When the hall was demolished a newer building was erected which now houses the Abbey building society. Care was taken to preserve the old archway through which horse-drawn coaches once travelled to reach a famous inn, the White Horse where, famously, King Henry VIII once stayed. The public house called the Anchor was on the right of the archway. The town's fire brigade once kept its fire engines in a garage at the rear of the town hall but the more modern fire appliances were too wide to drive through the archway, and the brigade had to move. In more recent times, the archway was the access to Dunstable Borough Council meetings and sittings of Dunstable Magistrates Court, which were held in a first-floor room at the rear of the town hall.	Anchor Archway	A view of the Anchor Archway in High Street North before the premises alongside, occupied by the Halifax Building Society, were converted into a public house and nightclub called the White Horse.
Anchor Archway	A postcard view of the "Old Anchor Gateway" in High Street North, Dunstable. You can just see the balcony of the town hall from which proclamations and election results were read to the crowds which would gather in the main road on important occasions.	Arsonist Bennett's maltings fire 1908		Arsonist Fossey's rickyard fire 1908		Arsonist Methodist Church fire 1908
Arsonist Scott's rick fire 1908		Ashton Square	Ashton Square in Dunstable with the spire of the Methodist Church in the background. The well-known local business owned by the Stott family was still operating when this photo was taken. Before the area on the right was reveloped Ashton Street, behind Middle Row, was a very narrow road best known as the site of the town's public toilets and a very popular fish and chip shop.	Ashton Street Slum clearance	The almshouses in Ashton Street, established by a legacy from Mrs Frances Ashton, were derelict and empty when this photograph was taken. The stood on the corner of Ashton Street and West Street, which can be seen in the background, and were replaced by a block of modern shops. The charity trustees used the money from the sale of the land to build news almshouses in Bull Pond Lane, alongside the Bennett Memorial Recreation ground.	Bagshawe%27s2	Bagshawe's, Church Street This is the picturesque frontage of the Bagshawe factory which stood in Church Street, Dunstable, near the railway bridge. The factory made conveyors - many luggage-handling systems at airports were provided by Bagshawe's. Mr Bagshawe saw a mock Tudor building, originally the Fauna Pavilion, at the Festival of Empire exhbition at Crystal Palace in 1913 and decided that its fascia would be more attractive to passers-by than the usual factory buildings, hence this attractive addition to the Church Street scene.
Bagshawe's, Church Street	The front of the Bagshawe factory in Church Street. The firm closed in 1972 and the building was destroyed in a spectacular fire in 1978. The site became the regional headquarters of Plumb Centers and the home of ABC International World Travel guides.	Baptist Chapel	The Baptist Chapel at St Mary's Gate survived the mass demolition of everything else in the area when a huge car park was created for a new Sainsbury's supermarket in 1978. Sainsbury's has now moved elsewhere but the chapel remains, in the centre of the parking area which now serves Wilkinson's and the other Ashton Square and Middle Row shops. Baptists, who had been meeting in Kensworth since at least 1652, bought the land in Dunstable in 1708 to build their own place of worship. Their chapel was badly damaged by a storm in 1849 after which the present building was erected.	Baptist Church, West Street	The Baptist Church in West Street, Dunstable, opened for worship in June 1848. Its history can be traced back to a tiny Baptist meeting-house in the hamlet of Thorn, near Houghton Regis, which was originally an offshoot of the Park Street Church in Luton but which became a distinct church, with its own ministers, in June 1751. At one stage the building at Thorn was dismantled and lovingly re-erected at Houghton. In 1836 its Dunstable members decided to form their own church under the Rev Daniel Gould, who had been pastor at Houghton since 1826 and who was to continue at West Street until 1881.	Barton Cutting	No, not the chalk cutting at Dunstable, but a view of the A6 between Luton and Barton in 1906. The cutting has now been considerably widened. Growing town
Bennett's Brewery	Bennett's Brewery stood on the corner of Chiltern Road and High Street North, Dunstable.	Bennett's Brewery	Bennett's Brewery in High Street North, Dunstable. The land is now the site of the Priory public house.	Biplane in flight		Biplane on ground
Brewers Hill Road	The cleared land in the foreground is now occupied by Dunstable Fire Station so that is Brewers Hill Road on the left. The building with the tall chimneys and large fenced rear garden is the Mulberry Bush in High Street North, in the days before the public house was extended and was called the Bird In Hand. In the distance are the tall white factory buildings of the cement works, now demolished, down Houghton Road. The town's fire station was formally opened on September 2 1965. Older Dunstable people remember that this land was once used as the winter quarters for a travelling fair. This photo was taken in July or early August 1948, according to the negative number given to it by the photographer who took the picture for the Dunstable Gazette. A replacement fire station is being built at present (2007) just behind where the photographer was standing. The two buildings towards the left of the picture would have been on the west side of the crossroads, facing what is now the National Tye depot, and have now been pulled down. On the other side of the high street can be seen a flat-roofed building which now houses the Coconut Garden restaurant with, next door, a shop (now empty) next to the present Cafe de Coral.	Britain Street School	Britain Street School now Priory School in 1925 or 1926	Britain Street School	Boys of Britain Street School (now Priory Middle School), Dunstable, pictured in 1925 or 1926. The school opened in 1905.	Bus	The bus service between Dunstable and Luton via Leagrave in 1919. The advertisement on the side of the vehicle for Hindoowella Tea was placed by H. Inwood, High Class Grocer. In the background is a poster for the Palace Theatre.
California pool	THE California Ballroom was a long way into the future when this photo was taken from Dunstable Downs, looking towards the town. It shows the rear of the California Swimming Pool, which this postcard describes as “The Bathing Pool, Dunstable”. The imposing entrance to the pool, complete with its flag tower, fronted Whipsnade Road , with enough parking space between the building and the road to provide the eventual site for that famous ballroom. The distant chimney to the left of the picture shows the location of the old cement works in Houghton Road and the field on the left became the site of the Meteorological Office. You can see the rear of the houses in Meadway, backing on to the field which now includes Pipers Croft and other roads. A windmill is shown on old maps of the field, which fronted on to West Street . The road stretching towards the photographer, alongside the swimming pool, would have been used as the access to a chalk quarry. The quarry eventually became, briefly, a track for kart racing, and then acted as the car park for the ballroom.	California ballroom	Inside the California Ballroom, Dunstable, for a performance by The Searchers ("Needles and Pins"). Note the crowd on the balcony looking down on the stage. The ballroom was built in 1960 by Mr Edwin Green on land in front of the California Swimming Pool. For 20 years it hosted an amazing series of music acts, ranging from the Kenny Ball and Humphrey Lyttleton jazz bands to singers such as Kathy Kirby, Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones and rock groups such as (famously!) the Rolling Stones. In later years it concentrated on top soul acts who still return to Dunstable for popular CaliR reunions. The whole area of the ballroom and swimming pool off Whipsnade Road is now a housing estate.	California Dance Hall before demolition 1980	California ballroom	Calvert (Phyllis)	Phyllis Calvert, the film star who lived for a number of years in a cottage in Common Road, Kensworth, was the chief attraction at the annual carnival and fete organised by the Dunstable Old People's Welfare Association in Grove House Gardens, Dunstable, in 1955. Miss Calvert, famous for her roles in British films of the 1930s and 40s, is seen here signing a carnival programme for the Mayor, Alderman W.H. Robinson. Holding a carnival collection tin is the MP for South Beds, Mr Norman Cole. The man standing behind the Mayor and Miss Calvert is Mr Bert England, owner of a well-known motorcycle shop in Dunstable. Mr England lived at Kensworth Lynch and would very likely have been acquainted with the actress. Phyllis Calvert, one of the legendary "Gainsborough girls", is fondly remembered for such films as Fanny by Gaslight and Kipps. She was in the 1943 Gainsborough film company production, The Man In Grey, which made huge stars of James Mason and Margaret Lockwood and began a series of hugely successful historical melodramas which included The Wicked Lady, based on a tale woven around Marykate Cell, the picturesque house alongside the Watling Street. Miss Calvert died in October 2002.
Car accident		Carpenters Arms High Street South	The Carpenter's Arms in High Street South , with a distinctive coat of arms still visible above its front door, was recorded as being a public house in the 19th century. It is now a dentist's surgery, using the original name.		Cart Almhouses		Jane Cart almshouses The Jane Cart almshouses in High Street South were provided by Mrs Cart to house six poor women, widows or spinsters, who were members of the Church of England. One of Jane's sons, Thomas, had died in 1722 aged 27 and the almshouses may have been intended as a memorial to him. Mrs Cart's other gifts to the town included the clock in the Priory Church tower and a huge painting for the church by Sir James Thornhill which was allowed to disintegrate after it was damaged by rainwater in Victorian times. The considerable amount of property owned by Mrs Cart included the Sugar Loaf in Dunstable.
Catholic church		Roman Catholic Church		Cattle Market	A cattle market was held on the Square, Dunstable, on Wednesday afternoons. In the background to this picture you can see the Saracen's Head hotel and the antique shop of Harry Rixson.	Cement works 1936	Group photo in 1936 at the cement works which stood in Houghton Road, Dunstable. The works was built in 1925 and the quarries alongside eventually extended over a vast area. The last remaining chimney at the works was taken down in June 1978.
Chalk cutting	View from Puddle Hill in 1906 looking down towards the chalk cutting and the Green Man public house. An army of men with shovels dug the cutting in 1837 in a desperate attempt to make the stagecoach journeys into Dunstable less arduous and persuade travellers not to use the forthcoming railway instead. Even with four extra horses there had been immense difficulty in drawing coaches over the steep hill, especially after an unpleasant slog through the notoriously muddy road from Hockliffe. The railway arrived in 1838 and almost immedately the once-profitable stagecoach buisness in Dunstable came to an end.	Chalk Hill 2	Traffic passing the old garage at the foot of Chalk Hill cutting in the 1950s. The garage is now the site of the Q8 filling station.	Chalk Hill	A postcard showing the chalk cutting at Dunstable in 1906 with the turning towards Sewell on the right. Note the fence on top of Puddle Hill on the left to protect walkers on the downs from falling over the edge. The chalk hills were later quarried away for cement leaving just a chalk bulwark either side of the road.	Chew's House	Chew's House in High Street South, Dunstable. The building, now used as church offices, was originally a charity school. The additional school buildings on the right later became the town library before being converted into a theatre by Dunstable Repertory Company. William Chew, who died in 1712, intended to provide a school for 40 poor boys of Dunstable but died before doing so. He left money to his two surviving sisters, Jane Cart and Frances Ashton, and to Thomas Aynscombe, the eldest son of another sister. They saw that his wishes were carried out and the school was built in 1715.
Chew's House	Close up of the front entrance to Chew's House showing the stone commemorating the founding of the school by Mrs Frances Ashton, Mrs Jane Cart and Mr Thomas Aynscombe. The figures are of boys wearing the uniform of the old school.	Chew's House	One of the figures outside Chew's School showing a uniformed scholar doffing his cap. Photographs of the figures were used to create the present facsimiles of the originals after these were stolen. Despite a large reward, the thieves have never been caught.		Chew's House Another view on the right of the Little Theatre, home of Dunstable Repertory Company, next to Chew's House. The Rep produced many popular plays at the town hall but when this was demolished it found that the replacement Queensway Hall was not suitable. When a new library was built for the town the Rep siezed the opportunity to convert the old library into a theatre.	Chew's School	Chew's School painted by Thomas Fisher. The artist produced a large number of pictures of Bedfordshire scenes between 1812 and 1822, many of which were collected by Sir Gregory Osborne Page Turner of Battlesden Park. The clock tower and the clock remain today and there are still two figures of scholars over the entrance, although the present figures were copied from photographs after the originals were stolen.
	Chiltern Road School Empire Day at Chiltern Road School, Dunstable, in 1910. The school was converted into studios for Chiltern Radio in 1982.	Chiltern Road School	Chiltern Road School in 1910.	Chiltern Road school 1933 class seven	Chiltern Road school 1933 class seven	Church Lads Brigade, Dunstable, date unknown	Church Lads Brigade, Dunstable, date unknown
Church St bridge	The railway bridge in Church Street , alongside Dunstable Town Station, was widened in the 1960s. The photo shows work about to start. The old Bagshawe's engineering factory can be seen in the background. The poster is advertising the AC-Delco sparking plug factory which was in High Street North , at the other end of the town.	Church St entrance widening	Work on widening Church Street was nearing completion when this photo was taken in 1963, looking over the crossroads from West Street . The Red Lion hotel, which stood on the corner of the crossroads, had disappeared, with the Westminster Bank still enveloped by scaffolding.	Church Street	A road sweeper with broom at work in Church Street with just two horse-drawn carts visible. The photographer was looking up Church Street towards the town centre, with the Priory Church on the left and the clock tower of the town hall on the horizon. This photo was used on a postcard postmarked 1907.	Church Street	Church Street, Dunstable, long before it was widened, looking down from the crossroads. This is from a postcard postmarked 1922. The sign of the White Horse pub is clearly visible. The Gibbs and Dandy hardware shop on the right was unusual because customers could walk through and emerge in the other Gibbs and Dandy shop fronting on to High Street South. The distinctive building which now houses the Book Castle can be seen two doors away. It was originally a drill hall and then an antiques shop.
Church Street	Church Street, Dunstable, pictured before the road was widened in 1963. The photographer is looking east, towards Luton. The street narrowed dramatically in the town centre, allowing only one-way traffic into the busy junction with the Watling Street. It caused huge traffic jams, as can be seen in the picture, and there was an urgent need for the road to be widened, even though this meant the destruction of some of the town's most historic buildings.	Church Street	A policeman directs traffic - in this case a horse and cart - at Dunstable crossroads. The photographer was looking from West Street towards Church Street. The Red Lion hotel was demolished in 1963 to allow the entrance to Church Street to be widened. The Home and Colonial grocery store went too.	Church Street	The buildings seen here on the left hand side of Church Street, including the ancient White Horse pub, have all been demolished, first to allow the street to be widened near the crossroads (1963), and then to allow the Quadrant shopping centre to be built (1966). The White Horse was originally called The King's Head and should not be confused with the White Horse Inn where King Henry VIII sometimes stayed, and which stood behind what is now called the Anchor archway in High Street North.	Church Street	The Il Millieflori Italian restaurant now occupies the premises in Church Street which once housed the Wm Rixson antiques business.The J & W Baker shop was among premises which were demolished.
Church Walk	The distinctive view of the west side of Dunstable's Priory Church can be seen in this photo. It shows Church Walk, the path from High Street South leading down the alleyway next to Woolworth's. The cottages on the left have now been demolished, providing parking space for the businesses fronting on to Church Street.	Congregational Chapel	The Congregational Chapel in Edward Street was opened for worship in January 1854. Congregationalists in the area bought the land in 1852 and erected a temporary wooden building known as "The Tabernacle", the first minister there being the Rev Henry Perfect. The foundation stone of the more permanent building was laid in 1853. It later became the United Reformed Church.	Coopers' hat factory	Coopers' hat factory which stood in High Street North. It was originally Burr's brewery, owned by Thomas Burr who lived in the Manor House nearby (seen on the right of the picture). The house and brewery were put up for sale in 1843 and were purchased by John and George Cooper who converted the brewery into what was the second-largest hat factory in the town. John and his wife Mary moved into the Manor House. The factory closed between 1878 and 1884 and Cubes nightclub (formerly a cinema and a bingo hall) now stands on the site. This engraving first appeared in 1859 in the Dunstaplelogia by Charles Lamborn and was a based on a photograph taken by "photographic artist" James Tibbett Jnr.	Crossroads	Dunstable crossroads looking towards High Street South, including the Freeman Hardy and Willis shoe shop. On the corner of West Street was a well-known newsagent's shop owned by Mr F.G. Keep. Older Dunstablians still call the area 'Keep's corner' although the premises are now occupied by Taylor's, the estate agent.
Crossroads	Market day in Dunstable, looking over the crossroads down High Street North. The pub sign on the left is for the old Rose and Crown and Wiseman's shop next to it has an advertisement for a dentist (Tuesdays only). Otherwise the crossroads is dominated by a huge poster advertising Herington's laxative pills.	Crossroads	A cutting from the Dunstable Gazette's popular Yesteryear feature showing Dunstable crossroads looking towards West Street. The almshouses at the top of the photo, alongside what was then Ashton Street. were demolished to make way for shops. Money from the sale of the land was used to provide modern almshouses in Bull Pond Lane, alongside Bennett's Memorial Recreation Ground. The curious structure on the other side of Ashton Street was popularly known as the "breezy battlements". It was, in fact, an open-air urinal for men. Crossroads	Crossroads	A street light stands in the centre of Dunstable crossroads on a damp day when the marks from a horse-drawn cart are clearly visible on the muddy road. The sign of the old Plume of Feathers pub can just been seen in the distance down West Street.	Crossroads	Historian Worthington Smith drew this market-day picture of Dunstable crossroads, looking towards High Street South and West Street. It appeared in his book "Dunstable, Its History and Surroundings" published in 1904. The buildings on the corner were demolished in 1910 to allow West Street to be widened. The Rose and Crown Inn, whose sign can be seen towards the left, then became the corner building, "Keep's Corner", now occupied by Taylor's estate agents.
Crossroads	A dog lingers in the centre of Dunstable crossroads in this coloured postcard of the town. It was issued as part of a series by Miles Taylor, who published the Dunstable Borough Gazette from his office and printing works at the corner of Albion Street and High Street North.