Dunstable

Dunstable is a town in the county of Bedfordshire. It lies on the ancient Roman road of Watling Street, which is the modern A5 trunk road. Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Dunstaple, meaning "Hill Market". In Roman times its name was Durocobrivis. Dunstable was the site of an Eleanor cross. Geographically Dunstable lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, these spurs form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.

Related Topics:
Bedfordshire - Roman road - Watling Street - Anglo-Saxon - Eleanor cross - Chiltern Hills

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Historically Dunstable was a significant market town, but its importance has diminished as the neighbouring town of Luton grew. Nowadays much of the work in Dunstable is light engineering providing automobile parts for the Vauxhall plant in Luton, but with the closure of this plant Dunstable is following Luton into decline.

Related Topics:
Luton - Vauxhall

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first battles or skirmishes of the English civil war occurred in Dunstable.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Dunstable Priory Church of St Peter was founded in the 12th Century by Henry I and was later setting for the first ever divorce between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. This led ultimately to the seperation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~