Luton

Luton is famous for its hats, cars, football team and airport. Although it is a thoroughly modern town, it has a long and interesting history, and was already well-established at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086. For many years it thrived as a small market town with an economy centred around agriculture and brewing. It came to prominence in the nineteenth century with the hat industry and, when this declined after the First World War, engineering and the car industry took over. Since the Second World War there have been many changes, most noticeably the destruction of many old buildings with the re-development of the town centre.

This book illustrates some aspects of the town’s varied life and history with a selection of over 200 photographs, ranging from the 1860s to the 1980s. Many of them have not appeared in print before.