Luton
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Luton () is a town and
unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
with borough status, in
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of
Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...
and
Houghton Regis Houghton Regis is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, East of England. The parish is located in Central Bedfordshire, which includes the hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn, and Sewell. Houghton Regis, along with its contiguous neighbour ...
, had a population of 258,018. It is the most populous town in the county, from the County Towns of Hertford, from
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
and from
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The town is situated on the River Lea, about north-north-west of
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon outpost on the River Lea, from which Luton derives its name. Luton is recorded in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
as ''Loitone'' and ''Lintone'' and one of the largest churches in Bedfordshire, St Mary's Church, was built in the 12th century. There are local museums which explore Luton's history in
Wardown Park Wardown Park is situated on the River Lea in Luton. The park has various sporting facilities, is home to the Wardown Park Museum and contains formal gardens. The park is located between ''Old Bedford Road'' and the A6, ''New Bedford Road'' and ...
and Stockwood Park. Luton was, for many years, widely known for hatmaking and also had a large
Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...
factory. Car production at the plant began in 1905 and continued until the plant's closure in 2002. Production of
commercial vehicle A commercial vehicle is any type of motor vehicle used for transporting goods or paying passengers. The United States defines a "commercial motor vehicle" as any self-propelled or towed vehicle used on a public highway in interstate commerce to t ...
s continues and the head office of Vauxhall Motors was in the town for many years, but relocated in 2019 to the village of Chalton, Bedfordshire on the northern border of the Borough of Luton. Transport is provided by
London Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by ...
, which opened in 1938 and is now one of Britain's major airports, with three
railway stations A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...
also in the town. The
University of Bedfordshire The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots from 1882, however, it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The Universi ...
was created from a merger with the University of Luton; two of its campuses are in Luton. Luton Town Football Club, nicknamed the ''Hatters'', due to the town's connection to hatmaking, has had several spells in the top flight of the English league as well as a Football League Cup triumph in 1988. They play at
Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, including the second ...
, their home since 1905; planning permission for a new larger stadium was approved in 2019.
Luton International Carnival Luton International Carnival is a large carnival in Luton, Bedfordshire. The carnival is commissioned by Luton Borough Council and is artistically produced by UK Centre for Carnival Arts, which is based in Luton town centre. Traditionally it t ...
, the largest one-day
carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
in Europe, is held on the day before the last Monday in May; the
Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...
's festival is held on the weekend nearest to
Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...
as there is a large
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
community in Luton. The town also has a large Pakistani community which, along with the Irish, were attracted to employment at the Vauxhall car plant.
Luton Hoo Luton Hoo is an English country house and estate near Luton in Bedfordshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Most of the estate lies within the civil parish of Hyde, Bedfordshire. The Saxon word Hoo means the spur of a hill, and is more common ...
is an
English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
, estate and
Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
listed building originally designed by Scottish architect
Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...
but later transformed to the designs of Robert Smirke.


Toponymy

Luton's earliest recorded name is ''Lygea-Byrig'', where ''Lygea'' means 'a river in an open field' and ''Byrig'' means 'a town'. The name shown as gradually converting to Luton over the centuries with ''Lvton'' being the used in the charter of
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
.


History

Luton is believed to have been founded by the
Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
sometime in the 6th century. The
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
records Luton as ''Loitone'' and as ''Lintone''. Agriculture dominated the local economy at that time, and the town's population was around 700 to 800. In 1121
Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090 – 31 October 1147David Crouch, 'Robert, first earl of Gloucester (b. c. 1090, d. 1147)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200Retrieved ...
started work on St Mary's Church in the centre of the town. The work was completed by 1137. A motte-and-bailey castle which gives its name to the modern Castle Street was built in 1139 but demolished by 1154. The hat making industry began in the 17th century and became synonymous with the town. The town grew: in 1801 the population was 3,095, but by 1850 it was over 10,000 and by 1901 it was almost 39,000. Newspaper printing arrived in the town in 1854. The first public cemetery was opened in the same year and Luton was made a
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...
in 1876. Luton's hat trade reached its peak in the 1930s, but severely declined after the Second World War and was replaced by other industries. In 1907,
Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...
opened the largest car plant in the United Kingdom in Luton, during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, it built
Churchill tank The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) Churchill was a British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, its ability to climb steep slopes, a ...
s as part of the
war effort In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative si ...
. Despite heavy camouflage, the factory made Luton a target for the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
and the town suffered a number of air raids. 107 died and there was extensive damage to the town (over 1,500 homes were damaged or destroyed). The original town hall was destroyed in 1919 during Peace Day celebrations at the end of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Dr. John G. Dony, author of The Flora of Bedfordshire told his history students (he taught at Luton Grammar, predecessor of
Luton Sixth Form College Luton Sixth Form College is a sixth form college in the Barnfield area of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. History In 1904 Luton Council acquired the Modern School, which was a mixed-sex secondary school. This school moved into new buildings in ...
), during the 1950s, that he had broken the last intact window of the old town hall during the 1919 riots. Local people, including many ex-servicemen, were unhappy with unemployment and had been refused the use of a local park to hold celebratory events. They stormed the town hall, setting it alight (''see
Luton Town Hall Luton Town Hall is a building at the junction between Manchester Street, Upper George Street and George Street, Luton, England; the current building was completed in 1936 on the site of the older Town Hall, which was burnt down 19 July 1919, fol ...
''). A replacement building was completed in 1936. Luton Borough Corporation had provided the borough with electricity since the early twentieth century from Luton power station, located adjacent to the railway. Upon
nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
of the electricity industry in 1948 ownership passed to the British Electricity Authority and later to the
Central Electricity Generating Board The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s. It was established on 1 Janua ...
. Electricity connections to the national grid rendered the 23
megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...
(MW) coal and latterly oil-fired power station redundant. The station had a single chimney and two reinforced concrete cooling towers. The power station closed in 1968; in its final year of operation it delivered 3,192 MWh of electricity to the borough. Luton Airport opened in 1938, owned and operated by the council. It's now one of the largest employers in the area. The pre-war years, were something of an economic boom for Luton, as new industries grew and prospered. New private and
council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
was built in the 1920s and 1930s, with Luton starting to incorporate nearby villages
Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The area is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torquay Drive and High Street to the nor ...
,
Limbury Limbury is a suburb of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, and was formerly a village before Luton expanded around it. The area is roughly bounded by Bramingham Road to the north, Marsh Road to the so ...
and Stopsley between 1928 and 1933. Post-war, a number of substantial estates of
council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
were built, notably at Farley Hill, Stopsley,
Limbury Limbury is a suburb of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, and was formerly a village before Luton expanded around it. The area is roughly bounded by Bramingham Road to the north, Marsh Road to the so ...
,
Marsh Farm Marsh Farm is a suburb of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, near to Leagrave and Limbury, mainly of council and social housing. The area is bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Bramingham Roa ...
and
Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The area is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torquay Drive and High Street to the nor ...
( Hockwell Ring). The
Marsh Farm Marsh Farm is a suburb of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, near to Leagrave and Limbury, mainly of council and social housing. The area is bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Bramingham Roa ...
area of the town was developed in the mid to late 1960s as a large council housing estate, mostly to house the overspill population from
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. However, the estate gained a reputation for high levels of crime, poverty and unemployment, which culminated in a riot on the estate in July 1992 and another more serious riot three years later. The closure of the Vauxhall manufacturing plant in 2002 had negative effects for Luton, leading to increased unemployment and deprivation.


Governance

The town is situated within the ceremonial county of
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
but, since 1997, Luton has been an administratively independent
unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
, administered by
Luton Borough Council Luton Borough Council (also known as LBC, or Luton Council) is the local authority of Luton, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It is a member of the East of England ...
. There are 48 councillors on the Borough Council, representing 19 wards. , Luton is represented in Parliament by
Sarah Owen Sarah Mei Li Owen (; born 11 January 1983) is a British politician and trade unionist serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton North since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she has served Shadow Minister for Local Government and Faith ...
who holds Luton North and
Rachel Hopkins Rachel Louise Hopkins (born 30 March 1972) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton South since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she has been a Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office since 2021. Hopkins ...
who holds
Luton South Luton South is a constituency in Bedfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Rachel Hopkins, a member of the Labour Party. History This seat was created in 1983, primarily from the former seat of Luton ...
. In 1876 the town council was granted its own
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
. The wheatsheaf was used on the crest to represent agriculture and the supply of straw used in the local hatmaking industry (the straw plaiting industry was brought to Luton by a group of Scots under the protection of Sir
John Napier John Napier of Merchiston (; 1 February 1550 – 4 April 1617), nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8th Laird of Merchiston. His Latinized name was Ioann ...
of
Luton Hoo Luton Hoo is an English country house and estate near Luton in Bedfordshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Most of the estate lies within the civil parish of Hyde, Bedfordshire. The Saxon word Hoo means the spur of a hill, and is more common ...
). The bee is traditionally the emblem of industry and the hive represents the straw plaiting industry for which Luton was famous. The rose is from the arms of the Napier family, whereas the
thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves ...
is a symbol for
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. An alternative suggestion is that the rose was a national emblem, and the thistle represents the Marquess of Bute, who formerly owned the Manor of Luton Hoo.


Geography

Luton is 28 miles north of
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and 39 miles southwest of
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
. The town forms the core part of the wider Luton built-up area which includes the nearby towns of
Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...
and
Houghton Regis Houghton Regis is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, East of England. The parish is located in Central Bedfordshire, which includes the hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn, and Sewell. Houghton Regis, along with its contiguous neighbour ...
which are in
Central Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created in 2009. Formation Central Bedfordshire was created on 1 April 2009 as part of a structural reform of local government in Bedfor ...
. The town is the largest town in the ceremonial county of
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
followed by
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
. Luton is located in a break in the eastern part of the Chiltern Hills. The Chilterns are a mixture of
chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
from the
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
period (about 66 – 145 million years ago) and deposits laid at the southernmost points of the
ice sheet In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the Last Glacial Period at La ...
during the last ice age (the Warden Hill area can be seen from much of the town).
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
had a reputation for brick making but the industry is now significantly reduced. The
brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for ...
at Stopsley took advantage of the clay deposits in the east of the town. The source of the River Lea, part of the
Thames Valley The Thames Valley is an informally-defined sub-region of South East England, centred on the River Thames west of London, with Oxford as a major centre. Its boundaries vary with context. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub, ...
drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
, is in the
Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The area is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torquay Drive and High Street to the nor ...
area of the town. The Great Bramingham Wood surrounds this area. It is classified as
ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...
; records mention the wood at least 400 years ago. There are few routes through the hilly area for some miles, this has led to several major roads (including the M1 and the A6) and a major rail-link being constructed through the town.


Climate

Luton has a
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
marine climate, like much of the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
, with generally light
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
throughout the year. The weather is very changeable from day to day and the warming influence of the Gulf Stream makes the region mild for its
latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
. The average total annual rainfall is with rain falling on 117 days of the year. The local climate around Luton is differentiated somewhat from much of South East England due to its position in the Chiltern Hills, meaning it tends to be 1–2 degrees Celsius cooler than the surrounding towns – often flights at Luton airport, lying above sea level, will be suspended when marginal snow events occur, while airports at lower elevations, such as
Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
, at above sea level, continue to function. An example of this is shown in the photograph to the right, the snowline being about above sea level. Absolute temperature extremes recorded at Rothamsted Research Station, south south east of Luton town centre and at a similar elevation range from in December 1981 and in January 1963 to in July 2019 and in August 1990 and July 2006. Records for Rothamsted date back to 1901.


Demography

The
United Kingdom Census 2011 A Census in the United Kingdom, census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Inter ...
showed that the borough had a population of 203,201, a 10.2% increase from the previous census in 2001, when Luton was the 27th largest settlement in the United Kingdom. In 2011, 46,756 were aged under 16, 145,208 were 16 to 74, and 11,237 were 75 or over. Local inhabitants are known as ''Lutonians''.


Ethnicity

Luton has seen several waves of immigration. In the early part of the 20th century, there was internal migration of
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
and Scottish people to the town. These were followed by
Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...
and
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
immigrants. More recently immigrants from
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an countries have made Luton their home. As a result of this Luton has a diverse ethnic mix, with a significant population of Asian descent, mainly Pakistani 29,353 (14.4%) and Bangladeshi 13,606 (6.7%). The latter two also make up most of the
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
religious population in Luton, which is the third highest for a town or city in England by proportion. Since the 2011 census, Luton has had a white British population less than 50%, one of three towns in the United Kingdom along with
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...
and
Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...
. Luton has a majority white population when non-British white people are included, such as the Irish and Eastern Europeans. 81% of the population of Luton define themselves as British.


Religion

At the 2011 census, the religious affiliation of Luton was as follows:


Economy

Luton's economy has traditionally been focused on several different areas of industry, including
car manufacturing The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such a ...
, engineering and
millinery Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...
. However, today, Luton is moving towards a service based economy mainly in the retail and the airport sectors, although there is still a focus on light industry in the town. Notable firms with headquarters in Luton include: *
EasyJet EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
– head office (originally EasyLand, later moved into Hangar 89) and main base at
London Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by ...
* Impellam Group – headquarters at Capability Green * TUI UK (
TUI Airways TUI Airways Limited (formerly Thomsonfly and Thomson Airways) is a British charter airline, offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland to destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The airline is t ...
) – travel (Wigmore House) *
Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...
– headquarters (Chalton House) Notable firms with offices in Luton include: * Anritsu – electronics *
AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includin ...
– pharmaceuticals *
Selex ES Selex ES was a subsidiary of Finmeccanica S.p.A., active in the electronics and information technology business, based in Italy and the United Kingdom, UK, and formed in January 2013, following Finmeccanica's decision to combine its existing SE ...
– aerospace *
Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewat ...
– accountants *
Whitbread Whitbread plc is a multinational British hotel and restaurant company headquartered in Houghton Regis, England. The business was founded as a brewery in 1742, and had become the largest brewery in the world by the 1780s. Its largest division ...
– hospitality *
Stonegate Pub Company Stonegate Pub Company is the largest pub company in the UK, operating around 4,800 managed, leased and tenanted pubs . It is owned by TDR Capital. The head office is based in Solihull, UK, and the company is registered in the Cayman Islands. His ...
– hospitality Luton's post-war and more recent industrial decline has been compared to that of similar towns in northern England.


Employment

Of the town's working population (classified 16–74 years of age by the
Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...
), 63% are employed. This figure includes students, the self-employed and those who are in part-time employment. 11% are retired, 8% look after the family or take care of the home and 5% are unemployed.


Transport

Luton is situated less than north of the centre of London, giving it good links with the
City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and other parts of the country via rail and major roads such as the M1 (which serves the town from junctions 10 and 11) and the A6. The town has three railway stations:
Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...
,
Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The area is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torquay Drive and High Street to the nor ...
and
Luton Airport Parkway Luton Airport Parkway railway station is on the Midland Main Line in England, serving south Luton and Luton Airport in Bedfordshire. It is situated in Park Town, Luton, and is down the line from London St Pancras between to the south and to ...
that are served by East Midlands Railway and
Thameslink Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying ...
services. Luton is also home to
London Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by ...
, one of the major feeder airports for London and the south-east. A new light metro
people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...
track,
Luton DART The Luton DART is a forthcoming automated guided people mover (light metro) which will connect Luton Airport Parkway station and Luton Airport in Bedfordshire, England. DART is an acronym for Direct Air-Rail Transit. It is currently under co ...
, is currently under construction; it will link the airport and Luton Airport Parkway railway station when it opens in 2022. A network of bus services run by Arriva Shires & Essex, Grant Palmer and Centrebus serves the urban area of Luton and Dunstable. A
bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
route opened in 2013, called the ''
Luton to Dunstable Busway The Luton-Dunstable Busway is a guided busway system in Bedfordshire, England, which connects the towns of Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Luton with Luton Airport. It was built on the route of a disused railway track and opened in September 2013 ...
'', connecting the town with the airport,
Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...
and
Houghton Regis Houghton Regis is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, East of England. The parish is located in Central Bedfordshire, which includes the hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn, and Sewell. Houghton Regis, along with its contiguous neighbour ...
. Hertfordshire-based bus operator Uno also run buses on their 'Dragonfly' 610 route to Hatfield, Potters Bar and Cockforsters Luton is also served by a large
taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...
network. As a
unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
,
Luton Borough Council Luton Borough Council (also known as LBC, or Luton Council) is the local authority of Luton, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It is a member of the East of England ...
is responsible for the local highways and public transport in the borough and licensing of taxis.


Education

Luton is one of the main locations of the
University of Bedfordshire The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots from 1882, however, it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The Universi ...
. A large campus of the university is in Luton town centre, with a smaller campus based on the edge of town in
Putteridge Bury Putteridge Bury is a country house on the edge of the built-up area of Luton, Bedfordshire, England but located just over the county boundary in the parish of Offley in Hertfordshire. Mansion The mansion was built in the style of Chequers by a ...
, an old Victorian manor house. The other campuses of the university are located in
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
,
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
and Aylesbury. The town is home to
Luton Sixth Form College Luton Sixth Form College is a sixth form college in the Barnfield area of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. History In 1904 Luton Council acquired the Modern School, which was a mixed-sex secondary school. This school moved into new buildings in ...
and Barnfield College. Both have been awarded Learning & Skills Beacon Status by the
Department for Children, Schools and Families Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was replac ...
. Luton's schools and colleges had also been earmarked for major investment in the government scheme
Building Schools for the Future Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was the name given to the British government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England in the 2000s. The programme was ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicia ...
programme, which intends to renew and refit buildings in institutes across the country. Luton is in the third wave of this long-term programme with work intending to start in 2009. Some schools were rebuilt before the programme was scrapped by the coalition government. There are 98 educational institutes in Luton – seven nurseries, 56 primary schools (9
voluntary-aided A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In mo ...
, 2 special requirements), 13 secondary schools (1 voluntary-aided, 1 special requirements), four further educational institutes and four other educational institutes.


Culture


Architecture

The town contains 92 listed buildings.


Leisure and entertainment


Luton International Carnival

Luton International Carnival Luton International Carnival is a large carnival in Luton, Bedfordshire. The carnival is commissioned by Luton Borough Council and is artistically produced by UK Centre for Carnival Arts, which is based in Luton town centre. Traditionally it t ...
is the largest one-day
carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
in Europe. It usually takes place on the late May Bank Holiday. Crowds can reach 150,000 on each occasion. The procession starts at
Wardown Park Wardown Park is situated on the River Lea in Luton. The park has various sporting facilities, is home to the Wardown Park Museum and contains formal gardens. The park is located between ''Old Bedford Road'' and the A6, ''New Bedford Road'' and ...
and makes its way down New Bedford Road, around the town centre via St George's Square, back down New Bedford Road and finishes back at Wardown Park. There are music stages and stalls around the town centre and at Wardown Park. Luton is home to the UK Centre for Carnival Arts (UKCCA), the country's first purpose-built facility of its kind.


Luton St Patrick's Festival

The festival celebrating the patron saint of Ireland St Patrick and organised by Luton Irish Forum, is held on the weekend nearest to 17 March. In its 20th year in 2019, the festival includes a parade, market stalls and music stands as well as Irish themed events.


Luton Mela

The first Luton Melā took place in August 2000 and has developed into one of the most significant and well attended south Asian cultural events in the eastern region.


City of Culture bid and pilot year

Luton Council's strategic vision for the Arts, and Cultural and Creative industries includes the plan to bid for City of Culture Status. This plan includes a pilot year with the theme of Peace Riots starting in Spring 2019. Events will be published on the Luton.Events website.


Theatre and performing arts

Luton is home to the Library Theatre, a 238-seat theatre located on the 3rd floor of the town's Central Library. The theatre's programme consists of local amateur dramatic societies, pantomime, children's theatre (on Saturday mornings) and one night shows of touring theatre companies. Luton is also home to the Hat Factory, originally as its name suggests, this arts centre was in fact a real hat factory. The Hat Factory is a combined arts venue in the centre of Luton. It opened in 2003 and since then has been the area's main provider of contemporary theatre, dance and music. The venue provides live music, club nights, theatre, dance, films, children's activities, workshops, classes and gallery exhibitions.


Media


Radio

*
BBC Three Counties Radio BBC Three Counties Radio is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Grove Park in Dunstable. According t ...
, the local
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
station, broadcasts from its office in Dunstable to
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
, Hertfordshire and
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
. *
Heart East Heart East is a regional radio broadcasting, radio station owned and operated by Global Group, Global as part of the Heart (radio network), Heart network. It broadcasts to the East of England from studios in Milton Keynes. The station launched ...
, a formerly independent local station, broadcast from
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
. * Diverse FM began broadcasts in April 2007 having been awarded a
community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...
licence from
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
. *
Radio LaB ''Radiolab'' is a radio program produced by WNYC, a public radio station in New York City, and broadcast on public radio stations in the United States. The show is nationally syndicated and is available as a podcast. Live shows were first offe ...
(formerly Luton FM), the university's radio station, began broadcasting full-time in 2010 having been awarded a
community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...
licence from
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
. * In addition, Radio Ramadhan used to broadcast during the month of
Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
until Inspire FM, a full-time community radio station, broadcasting on 105.1 FM, became available in 2010.


Television

* Luton is within the Carlton/LWT (
ITV London ITV London is the on-air brand name used by ''ITV Broadcasting Limited'' for two broadcast franchises of ITV, Carlton Television (weekdays) and London Weekend Television (weekends) in the London ITV region. Its terrestrial digital signal is ...
) and
BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily ''BBC London News'' and weekly '' Sunday Politics'' on television, ...
region. However it can also pick up the broadcast area of
ITV Anglia ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated ...
and
BBC East BBC East is one of BBC's English Regions covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, northern Buckinghamshire, and the majority of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex. It is headquartered in The Forum, Norwich since 2003. It wa ...
.


Local attractions

*
Dunstable Downs Dunstable Downs are part of the Chiltern Hills, in southern Bedfordshire in England, located near (and named after) the town of Dunstable. They are a chalk escarpment forming the north-eastern reaches of the Chilterns. At , Dunstable Downs are ...
*
Leagrave Park Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Borough of Luton, Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The area is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torquay Drive and High ...
*
Leighton Buzzard Light Railway The Leighton Buzzard Light Railway (LBLR) is a light railway in Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, England. It operates on narrow-gauge track and is just under long. The line was built after the First World War to serve sand quarries north o ...
* The Hat Factory *
Luton Hoo Luton Hoo is an English country house and estate near Luton in Bedfordshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Most of the estate lies within the civil parish of Hyde, Bedfordshire. The Saxon word Hoo means the spur of a hill, and is more common ...
*
Someries Castle Someries Castle (sometimes spelt Summeries castle) is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, in the Parish of Hyde, near the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It was built in the 15th century by Sir John Wenlock, whose ghost is reputed to haunt the ...
*
Stockwood Discovery Centre Stockwood Discovery Centre, formerly known as Stockwood Craft Museum, is one of two free admission museums situated in Luton (the other is Wardown Park Museum). The museums in Luton are a part of a charitable trust, Luton Culture. The discover ...
* Stockwood Park *
Wardown Park Wardown Park is situated on the River Lea in Luton. The park has various sporting facilities, is home to the Wardown Park Museum and contains formal gardens. The park is located between ''Old Bedford Road'' and the A6, ''New Bedford Road'' and ...
*
Wardown Park Museum Wardown House Museum and Gallery formerly Wardown Park Museum and, before that, the Luton Museum & Art Gallery in Luton, is housed in a large Victorian mansion in Wardown Park on the outskirts of the town centre. The museum collection focuses ...
* Waulud's Bank *
Whipsnade Tree Cathedral Whipsnade Tree Cathedral is a garden in the village of Whipsnade in Bedfordshire, England. It is planted in the approximate form of a cathedral, with grass avenues for nave, chancel, transepts, chapels and cloisters and "walls" of different spec ...
*
Whipsnade Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, formerly known as Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, is a zoo and safari park located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of two zoos (the other being ZSL London Zoo in Regent's Park, London) that are ...
*
Woburn Safari Park Woburn Safari Park is a safari park located in Woburn, Bedfordshire, England. Visitors to the park can drive through exhibits, which contain species such as southern white rhino, elephants, tigers and black bears. It is part of the estates of ...
*
Woodside Farm and Wildfowl Park Woodside Farm and Wildfowl Park is a rare breeds farm and wildfowl park at Slip End near Luton in Central Bedfordshire. The park covers and includes animals such as flamingos, monkeys, llamas, horses, cattle, cows, pigs, Wallaby, wallabies, lem ...
*
Wrest Park Wrest Park is a country estate located in Silsoe, Bedfordshire, England. It comprises Wrest Park, a Grade I listed country house, and Wrest Park Gardens, also Grade I listed, formal gardens surrounding the mansion. History Thomas Carew (1 ...


Recreation


Parks and open spaces

Luton has a variety of parks ranging from district parks, neighbourhood parks, local open space and leisure gardens.


Brantwood Park

In the 1880s, the land now known as Brantwood Park was an open field on the south side of
Dallow Dallow is an inner area of Luton about a half mile (0.8 km) west of the town centre and a ward of the Borough of Luton, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The extended area along Dallow Road is roughly bounded by Hatters Way ...
. The site was purchased by the Town Council in 1894 for use as a recreation ground and there is reference to it as ‘West Ward Recreation Ground' in a 1911-year book. It is reported as being one of the first two recreation grounds in Luton; the other being East Ward Recreation Ground, now known as Manor Road Park.


Kidney Wood

Kidney Wood is ancient semi-natural
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...
on the southern edge of Luton that has been identified as a County Wildlife Site. The wood was purchased by
Luton Borough Council Luton Borough Council (also known as LBC, or Luton Council) is the local authority of Luton, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It is a member of the East of England ...
as an area of public open space. The council seeks to maintain and enhance the nature conservation interest of Kidney Wood, including its habitats while allowing public access for informal recreation including play. Kidney Wood includes a way marked nature trail and play dells.


Memorial Park

Sir Julius Wernher purchased the
Luton Hoo Luton Hoo is an English country house and estate near Luton in Bedfordshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Most of the estate lies within the civil parish of Hyde, Bedfordshire. The Saxon word Hoo means the spur of a hill, and is more common ...
Estate and the Manor of Luton from Madame de Falbe around 1903. He carried out substantial renovation works to the Manor and grounds. On his death in 1912 the estate passed to Lady Ludlow. Lady Ludlow presented the Park to the people of Luton on 12 June 1920, in memory of her son Alex Piggott Werner, who was killed in action during the First World War. The site is officially named Luton Hoo Memorial Park. Council records state that the area was purchased under the Statutory Powers of the Public Health Acts.


Stockwood Park

Stockwood Park is a large municipal park near Junction 10 of the M1. Located in the park is
Stockwood Discovery Centre Stockwood Discovery Centre, formerly known as Stockwood Craft Museum, is one of two free admission museums situated in Luton (the other is Wardown Park Museum). The museums in Luton are a part of a charitable trust, Luton Culture. The discover ...
, a free museum that houses Luton local social history, archaeology and geology. The collection of rural crafts and trades held at Stockwood Discovery Centre was amassed by Thomas Wyatt Bagshawe, who was a notable local historian and a leading authority on folk life. The park has an athletics track, an 18-hole golf course, several rugby and football pitches and areas of open space. The park was originally the estate and grounds to Stockwood house, which was demolished in 1964. The museum includes the
Mossman Collection The Mossman Carriage Collection is a museum housing a collection of horse-drawn vehicles in Stockwood Park, Luton, Bedfordshire. It is the largest collection of such vehicles in the United Kingdom, and includes original vehicles dating from th ...
of horse-drawn vehicles, which is the largest and most significant vehicle collection of its kind in the country, including originals from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.


Wardown Park

Wardown Park is situated on the River Lea in Luton. The park has sporting facilities, is home to the
Wardown Park Museum Wardown House Museum and Gallery formerly Wardown Park Museum and, before that, the Luton Museum & Art Gallery in Luton, is housed in a large Victorian mansion in Wardown Park on the outskirts of the town centre. The museum collection focuses ...
and contains formal gardens. The park is located between ''Old Bedford Road'' and the A6, ''New Bedford Road'' and is within walking distance of the town centre. The park houses Wardown House Museum and Gallery, previously known as Luton Museum and Art Gallery, in a large Victorian mansion. The museum collection focuses on the traditional crafts and industry of Luton and Bedfordshire, notably
lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...
making and hatmaking. There are samples of local lace from as early as the 17th century.


Shopping

The main shopping area in Luton is centred on the Mall Luton. Built in the 1960s/1970s and opened as an
Arndale Centre Arndale Centres were the first "American style" malls to be built in the United Kingdom. In total, twenty three Arndales have been built in the United Kingdom, and three in Australia. The first opened in Jarrow, County Durham, in 1961, as a ...
, construction of the shopping centre led to the demolition of a number of the older buildings in the town centre including the Plait Halls (a Victorian covered market building with an iron and glass roof). Shops and businesses in the remaining streets, particularly in the roads around Cheapside and in High Town, have been in decline ever since. George Street, on the south side of the Arndale, was pedestrianised in the 1990s. The shopping centre had some construction and re-design work done to it over the 2011/12 period and now has a new square used for leisure events, as well as numerous new food restaurants such as Toby's Carvery and
Costa Coffee Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Dunstable, England. Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. I ...
. Contained within the main shopping centre is the market, which contains butchers, fishmongers, fruit and veg, hairdressers, tattoo parlours, ice cream, flower stall, T-shirt printing and the markets original sewing shop for clothes alterations and repairs as well as eating places. Another major shopping area is
Bury Park Bury Park is an area of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is located 1 mile north west of the town centre on the road to Dunstable. The area is roughly bounded by Claremont Road and Highfield Ro ...
where there are shops catering to Luton's ethnic minorities.


Sport

Luton has a wide range of sports clubs. It's the home town of Luton Town Football Club who currently play in the English
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and whose history includes several spells in the top flight of the English league as well as a
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
triumph in 1988. They play at
Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, including the second ...
, their home since 1905, with a new larger capacity stadium known as Power Court under construction. Their nickname, 'The Hatters', dates back to when Luton had a substantial
millinery Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...
industry, and their logo is based on the town's coat of arms. Bedfordshire County Cricket Club is based at Wardown Park and is one of the
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
clubs which make up the
Minor Counties The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...
in the
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
domestic
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
structure, representing the historic county of Bedfordshire.
Luton Rugby Club Luton Rugby Football Club are a Bedfordshire-based English rugby union team who currently play their rugby in London 2 North West following their relegation from London 1 North at the end of the 2018–19 season. Their ground is located by the M1 ...
are a local
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
club based on Newlands Road, by the
M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which lat ...
just outside Stockwood Park, who play in
London 1 North London 1 North is an English level 6, rugby union league for clubs in London and the south-east of England including sides from Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, north Greater London, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk. Wh ...
.
Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...
racing was once staged at
Luton Stadium Luton Stadium was a former greyhound racing and speedway stadium. Origins A proposal to construct a stadium in Luton in 1927 on a seven-acre site on Beechwood Road in nearby Leagrave had failed to get planning permission after drawing objections ...
from 1934 to 1937.


Twin towns

Luton participates in international
town twinning A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...
; its partners are:


Notable people

People who were born in Luton or are associated with the town.


By birth

*
Mick Abrahams Michael Timothy Abrahams (born 7 April 1943) is an English guitarist and band leader, best known for being the original guitarist for Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1968 and the frontman for Blodwyn Pig. Jethro Tull Abrahams was born in Luton, B ...
, guitarist for Jethro Tull *
Keshi Anderson Keshi Stuart Oluyinka Adetokunboh Anderson (born 6 April 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger and striker for EFL Championship club Birmingham City. After playing youth football with Watford and non-League footbal ...
, footballer *
David Arnold David Arnold (born 23 January 1962) is a British film composer whose credits include scoring five James Bond films, as well as ''Stargate'' (1994), '' Independence Day'' (1996), ''Godzilla'' (1998) and the television series ''Little Britain'' ...
, composer *
Emily Atack Emily Jane Atack (born 18 December 1989) is an English actress, comedian, and television personality. She is best known for playing Charlotte Hinchcliffe on the E4 comedy series ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008-2010), and for her roles in Keith Lemo ...
, actress *
John Badham John MacDonald Badham (born August 25, 1939) is an English television and film director, best known for his films ''Saturday Night Fever'' (1977), ''Dracula'' (1979), ''Blue Thunder'' (1983), ''WarGames'' (1983), ''Short Circuit'' (1986), and ...
, film director * Lewis Baker, footballer *
Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...
, sculptor and artist *
Jonathan Barnbrook Jonathan Barnbrook (born 1966), is a British graphic designer, film maker and typographer. He trained at Saint Martin's School of Art and at the Royal College of Art, both in London. Work Barnbrook designed the cover artwork of David Bowie's ...
, graphic designer and typographer * Josh Bassett, rugby player *
Kevin Blackwell Kevin Patrick Blackwell (born 21 December 1958) is an English former professional football goalkeeper who since retiring as a player has worked as a coach and a manager. He is currently the manager of Thai League 1 club Nakhon Ratchasima. Ear ...
, goalkeeper and football manager *
Dean Brill Dean Michael Brill (born 2 December 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and is now a coach at the academy of Tottenham Hotspur. Career Luton Town Born in Luton, Bedfordshire, Brill joined Luton at the ...
, footballer * Charles Bronson, born Michael Peterson, prisoner * William Brown, footballer *
Clive Bunker Clive William Bunker (born 30 December 1946) is a British drummer. Bunker is best known as the original drummer of the rock band Jethro Tull, playing in the band from 1967 until 1971. Never a self-professed technical drummer, Bunker engage ...
, drummer for Jethro Tull *
Danny Cannon Daniel John Cannon (born 5 October 1968) is a British film and television producer, director and writer, known for executive producing the 15-season show ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' series franchise (and directed multiple episodes inclu ...
, screenwriter, director and producer * Gerald Anthony Coles, artist *
Natasha Collins Natasha Louise Collins (7 July 1976 – 3 January 2008) was an English actress and model. Following a car crash that curtailed her career, she fatally overdosed on cocaine, which Mark Speight, her fiancé, was initially suspected of supplying, b ...
, actress and television presenter *
Andy Day Andy Day (born 15 May 1981) is an English actor, comedian, singer, dancer, songwriter and television presenter. He is best known for his work on the BBC's CBeebies channel. He is also a patron of Anti-Bullying Week. He was first on Friendly T ...
, television presenter * Steve Dillon, comic artist *
Kerry Dixon Kerry Michael Dixon (born 24 July 1961) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a forward. His club career was spent most notably at Chelsea, where he won the Second Division twice. His 193 goals for the club across all ...
, footballer *
Stacey Dooley Stacey Jaclyn Dooley (born 9 March 1987) is an English television presenter, journalist, and media personality. She came to prominence in 2008 when she appeared as a participant on '' Blood, Sweat and T-shirts''. Since then, she has made socia ...
, journalist, television presenter and '' Strictly Come Dancing'' winner *
Jamal Edwards Jamal Edwards (24 August 1990 – 20 February 2022) was a British music entrepreneur, DJ and founder of the online R&B/Hip-Hop platform SB.TV. Edwards was an ambassador for the Prince's Trust, a youth charity which helps young people set up ...
, entrepreneur, author, director, DJ and founder of
SB.TV SB.TV Global Ltd, also known as SB.TV or SmokeyBarz, is a British music media company founded by Jamal Edwards and a small team of young people who work on web-based content. The platform was created on 2 November 2006, and its origins in urban m ...
* Jonathan Edwards, footballer * Kevin Foley, footballer * Sean Gallagher, actor *
Liam George Liam Brendan George (born 2 February 1979) is a footballer who plays for Barton Rovers on a part-time basis, having signed for them in 2010. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland in the Under 18 European Youth Championship. C ...
, footballer * John Hagan, 8th master chief petty officer, US Navy * Arthur Hailey, novelist *
Nadiya Hussain Nadiya Jamir Hussain (''née'' Begum; born 25 December 1984) is a British television chef, author and television presenter. She rose to fame after winning the sixth series (Season 3 on PBS, or Collection 3 on Netflix in the US) of BBC's ''Th ...
, ''
The Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, atte ...
'' winner *
Neil Jackson Neil Jackson (born 5 March 1976) is an English actor, singer, musician and writer who has appeared in several television series and films, but is probably best known for his role as Marcus on '' Blade: The Series'' and Sasha on ''Make It or Brea ...
, actor * Sharna Jackson, children's writer * James Justin, footballer * Stephen Kelman, novelist * Stuart Lewis-Evans, Formula One driver *
Sean Maguire Sean Maguire (born 18 April 1976 in Ilford, London) is a British-American actor and singer, who rose to fame in 1988 when at the age of eleven he took on the role of "Tegs" Ratcliffe on the BBC children's drama ''Grange Hill'', in which he r ...
, footballer for Preston North End * Frederick Mander, General Secretary of the
NUT Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Co ...
*
Sarfraz Manzoor Sarfraz Manzoor ( ur, سرفراز منظور; born 9 June 1971) is a British journalist, documentary maker, broadcaster, and screenwriter of Pakistani origin. He is a regular contributor to ''The Guardian'', presenter of documentaries on BBC Ra ...
, journalist and author *
Herbert Moody Herbert B. Moody (born 1880 in Luton) was an English footballer. Career After signing with home-town club Luton Town in 1901, Moody scored 15 league goals in 63 matches before moving on to Leicester Fosse in 1905. Returning to Luton two years ...
, Luton Town footballer *
Monty Panesar Mudhsuden Singh "Monty" Panesar (born 25 April 1982) is a former English international cricketer. A left-arm spinner, Panesar made his Test cricket debut in 2006 against India in Nagpur and One Day International debut for England in 2007. In E ...
, cricketer * David Price, cricketer *
Phil Read Phillip William Read, (1 January 1939 – 6 October 2022) was an English professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1961 to 1976. Read is notable for being the first competitor to win world championships ...
, motorcycle racer *
David Renwick David Peter Renwick (; born 4 September 1951) is an English author, television writer, actor, director and executive producer, best known for creation of the sitcom ''One Foot in the Grave'' and the mystery series ''Jonathan Creek''. He was awar ...
, scriptwriter * Stu Riddle, footballer * Tommy Robinson, born Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, far-right activist *
Lee Ross Lee David Ross (August 25, 1942 – May 14, 2021) was a Canadian-American professor. He held the title of the Stanford Federal Credit Union Professor of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University and was an influential social psychologist wh ...
, actor *
Billy Schwer William Schwer (born 12 April 1969 in Luton, England), known as Billy Schwer, is a former boxing, professional boxer. For the majority of his professional career, Schwer fought in the lightweight division but also competed in the light welter ...
, boxer * Andy Selway, drummer *
Gavin Shuker Gavin Shuker (born 10 October 1981) is a British former politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton South from 2010 to 2019. Shuker was a Labour Party MP before defecting to form Change UK. He then left Change UK to become ...
, politician *
Junior Simpson Junior Simpson is a British stand-up comedian of Jamaican descent. He was born in Leagrave, a suburb of Luton, and was educated at Beechwood Primary School and Challney High School for Boys. Simpson headlines at clubs across Britain as well as p ...
, comedian *
Paul Sinha Supriya Kumar "Paul" Sinha (born 28 May 1970) is a British quizzer, comedian, doctor and broadcaster. He has written and performed extensively on Radio 4, and is one of the six Chasers on the ITV game show '' The Chase''. Early life Supriya ...
, comedian and quizzer *
Zena Skinner Zena Skinner (27 February 1927 – 6 March 2018) was a British chef, writer, and cookery expert on television and radio. Early life Skinner was from Luton, Bedfordshire. Her father owned an electroplating company. Career Skinner served in ...
, television chef and author *
Steven M Smith Steven M. Smith is Professor of Plant Genetics and Biochemistry at the University of Tasmania in Australia, and Visiting Professor in the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Beijing, China. He is also a c ...
, biologist *
Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...
, cricketer * David Stoten, storyboard artist * Jordan Thomas, World and European karate champion * Mark Titchner, artist *
UK Decay UK Decay are an English rock band, based in Luton, England. History UK Decay was born out of the ashes of another Luton band called the Resiztors, who had formed in 1978. The Resiztors' line-up consisted of guitarist Steve "Abbo" Abbott, ...
, band *
Richard Wiseman Richard J. Wiseman (born 17 September 1966) is a Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. He has written several psychology books. He has given keynote addresses to The Royal ...
, psychologist *
Jamie Woolford Jamie Woolford (born 15 November 1974 in Luton, England) is a record producer, engineer, singer-songwriter and touring musician. He is a founding member of rock bands The Stereo, Let Go and Animal Chin. In 2013, he released his first solo reco ...
, rock musician for
The Stereo The Stereo is a pop-rock and roll band started in early 1999 by former ska-punk band frontmen Jamie Woolford (of Animal Chin) and Rory Phillips (of The Impossibles). The pair were initially brought together on recommendation of their record l ...
,
Animal Chin Animal Chin was a ska punk group from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group was named after the 1987 skateboarding film, '' The Search for Animal Chin''. They released their debut LP, ''All the Kids Agree'', in 1997, and soon after signed to Fueled B ...
and Let Go *
Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...
, pop rock singer


By association

*
Rodney Bewes Rodney Bewes (27 November 1937 – 21 November 2017) was an English television actor and writer who portrayed Bob Ferris in the BBC television sitcom ''The Likely Lads'' (1964–66) and its colour sequel ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'' ...
, actor *
Mo Chaudry Mohammed Ishaq "Mo" Chaudry (born 21 September 1960) is a British Pakistani businessman. He spent his early years in Pakistan, before travelling to England and building an estimated fortune of more than £100m, confirming himself as one of the ...
, entrepreneur *
Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was p ...
, actress *
Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads ...
, singer *
John Hegley John Richard Hegley (born 1 October 1953) is an English performance poet, comedian, musician and songwriter. Early life He was born in the Newington Green area of Islington, London, England, into a Roman Catholic household. He was brought up i ...
, poet *
Hilda Hewlett Hilda Beatrice Hewlett (17 February 1864 – 21 August 1943) was an early aviator and aviation entrepreneur. She was the first British woman to earn a pilot's licence. She founded and ran two related businesses: the first flying school in the ...
, UK's first female pilot * Alec Jeffreys, geneticist *
Sarfraz Manzoor Sarfraz Manzoor ( ur, سرفراز منظور; born 9 June 1971) is a British journalist, documentary maker, broadcaster, and screenwriter of Pakistani origin. He is a regular contributor to ''The Guardian'', presenter of documentaries on BBC Ra ...
, author and columnist,
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
*
Eric Morecambe John Eric Bartholomew, (14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984), known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's d ...
, entertainer * Elizabeth Price, artist *
Colin Salmon Colin Salmon (born ) is a British actor. He is known for playing Charles Robinson in three James Bond films and James "One" Shade in the ''Resident Evil'' film series. He has had roles on many television series such as ''Doctor Who'', ''Merli ...
, actor *
Andrew Tate Emory Andrew Tate III (born December 1, 1986) is an American-British social media personality, businessman and a former professional kickboxer. Following his kickboxing career, he began offering paid courses and memberships through his websit ...
, British-American ex-kickboxer and internet personality


See also


Notes


References


Bibliography

*


External links

*
Luton Borough Council

Bedfordshire Police

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue

Luton and Dunstable
- major local hospital
Luton Today
- local news
Luton Culture
- charity which manages museums and various events
Luton Town F.C.
- local
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team {{Authority control Towns in Bedfordshire Local government districts of Bedfordshire Unparished areas in Bedfordshire Unitary authority districts of England NUTS 3 statistical regions of the United Kingdom 6th-century establishments in England Hatmaking Populated places established in the 6th century Boroughs in England