Luton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Luton (disambiguation).
| Borough of Luton | |
|---|---|
| |
| Geography | |
| Status: | Unitary, Borough |
| Region: | East of England |
| Ceremonial County: | Bedfordshire |
| Area: - Total | Ranked 311th 43.35 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Luton |
| ONS code: | 00KA |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2005 est.) - Density | Ranked 79th 184,900 4,265 / km² |
| Ethnicity: | 71.9% White 18.3% S.Asian 6.3% Afro-Carib. |
| Politics | |
| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Liberal Democrats (council NOC) |
| MPs: | Kelvin Hopkins, Margaret Moran |
Luton is a large town and local government district in England, located 51 km (32 miles) north of London. Historically it was part of the county of Bedfordshire, but since 1997 it has been an administratively independent unitary authority. It remains part of Bedfordshire for ceremonial purposes. It is in the East of England region, but was formerly in South East England region, and in common usage is still often considered to be in the South East. Luton, Dunstable and Houghton Regis form a conurbation which had a population of 235,146[citation needed] in 2001.
Luton is the home town of the Luton Town football club who play in the Coca-Cola Football League Championship , the 2nd Flight of the English league structure. Their nickname, "The Hatters", dates back to when Luton had a substantial hatmaking industry.
London Luton Airport is to the south-east of the town. The main campus of the University of Bedfordshire is in the town centre. From 1905 until 2002 the town had a Vauxhall Motors car factory, the first Vauxhall factory and from where the company was founded. Dunstable is to the west of Luton. The M1 motorway runs between Luton and Dunstable: it does not form the boundary, as parts of Luton are to the west of it.
Luton has a Site of Special Scientific Interest at Warden Hills on its outskirts.
The town has several large parks, Wardown houses the museum and is located near the town centre. Stockwood houses a craft museum and the Mossman Collection. Wardown Park and the museum were a gift to the town from the then Mayor Asher Hucklesby.
Luton Carnival is the biggest one-day carnival in Europe, which usually takes place on the late May Bank Holiday. Crowds usually top 150,000[citation needed] on each occasion, with it being a huge multicultural event attended by people from all over the country.
The town is famous for its airport, London Luton Airport, which is currently the fastest-growing airport in the United Kingdom[citation needed]. The airport is renowned for being a hub for budget airlines offering cheap flights. The England football team regularly fly from the airport[citation needed] when playing matches abroad.
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[edit] History
Settlements have existed on the site since the paleolithic era, most notably the henge monument now called Waulud's Bank, which dates from 3000 BC. The Roman settlement in the area was concentrated at Durocobrivis and Verulamium. The foundation of Luton is usually dated to the 6th century when a Saxon outpost was founded on the river Lea, Lea tun[citation needed].
Luton is recorded in the Domesday Book as Loitone and also as Lintone; when the towns population was 700. By 1240 the town is recorded as Leueton. The town had a market for surrounding villages and grew steadily, if slowly and by the 14th century, the town had two fairs each year.
King John (1166-1216) had hired a mercenary soldier, Falkes de Breauté, to act on his behalf. (Breauté is a small town near Le Havre in France.) When he married, he acquired his wife, Margaret's London house which came to be known as "Fawkes Hall", subsequently corrupted over the years to "Foxhall", then "Vauxhall". In return for his services, King John granted Falkes the manor of Luton. He was also granted the right to bear his own coat of arms and chose the mythical griffin as his heraldic emblem. The griffin thus became associated with both Vauxhall and Luton in the early 13th century. [1]
The agriculture base of the town changed in the 16th century with a brickmaking industry and in the 17th century when the hatmaking began. By the 18th century the hatmaking industry, especially straw hat manufacture, dominated the town as its only significant industry. Hats are still produced in the town on a smaller scale. Luton Hoo, a nearby large country house, was built in 1757.
[edit] 19th Century
The town grew strongly in the 19th century; in 1801 the population was 3,000. By 1850 it was 10,000 and by 1901 it was almost 39,000[citation needed]. This rapid growth was fuelled by the arrival of the railway in 1858, which bypassed Dunstable, the nearby market town, which until then had overshadowed Luton. The first town hall opened in 1847 and Luton had a complete water and sewerage system by the late 1860s. Luton was made a borough in 1876[citation needed] and the football club was founded in 1885.
[edit] 20th century
In the 20th century, the hat trade severely declined and was replaced by newer industries. Vauxhall Motors opened a car plant in 1905, along with an Electrolux household appliances plant, followed by other light engineering businesses. The town had a tram system from 1908 until 1932 and the first cinema was opened in 1909. By 1914, the population reached had 50,000.
The original town hall was destroyed in 1919 during the Peace Day celebrations at the end of the First World War; local people including many ex-servicemen were unhappy with unemployement and had been refused the use of a local park to hold celebratory events, and so stormed the town hall setting it on fire. (See Luton Town Hall) A replacement town hall was completed in 1936. Luton Airport opened in 1938, owned and operated by the council. In World War II, the town suffered a number of air raids, and although only 107 people died there was extensive damage. Post-war, the slum clearance continued and a number of substantial estates of council housing were built, notably at Farley Hill, Stopsley, Limbury, Marsh Farm and Leagrave, (Hockwell Ring). The M1 passed just to the west of the town from 1959 and a substantial covered shopping centre, the Arndale Centre, was opened in 1972. The Arndale Centre has had a major refurbishment, including a new glass roof, which has transformed the area.
In 2000, Vauxhall announced the end of car production in Luton; the plant closed in March 2002[citation needed]. At its peak it had employed around 35,000 people[citation needed].
[edit] The Future
A £400 million[citation needed] regeneration of the town centre is planned, including upgrades to the town's bus and train stations as well as general improvements. St Georges square is currently undergoing a rebuild<ref>St Georges Square on Luton Council Site</ref> which is due to be completed by the end of 2006. Planning applications for an extension to the exisiting Arndale Shopping Centre<ref>Luton Council website with Arndale plans</ref> and also for a new centre in Power Court<ref>Website for the development of Power Court</ref> (near to St Marys Church) have been submitted. It is hoped this will breathe life into the town, which has been flagging with the decades of decline of the manufacturing industry in Great Britain, which Luton once thrived from.
[edit] Places within Luton
Former villages and hamlets: Biscot, Crawley Green, Leagrave, Limbury, Round Green, Stopsley
Early expansion of Luton: Bury Park, High Town, New Town
New estates: Bramingham, Bushmead, Farley Hill, Hockwell Ring, Lewsey, Marsh Farm, Sundon Park, Warden Hills, Wigmore
Parks and amenities: Kenilworth Road, Luton Museum, Stockwood Park, Wardown Park, Waulud's Bank
[edit] Transport
Flights from the airport increased substantially from the 1960s as new charter airlines (e.g. Court Line) flew from there rather than the London airports. Despite problems in the 1970s, a new terminal was added in 1985[citation needed]. The airport was renamed London Luton Airport in 1990, just before Ryanair took its business to Stansted. The growth of new low-cost flights rejuvenated the airport and passenger numbers more than doubled from 1992 to 1998. In 1999, a new terminal was added and a new railway station, Luton Airport Parkway, opened.
Luton enjoys good rail connections via its three stations (Luton, Luton Airport Parkway and Leagrave) to London and through to Brighton and Sutton on First Capital Connect's Thameslink line and north to Derby, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield and other cities on the Midland Main Line, provided by Midland Mainline. There are plans to introduce 24-hour rail services to Luton and Luton Airport Parkway <ref>First Capital plans</ref>.
In 2003, an Office of Fair Trading study identified Luton Airport as having the highest daytime fare for a 2-mile taxi journey in the UK <ref>Office of Fair Trading Study</ref>.
[edit] Politics and Demographics
Luton is represented by two Members of Parliament. The constituency of Luton North has been held by Kelvin Hopkins since 1997 and Luton South by Margaret Moran also since 1997.
Luton has since 1997 been an administratively independent unitary authority. The local authority is Luton Borough Council (see www.luton.gov.uk local council website). The town is split into 19 wards, represented by 48 councilors. Elections are held for all seats every four years, with the next local elections due to be held in May 2007.
[edit] Trivia
In 2004, Luton was voted as the 'crappiest' town in the UK in the book Crap Towns II edited by Sam Jordison and Dan Kieran, beating previous winner in Crap Towns, Kingston upon Hull. It was said to have won due to its abundance of abysmally ugly architecture, abundance of chain stores and lack of heart. However, given that fellow towns on this list were places such as Windsor, Oxford, Winchester, Liverpool (European Capital of Culture), and tiny London commuter belt villages, the list is of limited relevance.
This book deeply offended some people who see the town as a place which has had a significant impact on the history of the UK.
The bell in the town hall is the heaviest in the county weighing in at two tonnes<ref>Discover Bedforshire article on Luton</ref>.
[edit] Twin towns
Luton participates in international town twinning; its current partners are:
- Image:Flag of Germany.svg Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, since 1956
- Image:Flag of France.svg Bourgoin-Jallieu, France, since 1956
- Image:Flag of Sweden.svg Eskilstuna, Sweden, since 1949
- Image:Flag of Germany.svg Spandau, Germany, since 1959
- Image:Flag of Germany.svg Wolfsburg, Germany, since 1950
[edit] Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Luton at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added<ref>Components may not sum to totals due to rounding</ref> | Agriculture<ref>includes hunting and forestry</ref> | Industry<ref>includes energy and construction</ref> | Services<ref>includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured</ref> |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 2,067 | 1 | 902 | 1,165 |
| 2000 | 2,614 | 1 | 850 | 1,763 |
| 2003 | 3,090 | 1 | 811 | 2,278 |
[edit] Local Attractions
| Key | |
 | National Trust |
 | English Heritage |
 | Forestry Commission |
 | Country Park |
 | Accessible open space |
  | Museums (free/not free) |
 | Heritage railway |
 | Historic House |
[edit] Images
[edit] Local Media
Two weekly newspapers are delivered free to all the houses in Luton. They are:
- Herald and Post - Delivered every Thursday
- Luton on Sunday- Delivered every Sunday
Additionally once a month there is a council produced newspaper called LutonLine, usually delivered with the Luton on Sunday.
The university's radio station, Luton FM, runs for 28 days during May. In addition, Ramadan FM broadcasts during the month of Ramadan. Diverse FM, another local radio station, has recently been awarded a community radio license from Ofcom and hopes to start broadcasting full-time in April 2007.
[edit] Famous people from Luton
People born in or had a strong connection with Luton.
- David Arnold, Composer
- Mick Abrahams, Rock guitarist of Jethro Tull and Blodwyn Pig
- John Badham, American film director
- Charles Bronson, infamous prisoner
- Martin Dimery, Writer and performer
- Kerry Dixon, footballer with Chelsea and England
- Diana Dors was a barmaid in "The Rabbit" pub in High Town Road
- John Gosling, former member of the pop group The Kinks
- Arthur Hailey Novelist (1920-2004)
- John Hegley, Poet
- Sir Alec Jeffreys, a British geneticist, developed techniques for DNA fingerprinting
- Steven Munn, Rock guitarist
- Monty Panesar, England cricketer
- David Renwick, BBC scriptwriter (One Foot in the Grave
- Lee Ross, Actor who plays Owen Turner in EastEnders
- Colin Salmon, actor, in films such as Resident Evil, AVP: Alien Vs. Predator and The World Is Not Enough
- Vaughan Savidge, BBC announcer
- Billy Schwer, champion boxer
- Andy Selway, drummer for KMFDM and Pig
- Edward Tudor-Pole, Singer/Actor of band Tenpole Tudor
- Kenneth Williams (1926-1988) went to school in Luton during WWII evacuation
- Paul Young, Singer
[edit] External links
- Luton Borough Council
- Luton - 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article
- A defence of Luton, the crappiest city in England in The Guardian
- Luton pubs Customer ratings and reviews of pubs in Luton
- Luton on Placeopedia
[edit] References
<references/>
| Luton • Bedfordshire • England | Image:Flag of England.svg |
| Places within Luton Barnfield | Biscot | Bramingham | Bury Park | Bushmead | Challney | Crawley Green | Farley Hill | Dallow | High Town | Hockwell Ring | Leagrave | Lewsey | Limbury-cum-Biscot | Marsh Farm | New Town | Putteridge | Round Green | Stopsley | Sundon Park | Warden Hills | Wigmore | |
| Ammenities Kenilworth Road | Luton Museum | Stockwood Park | Wardown Park | Waulud's Bank | |
| Education Barnfield College | Denbigh High School | University of Bedfordshire | Luton Sixth Form College | South Luton High School | |
| Districts of the East of England | Image:Flag of England.svg |
|
Babergh | Basildon | Bedford | Braintree | Breckland | Brentwood | Broadland | Broxbourne | Cambridge | Castle Point | Chelmsford | Colchester | Dacorum | East Cambridgeshire | East Hertfordshire | Epping Forest | Fenland | Forest Heath | Great Yarmouth | Harlow | Hertsmere | Huntingdonshire | Ipswich | King's Lynn and West Norfolk | Luton | Maldon | Mid Bedfordshire | Mid Suffolk | North Hertfordshire | North Norfolk | Norwich | Peterborough | Rochford | St Albans | St Edmundsbury | South Bedfordshire | South Cambridgeshire | Southend-on-Sea | South Norfolk | Stevenage | Suffolk Coastal | Tendring | Three Rivers | Thurrock | Uttlesford | Watford | Waveney | Welwyn Hatfield | |
|
Counties with multiple districts: Bedfordshire - Cambridgeshire - Essex - Hertfordshire - Norfolk - Suffolk |
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