Dunstable Stadium

Dunstable (/ˈdʌnstəbəl/ DUN-stə-bəl) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles (50 kilometres) north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the third largest town in Bedfordshire and along with Houghton Regis forms the westernmost part of the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area.

History

Ancient history

Relics of Palaolithic humans, including such relics as flint implements and the bones of contemporary wild animals, suggest the settlement is prehistoric. At Maiden Bower in the parish of Houghton Regis to the north, there is an Iron Age hill fort, which is clearly marked on the Ordnance survey maps. Maiden Bower has some of the ramparts showing through the edge of an old chalk quarry at Sewell where remains of an older Bronze Age fort exist. There are many prehistoric sites in the area and details can be found with the Manshead Archaeological Society, which is based in Winfield Street, Dunstable. Dunstable is on the route of the Icknield Way, claimed to be 'the oldest road in Britain'.

Roman settlement

A settlement was established by the AD 40s and 50s, when the Romans arrived and paved the road now known as Watling Street and its crossroad, the Icknield Way. Traces of Neolithic activity are not in doubt but much of their mystery may be lost under the surrounding Chiltern Hills.

The Romans built a posting station and probably named the settlement Durocobrivae, but over time this may have shifted to Durocobrivis. The area was occupied by Saxons around AD 571.

Medieval times

Dunstable's modern structure dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, as do many of the nearby towns/villages. The etymology of Dunstable, akin to Luton, Houghton Regis, Totternhoe, Kensworth, Caddington, Toddington, Leighton Buzzard, etc. is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and believed to mean "Dun's market", "Downs' market"