A lot was going on in Luton Town on the day when I decided to look for the Step Forward Luton sign. East Fest was underway as well as Luton’s first Comic con.
I located the ‘Step Forward Luton’ sign under Gurney’s Wall (once a hat factory owned by Walter Gurney) opposite the Hat Factory on the junction of Bute Street and Guildford Street. It was set on a stepped and paved platform beneath a wall mural with the message: ‘The Future Demands Your Participation’. The mural was commissioned by The Culture Trust and was a collaboration between Mark Titchner and Jonathan Barnbrook – two Luton-born artists.
At Hat Gardens nearby I saw there were marquees which were marked with the ‘step forward Luton’ branding
I felt it was in keeping with the spirit of Kev’s instructions to chat to someone underneath ‘step forward Luton’, and so struck up a conversation with Ian.
Ian wasn’t sure about what ‘Step Forward Luton’ was about but introduced himself to me as a Bedfordshire archaeologist. He said he was participating in a ‘Medieval Luton’ event showcasing archaeology from in and around Luton. Activities for children were underway including making castles out of card and rummaging through some genuinely Roman pottery. Around the marquees were displays explaining digs which had taken place in Luton and it’s conurbation
Ian said that planning conditions require developers to have archaeologists involved on certain sites of known historic interest.
This way, he often gets work on excavations as a precondition of planning consent, with the works monitored by the Archaeological Officers from Central Bedfordshire Council.
He said there have been a good many Roman artifacts uncovered in Houghton Regis and Dunstable, which used to be Roman towns. Some Mesolithic pits and a ring ditch have also been discovered.
He informed me that part of University of Bedfordshire’s Campus sits atop the site of Luton’s medieval castle / fortified manor house, which once belonged to King John’s favourite knight – Fulk de Breauté, an Anglo-Norman knight who built the castle sometime between 1216 and 1221. Ian said Fulk was indeed a bit of a brute, as his name implied, and that he had diverted part of the River Lea to fill his castle’s moat, leading to complaints from the peasantry and nearby church.
I mentioned the prehistoric dog poo I had seen at Avebury, which he found interesting. He mentioned there are not many prehistoric artifacts in Britain aside from what’s been found in caves because the glaciers of the last ice age scoured much from the surface
I explained about 25 Pockets of Luton and he sent me to find someone at St Mary’s Church in Luton.
Pocket Number 27: Ulrike at St Mary’s Church >>
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