By Tim Lambert
Roman Dunstable
Dunstable began as a Roman town. Long before the Romans came to Britain there was a track called the Icknield Way, which crossed the middle of England. In the 2nd century, the Romans built a road called Watling Street, which crossed Icknield Way at the point where Dunstable stands today. The Romans built a posting station where travelers could change their horses.
A little market town grew up at the crossroads. The Romans called it Durocobrivis. However, the Romans left Britain in the 5th century and the Roman Dunstable was abandoned. Soon the site was overgrown with trees and bushes.
Dunstable in the Middle Ages
The site lay derelict for centuries. In the year 1100, it was just a crossroads in a forest. However, trade and commerce were growing in England and the country was growing richer. The number of travelers was also increasing. Sooner or later it was likely somebody would build a new settlement at the ancient crossroads. In 1109 King Henry I deliberately created a new town at Dunstable.
He invited men to rent land in the area at 12 pence an acre (a considerable sum in those days). He also promised that anyone who lived in the town would have the same privileges as the people of London. (They had considerable privileges in those days so Henry’s promise would have attracted many people to the new town).
Medieval Dunstable had a market. (In those days there were very few shops so if you wished to buy or sell anything you normally had to go to a market). The name Dunstable is probably derived from Dun staple. Dun is an old word for hill and staple means a wooden post. There may have been a post to mark the site of the market.
There is a legend that there was once an outlaw called Dun. One day the king fixed a ring to a wooden post with a staple and dared Dun to steal it. Audaciously Dun took the ring and the town became known as Dun’s staple. However, it is only a myth.
Dunstable flourished though it would have been very small with a population of no more than 1,000. That might seem tiny to us but in the Middle Ages, towns and villages were much smaller than they are today. A typical village had only 100 or 150 inhabitants. In the Middle Ages Dunstable consisted of four streets forming a cross and some small lanes leading off them.
Dunstable had a market and it also had fairs. A fair was like a market but was held only once a year for a few days. People would come from as far away as London to buy and sell at the fairs. (Of course, the journey would have taken much longer than it does today and would have been far less comfortable).
In 1213
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