We are a non-profit voluntary organisation full of people passionate about local history offering walks and talks on the heritage of Dunstable for the public, clubs, societies, scouting, guiding, and schools.

Dunstable Town Guides Volunteers Wanted

Growing public interest in the history of the town means that Dunstable Town Tour Guides are looking for volunteers. Find out fascinating facts, develop your natural communication skills, and learn how to entertain and inform groups of all ages with walks and talks. To find out more please contact Kay Kempster by email at dunstablehg@gmail.com, or find us on Facebook.

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A Revised Edition of a collection of conjectural drawings by local historian, artist, and fellow town guide Tony Woodhouse.

Dunstable Town Guides are part of a new group called Historical Dunstable created with the Friends of Priory House and Gardens and Dunstable and District Local History Society. Our first project was to publish a collection of conjectural drawings by Tony Woodhouse.

Tony is a founding member of the Town Guides, a well-known historian in the town, and a talented artist. Over many years he has gained a comprehensive understanding of the town’s history and in particular its archaeology and architecture. He has used this knowledge to create accurate conjectural representations of the town’s buildings and events throughout its life.

The book was published in November 2020 and a revised edition in 2023 following the survey of Priory Gardens done by Historic England in 2021. It is essential for anyone who wants to know what Dunstable looked like in times past. A supplement showing the revised images and some new ones as well is also available.

Order your copy of the revised book or the supplement by visiting our Books for Sale page

For further information and a selection of pages, join our Historical Dunstable Facebook page or email us at historicaldunstable@yahoo.com.

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“They Came to the Crossroads” – A new local book

Price £19.95, plus £6.00 p&p

500 pages, A5 size, and in full colour ISBN 978-0-9555239-9-1

‘They Came to the Crossroads’ navigates through 2,000 years of local events, looking at incomers and their influence on the town. From the Romans to present day, the strategic importance of the Crossroads has shaped the design, development and prosperity of the town.

For almost two thousand years, the Watling Street was **the **north-west route from London to Chester, through to North Wales.

Dunstable witnessed the legions of the Romans; was on the Danelaw line; became a Norman Priory town, and suffered, often from both sides, during the Wars of the Roses, and Civil War.

Right through to World War II, when American troops and Churchill tanks turned left at the crossroads on their way south to D-Day, the crossroads has borne witness to the most important moments of British history as they happened.

‘They Came to the Crossroads’ looks at those events, and also those who created the businesses, opened shops, became ‘mine host’, entertained us, filled the churches, improved healthcare, and greeted Kings and Queens.

The authors, all experts in their fields, have made this a book to treasure.

To buy the book, please send a cheque for multiples of £24.95 (£19.95 & £6.00 p&p), cheques payable to Medieval Dunstable, posted to They Came to the Crossroads, The Chapter House, 3 Abbots Close , Bradville, Milton Keynes, MK13 7EN name, address including postcode, phone number and email address.

or payment may be made via bank transfer by emailing; crossroads@jeanyates.co.uk for details.