Dunstable Yesteryear: Where the famous Swan Brooch was discovered

They started the dig on July 4 1965 and on July 16 one of their members, Maxene Miller, a local teacher, uncovered a gold brooch which is now a prized exhibit in the British Museum. It was fashioned in the image of a swan, with its feathers made of white and black enamel. A gold crown circled the bird’s neck, attached to a gold chain. Near its tail was the end of a pin used to fasten the brooch to clothes or a hat.

The photo shows the scene when Manshead members Bob Lynch, Terry White, Les Matthews (the site director) and Harold Leach began marking the field behind Bull Pond Lane for a preliminary exploratory trench. This was 75 feet long, and the archaeologists quickly found that they were digging through rubble and domestic refuse created when the Friary was knocked down in around 1539 by order of King Henry VIII. In amongst the debris was the precious jewel, probably left for safe keeping at the Friary and overlooked by its demolishers.

The swan in this design was the emblem of the powerful Bohun family and was adopted by Henry of Lancaster, son of John of Gaunt, when he married Mary de Bohun in 1380. Its image continued to be used as a livery badge by adherents to the House of Lancaster during the turbulent years that followed.

Henry seized the throne from King Richard II in 1399 and his son, the future King Henry V (of Agincourt fame) then adopted the image. The Dunstable jewel, which displays elaborate enamelling techniques which experts believe were introduced by jewellers in around 1400, was a very special form of the livery. It was probably presented to prominent Lancastrians by senior nobles, perhaps even by King Henry himself.

During the Wars of the Roses, in 1455, a large Lancastrian army caused mayhem in Dunstable on their way to the First Battle of St Albans. In February 1461, 15,000 Lancastrian troops occupied Dunstable, despite some resistance by local people, and went on to rescue the imprisoned King Henry VI in a second battle at St Albans.

The monastery, founded by Dominican Friars in 1259, covered four acres between High Street South, Friars Walk and Bull Pond Lane, with its church facing the southern end of The Square and a large orchard at the rear. The photo, with an inset picture of the swan, shows the back of two houses In the distance, which helps to pinpoint the location. These appear to be the properties called Manton and Pond Cottage which are in Bull Pond Lane, facing Bennett’s Rec.

Yesteryear is compiled by John Buckledee, chairman of Dunstable and District Local History Society.