Dunstable Yesteryear - H Tree landmark

Amateur photographer Bertha Eyre took the black-and-white photo of the tree in 1987, with the archway of Norton House in the background and shops just visible on the other side of the high street. The more-recent colour photo from the same spot has today’s KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) frontage clearly recognisable.

The tree, which had become very familiar to archaeologists investigating the site of the old Dunstable Friary, was cut down when the present Norton Court flats were built.

The new flats cover the site of the old Stuart and Sons hat factory which was there from about 1863 until 1925 when it became the base for an engineering company. Norton House, the Georgian building facing the Square, was the home of the hat factory’s manager.

The area behind the Square was the site of Dunstable Friary, demolished in the reign of King Henry VIII. When Friary Fields were earmarked for redevelopment, Dunstable’s Manshead Archaeological Society in 1965 began extensive investigation of the Friary’s remaining foundations. The society discovered, among many other things, the famous Swan Brooch now in the British Museum.

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