Dunstable Yesteryear: When the Swan inn still survived
Everyone stood perfectly still, even in the centre of Dunstable crossroads, for a photograph taken in the days when camera shutter speeds were very slow.
This fascinating picture shows Middle Row, looking down High Street South towards The Square. The building on the right, with the pointed roof, had been a butcher’s shop since at least 1840 but is now empty and in a sad state of disrepair. Next door, on the right, is another former pub, The Rose and Crown, which had become a shop run by Charles Welch by the time the photo was taken. His name can just be glimpsed on the frontage. The building was reconstructed after the widening of West Street in 1911 and is now the Taylors estate agent.
Directly behind the policeman is The Swan With Two Necks, the old coaching inn whose sign is faintly visible in the photo. The inn continued in business long after the end of stagecoach trade, and eventually closed in 1913. Its premises now house the Ladbrokes betting office.
The shop on the opposite side of the crossroads was owned by Percy W Ashwell, “the up-to-date draper”. He was a notable figure in the town who also ran a undertaking business and would be seen, splendidly attired, walking ahead of each funeral cortege. His shop on the corner of Church Street, now demolished, was later bought by the Home and Colonial Stores.
Yesteryear is compiled by John Buckledee, chairman of Dunstable and District Local History Society.