Blaze was the last straw for the Norman King

This photo was taken in February 1980, when the pub’s roof was being rethatched.

The Gazette’s photographer managed to include a view of Kingsway in the background.

The pub opened in October 1961, after Flowers Breweries lavished huge sums on converting the old Kingsbury Farm stables and barn into a prestigious venue.

Stone used in the reconstruction had been transported from the Cambridge area where it had been part of a 12th century castle and a 12th century cottage. Wood panelling was obtained from a former medieval inn.

But the pub’s interior was gutted and modernised in 1984.

In August 2012 a man was sentenced to seven and a half years in jail for setting fire to the pub.

At the time it was reported that the Norman King had been a 12th century coaching inn, but this was incorrect.

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