She used a colour film which was quite unusual at the time, so her snapshot capturing the changing face of the town is a rare piece of history.
It shows Church Street, looking towards the crossroads, when what had been an extremely narrow road was being converted into today’s dual carriageway. At almost the same time an area covered by small shops and cottages, including Queen’s Terrace where a blacksmith once had his forge, was being cleared to make way for the Quadrant shopping centre, whose traffic-free walkways were a great innovation.
Some famous old buildings, including the White Horse pub and the Red Lion hotel on the corner of the crossroads were demolished at this time. A much-more modern building, a landmark in Church Street in its day, was also pulled down. This was the furniture store of J and W Baker which was unusual because it had large display windows on each of its two storeys. The remnants of the rectangular building with the flat roof can be seen towards the left of the picture, almost opposite the lamp-post.
The clock tower of Dunstable’s Victorian town hall, now the site in High Street, North of the Santander bank, can be glimpsed on the skyline on the left. The tower of the old maltings, which stood down a little lane which ran from the high street, is clearly visible on the right.
Yesteryear is compiled by John Buckledee, chairman of Dunstable and District Local History Society.