12thcentury
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The beginnings of a new town
By the turn of the 12th century, Henry I was King of England and was determined to expand his Kingdom. In 1106, he sent a proclamation all over England inviting businessmen to settle at the crossroads of Dunstaple, as it was then known, and burgess plots were laid out at a cost of one shilling per acre. A nine acre palace was built at Kingsway, on the north side of Church Street (then East Street), on the rough site of what is now the Old Palace Lodge and ASDA.
Geoffrey de Gorham may have situated a school in Dunstable as early as 1110. De Gorham famously organised the first ever performance of a play in England - in Dunstable.
Augustinian canons began to settle in the town and by 1131 there were enough resident canons for King Henry to hand control of Dunstaple over to them. Heny's words in the deed handing over the town to the canons are recorded as follows:
Know ye that for God and my health and the souls of Wiliam my son and Matilda* the Queen my wife have given to the Church of the Blessed Peter of Dunstable which I have founded in honour of God...
*Henry's son, William, died in the White Ship tragedy of November 1120, and his first wife Matilda (not to be confused with his daughter and successor of the same name) died in May 1118.
Henry died four years after the handover of Dunstable and his son, Stephen, became King shortly before Christmas 1135. The following year, Stephen spent his second Christmas in Dunstable before sailing for Normandy.
As part of the 12th century expansion of Dunstable, a leper colony was built on the south side of the town, a second hospital was opened on the boundary of Hockliffe, and a hostel for wealthy travellers was opened, with the Archbishop of Canterbury amongst its regular guests. The former hostel is now Priory House.
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