Not many people would, probably, put the words “Luton” and “culture” together. Luton has such a bad reputation that it’s even been voted the UK’s worst town. A drive round the centre can be depressing and confusing. Yet some of Luton’s sons and daughters have achieved great things, from composer David Arnold to cricketer Monty Panesar. Nearby Luton Airport is a national gateway to and from the northern Chilterns, and is the town’s largest employer. And just outside central Luton sit two splendid ways to spend an afternoon out.
Along Old Bedford Road is Wardown House, Museum and Gallery (pictured). The house itself is a late Victorian creation, completed in 1877 for a local solicitor who also had the outbuildings and lodges built and laid out a cricket lawn and park. After the family moved away, the local council bought the estate, opening the park to the public and using the house as a military convalescent hospital in World War I and later as a rental space for some of their staff. Wardown House has been a museum since 1931 and it has just reopened after a period of redevelopment.
Visitors can wander through both floors, admire an eclectic selection of displays including some very Victorian mounted butterflies and learn about two centuries of Luton life in a special exhibition – with the starring role going to the hatmaking industry for which the town is still renowned. There’s enough interactive content to satisfy the most curious of children. Sit in an armchair and a voice will explain what games the children of Wardown House used to play; look in the bathroom mirror and what you thought was a portrait of a World War I nurse comes to life and the nurse explains what her job involved. The tearoom, in what was the house’s dining room, features one or two quirky design choices: customers drink from paper cups while proper teacups form part of the light fittings! All in all, the house and surrounding park provide an excellent attraction.
Three miles away across town is Stockwood Discovery Centre. Here, too, there was once a country house, completed in 1740 for £60,000 (probably over £12 million in today’s money) and property of the Crawley family for 200 years. Again the local council bought the house and surrounding park, but the house fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1964. Happily a combination of Heritage Lottery Fund money and other donations has enabled Stockwood Craft Museum, as it was, to redevelop and reopen.
Keen gardeners can enjoy the Period Gardens which show a range of styles of English gardens through the centuries (my favourite was the Elizabethan knot garden), as well as other garden spaces devoted to themes such as medicine and wildlife. The Discovery Galleries in the old stables explore the history of the region from prehistoric times – including a taste of medieval Luton, while the Discovery Hall focuses on another industry for which Luton has become famous, as the home of Vauxhall: the motor trade. The Hall features a collection previously owned by George Mossman of Caddington, near Luton, who collected, drove, restored and constructed horse-drawn vehicles for over fifty years.
Like Wardown, Stockwood Discovery Centre is open most days of the year. Even better, both are free to enter. I would recommend either as good options for a day out – and to dispel any remaining prejudice you may have against Luton…
