Bury Park
Bury Park | |
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Bedfordshire and Luton | |
Ambulance | East of England |
UK Parliament | |
Bury Park is an area of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It is located 1 mile north west of the town centre on the A505 road to Dunstable. The area is roughly bounded by Claremont Road and Highfield Road to the north, Telford Way to the south, Hatters Way to the west, and the Midland Main Line to the east.
Since the mid-1970s a large Muslim community have settled. Bury Park has a large commercial area specialising in fruit, vegetables, tech shops and all cultural clothing.[1] There is a significant number of restaurants in the area, particularly serving Halal food.
Kenilworth Road, the home of Luton Town F.C. is also located here.
History
Bury Park takes its name from Bury Farm, which was situated near to where Kenilworth Road is now.[2]
An estate was erected on the fields of the farm, and the first houses were occupied in 1882.
Traffic has long been a problem in the area. In 1926, complaints were made that horses and carts were causing obstructions by stopping at a water trough at the junction of Dunstable Road and Leagrave Road. In the following years the junction was covered by constables on point duty.[5]
Edgar Barber established an aeroplane propeller factory during World War I at 116 Bury Park Road. This was converted into a cinema called the Empire, which opened in 1921 and which closed in 1938 when the new Odeon opened on Dunstable Road. The Odeon with 1958 seats was designed by Keith P. Roberts and is now a listed building.[6]
During
Churches and mosques
The Congregational Church in Waldeck Road is now a United Reformed Church.[8] The converted cinema in Dunstable Road is now the UK headquarters of the Calvary Church of God in Christ pastored by Jurisdictional Bishop, Rev Dr. Alvin Blake.[9]
The Luton skyline includes the Luton Central Mosque in Westbourne Road, foundations of which were laid by the late Waliat Hussain Jarral (also alternatively known as Walayat) in 1982. Born in Kashmir, the founder died aged 72, on 24 June 2010 after a battle with cancer. But his legacy remains, as having founded one of the first purpose-built mosques in Britain and the biggest purpose built in modern Europe in the early 1980s. A dispute over who should run the mosque led to a highly publicised High Court battle.
The more recent Islamic Centre in Bury Park Road also serves the Islamic community in Luton and occupies the former synagogue.
Politics
The area north of Dunstable Road is in Biscot ward and the area to the south is in Dallow ward.
The wards form part of the
).Local attractions
Key | |
Abbey/Priory/Cathedral | |
Accessible open space | |
Amusement/Theme Park | |
Castle | |
Country Park | |
English Heritage | |
Forestry Commission | |
Heritage railway | |
Historic House
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Places of Worship | |
Museum (free/not free) | |
National Trust
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Theatre | |
Zoo |
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Local newspapers
Two weekly newspapers cover Bury Park, although they are not specific to the area.
They are the:
References
- ^ Asian Community Network, Luton Shopping Guide Archived 15 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Ordnance Survey, Bedfordshire 33NW, surveyed circa 1879, published 1888.
- ISBN 0-85033-775-5, captions to plates 43 to 46 and 58.
- ^ C. Pickford, Bedfordshire Churches in the Nineteenth Century: Part IV, Bedfordshire Historical Record Society, 2001, pages 912 and 913.
- ISBN 1-871199-11-5(p/b), page 46.
- ISBN 978-1-903747-83-4, pages 76, 139 and 146.
- ^ E. Grabham, op. cit., pages 80, 159, 207, 236 and 254.
- ^ Historic England, Bury Park United Reformed Church.
- ^ Calvary Church of God in Christ (United Kingdom) Archived 11 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0-7475-7711-9.