Dunstable Road, also known as Bury Park, was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

ground in

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It was the home ground of

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

between 1897 and 1905.

History

The ground was located between Dunstable Road and the now-closed

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

between

and

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the fou ...

.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p47, Luton moved to the site in 1897 from their previous Dallow Lane ground, and Dunstable Road was officially opened on 3 April 1897 by the

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 for Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of Fran ...

, who also donated £50 towards the £800 building costs.Timothy Collings (1985) ''The Luton Town Story 1885–1985'', Luton Town FC, pp12–13 The match saw Luton beat

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

3–0 in the United League. The ground initially consisted of a covered seated stand on the eastern touchline, a covered standing area on the western touchline and raised embankments around the rest of the pitch. After finishing as runners-up in the United League in the 1896–97 season, Luton were elected to the Second Division of

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

. The first Football League match at the ground was played on 11 September 1897, with Luton beating

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

4–0. The highest league attendance was recorded later in the season, when 5,000 saw Luton beat

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

on 27 December 1897. However, by the 1899–1900 season attendances had fallen as low as 500. Luton finished second-bottom of the Second Division and chose not to stand for re-election, instead dropping into the Southern League for the following season. The final Football League match at the ground saw Luton lose 2–1 to

Small Heath Small Heath is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman t ...

on 21 April 1900 in front of 1,000 spectators. In 1905 the site was sold for housing,Collings, pp18–19 and the club moved to

Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road, known affectionately as The Kenny, is a association football, football stadium in the area of Bury Park, Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The sta ...

, around 200 metres away. The site is now a mix of residential and commercial developments.

References

{{Luton Town F.C. Defunct football venues in England Sports venues in Bedfordshire English Football League venues Luton Town F.C.