Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of

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 ...

, in the

district, in the ceremonial county of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, England, in the northwest of the town. The current council ward is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torquay Drive and High Street to the north, Roman Road and Stoneygate Road to the south, the M1 to the west, and Marsh Road and Leagrave Park to the east. Due to its 35-minute connection by train from

Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Borough of Luton, Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The current council ward is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torqu ...

station into London it is home to significant numbers of commuters, with almost two million using the train station each year. Leagrave station also has connections to

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

in the north and

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

in the south by

Thameslink Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from , , , , , and via central London to , , , Rainham, , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than ...

. Junctions 11 and 11a of the M1 are close at hand as well as

Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, England, situated east of the town centre, and is the fourth-busiest airport serving London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Limited, a company wholly owned by ...

Etymology

The village of Leagrave was recorded in 1224 as ''Littegraue'', intimating that its name means 'Light-coloured, or lightly wooded, grove'. However, another source suggests its name originates from ''Lygegrove'': "Lyge" being an old name for the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

. A place spelt as ''Lythtegrave'' (which may refer to Leagrave, since the prior of Dunstaple also features, and the county margination is Bedfordshire) appears in 1396.

History

The first settlement in the area was Waulud's Bank which is a

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

D-shaped enclosure in Leagrave Park at the source of the River Lea and is now a protected monument. Waulud's bank consists of a bank and external ditch of around 7 hectares with a turf revetted chalk and gravel bank (built from the excavated ditch material). The ditch itself is about 9 m wide and 2 m deep. Finds at the site have included neolithic Grooved Ware and flint arrow heads. It is a similar site to

Durrington Walls Durrington Walls is the site of a large Neolithic settlement and later henge enclosure located in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in England. It lies north-east of Stonehenge in the parish of Durrington, just north of Amesbury in Wiltshire ...

and Marden and the site was later re-used in the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

and during the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

occupation. The

Icknield Way The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, withi ...

, a pre Roman road, passes through Leagrave. Local road names give away its location, 'Roman Road' runs from Oakley Road to Marsh Road. On the other side of Marsh Road as the road enters

Limbury Limbury is a suburb of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, and was formerly a village before Luton expanded around it. The area is roughly bounded by Bramingham Road to the north, Marsh Road to the so ...

it continues as 'Icknield Road' where there is a gap before the road continues as Icknield Way. The River Lea which flows through the area once formed one boundary of the

Danelaw The Danelaw (, ; ; ) was the part of History of Anglo-Saxon England, England between the late ninth century and the Norman Conquest under Anglo-Saxon rule in which Danes (tribe), Danish laws applied. The Danelaw originated in the conquest and oc ...

. Leagrave Marsh used to be a popular place for the

hatters Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners made and sold a range of accessories for clothing and hairstyles. ...

on their (rare) days off and was, consequently, known as "Blockers' Seaside". The

hatmaking Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners made and sold a range of accessories for clothing and hairstyles. ...

industry originally relied on straw plaits, made by farmers' wives, bought and collected by a "plaitman" and brought into the Luton hat factories to be made into

straw hat A straw hat is a wide-brimmed hat woven out of straw or straw-like synthetic materials. Straw hats are a type of sun hat designed to shade the head and face from direct sunlight, but are also used in fashion as a decorative element or a ...

s. A new artwork has been unveiled in the area, reflecting on this former activity. The manor of Leagrave was held by the Lucy family from 1305 to 1455. The Lucys gave their name to the neighbouring suburbs of

Lewsey Lewsey is a suburb of Luton, about west north-west of the town centre, and a ward of the Borough of Luton, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The suburb is roughly bounded by Leagrave High Street to the north, Dunstable Road to ...

Lewsey Farm Lewsey Farm is a suburb of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. Situated in the north-west of the town, the area is roughly bounded by the Woodside Link to the north, Leagrave High Street to the south, Poynters Road to the west, and Pastures Way to the ...

, and Lewsey Park. Leagrave station was built by the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

company in 1868 on its extension to St Pancras. The original Midland station buildings still exist, having been carefully restored in the 1980s. In 1866 the villages of Leagrave and

were formed into the

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of 'Holy Trinity, (Biscot)'. Thirty years later, on 1 April 1896 Leagrave

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

was formed from Luton Rural under the provisions of the '

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...

', in the ecclesiastical parish of Limbury-cum-Biscot. In 1914 Hewlett & Blondeau Limited, an aircraft manufacturing business, opened a factory at Leagrave called The Omnia Works. The company was managed by Hilda Hewlett who lived on site. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the factory produced more than 800 aircraft and employed up to 700 people. The business closed in 1920 and in 1926 the factory site was sold to

Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool Corporation, Whi ...

. In 1921 the parish had a population of 1643. The area grew significantly in between the wars and on 1 October 1928 the parish was abolished when the boundaries of

were extended to include Leagrave, as well as Limbury and

Stopsley Stopsley is a suburb in the north-east of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The area is roughly bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Vauxhall Way and Turners Road North to the south, Bradgers Hill to the west, and Cannon Lane, Stapleford Road ...

. Parts of Leagrave parish went to

Houghton Regis Houghton Regis is a market town and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn and Sewell. Houghton Regis, together with its contiguous neighbours of Dunsta ...

and

Sundon Sundon is a civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire. There are two settlements: the one called Upper Sundon at the top of the hill is now the main village, and the presumably older one by the church is now a hamlet called Lower S ...

. Further expansion of the area took place during the 1930s. Much of the housing stock of the area dates from the 1920s and 1930s and is typical of the era, with large bay-fronted semi-detached and terraced houses the typical housing built at this time. Some of the old farm names live on in the modern road names, Strangers Farm lends its name to the current Strangers Way, and Grange Avenue (Grange Road until the 1920s) takes its name from The Grange Farm. Until the 1990s Electrolux was one of the larger employers in the area; however, much of the old factory site was sold off in the early 2000s for redevelopment into housing. The most recent development on the site was Saxon-Gate. The current site of the

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

restaurant on Marsh Road was the site of the Three Horseshoes pub, which was demolished in 1994. The roundabout next to McDonald's takes its name from the old pub, with the old pub sign incorporated in the planting scheme. The Sugar Loaf pub was also located on the high street, but this has since been converted into a restaurant and then more recently renovated into flats. Following Leagrave village becoming part of the larger town of Luton in 1928, many local roads were renamed to avoid confusion with existing Luton road names. For example, Oak Road became Oakley Road, Cumberland Avenue became Compton Avenue and Salisbury Road became Sarum Road (Sarum being the Roman name for Salisbury).

Local area

There is a

parade of shops A shopping parade, also known as a parade of shops, suburban parade, neighbourhood parade, or just a simply a parade is a group of between five and 40 shops in one or more continuous rows, mostly being retail and serving a local customer base; in ...

on High Street/Grange Avenue at the centre of Leagrave, as well as a busy commercial area on the border with

on Marsh Road. Electrolux has moved its UK headquarters back to the area, based in one of the old Omnia Works buildings on Oakley Road. Leagrave is increasingly a commuter area with many people taking advantage of the 35-minute train journey time into London as well as motorway connections to London and to the North. This has led to many new developments of infill housing and apartment buildings. Much of the land around the old Marsh Farmhouse (which gives its name to neighbouring

Marsh Farm Marsh Farm is a suburb of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, near to Leagrave and Limbury, mainly of council and social housing. The area is bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Bramingham Road to the south, Spinney Wood and the path from the ...

), as well as Leagrave Common is now part of Leagrave Park. The park provides contains a number of different areas including sports pitches, native woodland habitat, wildlife areas, river and wetland areas and links to the historic environment. It comprises a playing field of 59.34 acres with pavilion, play area, bowling green and car parking. The park also includes areas of County Wildlife designation, Leagrave Common and the Scheduled Monument, Waulud's Bank a 4500-year-old Neolithic enclosure. Leagrave Park has been legally protected from loss to building development since September 2013 by the charity, Fields in Trust, under the Queen Elizabeth II Fields programme. 3039220 b42f669e

Churches

The largest church in the parish is

St Luke Luke the Evangelist was one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Prominent figu ...

s on Leagrave High Street, which was consecrated by the Bishop of Saint Albans in June 1956. It is a

grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

due largely to its frontage, and was designed by John Seely and Paul Paget. Leagrave

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

is also on Leagrave High Street. The first Methodist Church in Leagrave opened on 3 June 1824, and a gallery was added 5 years later in 1829. This Church was rebuilt in 1880.

Local schools and education

* Beechwood Primary School, Linden Road * Kings House Preparatory School & Nursery, High Street Leagrave * Leagrave Library, Marsh Road * Leagrave Primary School, Strangers Way * Lealands High School, Sundon Park Road * Pirton Hill Primary School, Butely Road Moorlands School and Nursery was founded in 1891. It was originally located in the town centre before moving to Dunstable Road. In 1958 the school had grown significantly and new premises were needed. The school relocated to Leagrave Hall (built in 1850), a former home of the Filmer family. In September 2011, Barnfield Moorlands Free School became a free school, the first such school in Luton and all of Bedfordshire, when it joined the Barnfield Federation in September 2012. The school has since been renamed The Linden Academy and has relocated to Osborne Road in Luton. Today, Leagrave Hall is now the location of a mosque.

Geography

Leagrave is in the north of Luton, roughly 3.5 miles north of the town centre. Neighbouring areas are

Hockwell Ring Hockwell Ring is a suburb of Luton in the north-west of the town, in Bedfordshire, England. The area is roughly bounded by Brickly Road to the north, High Street and Torquay Drive to the south, the M1 motorway to the west, and Vincent Road to t ...

and

Sundon Park Sundon Park is a suburb of north Luton, in the Borough of Luton, Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The area is roughly bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Leagrave Park to the south, the Midland Main Line t ...

to the north,

Challney Challney is a district in Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, off the main arterial road leading from Luton into Dunstable. The area is roughly bounded by Rodheath, Stoneygate Road, Roman Road, and Be ...

and Maidenhall to the south,

to the west, and

and

to the east. The source of the

is in the area, which flows for 42 miles to join the Thames in East London. The Lea crosses Leagrave Common and receives a number of tributaries including Knapps Brook, which joins from culverts under the railway embankment and Toddington Road,

Lewsey Brook Lewsey Brook is a minor tributary of the River Lea which flows through Luton. Course Lewsey Brook is a temporal water course, supplied by surface water from farmland and the nearby Luton suburbs of Lewsey, Lewsey Farm, and Lewsey Park, that ...

and

Houghton Brook Houghton Brook, the lower section sometimes known as Knapps Brook, is a minor tributary of the River Lea which flows through the northwest suburbs of Luton. Houghton Brook starts in Houghton Regis and is fed by a number of smaller brooks in t ...

. Knapps Brook is a combination of brooks from East End, Houghton Regis and from Lewsey Park. Leagrave is a flat area.

Sport and leisure

Leagrave has a

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

team Kent Athletic F.C. who play at Kent Athletic Park. Since 2005 The Luton Youth Festival has taken place in Leagrave. The festival usually takes place in the grounds and building of St Luke's Church and features a combination of stages, local performances and youth groups. It was described as ' one of the regions most exciting and unique events' by The Luton News. The event is run by charity Leagrave Youth Work Action Group.

Politics

Leagrave is mostly within the Leagrave ward, although some parts are within the

and

wards. The Leagrave ward also includes

and

Tophill Tophill is a gently sloping area of land on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England, rising from sea level at Portland Bill to near The Verne (HM Prison), HMP The Verne at its northern end. On Tophill are five of the Villages of Portland, set ...

. Leagrave ward is represented by Cllr Waheed Akbar ( Labour), Cllr Maria Lovell (Labour) and Cllr Sameera Saleem (Labour). The ward forms part of the

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Luton North Luton North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Sarah Owen, of the Labour Party. Constituency profile Luton North was created in 1983, primarily from the former seat of Luton West. It c ...

and the MP is

Sarah Owen Sarah Mei Li Owen (; born 11 January 1983) is a British Labour Party politician and trade unionist who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton North since 2019. She is the first MP of South East Asian descent and the first female MP o ...

Local attractions

Local newspapers

Two weekly newspapers cover Leagrave, although they are not specific to the area. They are the:
Herald and Post

Luton News

References

External links

Luton Borough Council

Kelvin Hopkins homepage

Kings House School

St Lukes Church

Views of Leagrave and Limbury from 1906
{{River Lee England Wards of Luton Areas of Luton Former civil parishes in Bedfordshire