:: History

The Luton News and Dunstable Gazette have been serving their respective communities for more than 100 years.

The Gazette was established in 1865 and the Luton News first published in 1891, and both that claim to be among the oldest-established businesses in town.

Over the years the papers have faithfully reported the stories large and small through the Victorian age, the dark days of two world wars, the rise and fall of Luton as a motor manufacturing base, the development of the area's amazingly diverse make-up and, of course, the ups and downs of Luton Town FC.

:: Product

Probably the town's longest-established business, The Dunstable Gazette has been serving the community since 1865. It covers everything from the most major news events to the smallest flower show.

Like its sister paper, The Luton News, it uses its extensive photo archives to produce a page on local history each week. The paper provides significant backing for numerous local activities, with its staff involved in such events as the town's Tudor Day and the annual carnival.

The Gazette shares some of its enterprises with The Luton News, but a system of altering the editorial content on many pages means there is always sufficient space for purely Dunstable events.

One recent example was the successful fund-raising effort to raise money to build a market clock in the town in which the Gazette played a leading part.

The paper continues to grow in strength and is continually striving to bring the very latest news, views and opinion to the people of Dunstable and surrounding area

The newspaper backs numerous town events such as Luton In Bloom and supported many charitable causes including the Keech Cottage children's hospice, for which The Luton News spearheaded the £3m building-fund campaign.

Added Value...

The Luton News and The Dunstable Gazette combine to bring readers a series of added-value features. These include a Business Monthly supplement that contains a mix of local news and features about the business community in Luton and Bedfordshire as well as our annual Baby of the Year supplement.

The sports coverage is by far the most comprehensive in the district, with at least eight pages featuring everything from athletics to rugby – and, of course, the very latest news and views on Luton Town Football Club

The entertainment pages, titled The Scene, provide detailed coverage of local leisure featuring a number of well-established local writers and reviewers, concentrating on nightclubs, theatre, classical and pop music, video, what's on and cinema including Bollywood movies screened for the town's large Asian population.

As well as a team of local correspondents. Its vast collection of photographic negatives, now on permanent loan to Luton Museum, is the basis for an enormously popular Yesteryear page.

The newspaper backs numerous town events such as Luton In Bloom and supported many charitable causes including the Keech Cottage children's hospice, for which The Luton News spearheaded the £3m building-fund campaign.

The Luton News continues to increase its sales and be the first in the week with local news.

Regular features include a weekly business news page, club and village pages, local weddings in full colour and columns on a wide range of issues by local personalities.

The Jobs is a pull-out section packed with the top vacancies from the area's leading employers and combines with the Situations Vacant pages of the Herald&Post to offer both advertisers and readers an unrivalled package for all their recruitment requirements.

• The Luton News has been an established newspaper since 1891.

• The Dunstable Gazette was established as far back as 1865.

• They have a combined readership of over 1.8 readers per copy .

• Both titles are published every Wednesday - the first newspapers of the week

• More pages of sport than any other local newspaper in the Luton and Dunstable area.

The history of Luton and South Beds stretches back to Roman times and beyond, and the area has always played a key part in the nation's communication network. From the Roman road of Watling Street that helped make Dunstable and nearby Houghton Regis an important royal centre in medieval and Tudor times to the booming international airport and vital M1 motorway that makes Luton so attractive to businesses today, it's always been an area that's going places.

• Luton International airport

The town's international carnival, held each May, is a vibrant and spectacular event which is the largest of its kind in Europe and attracts floats, dancers and revellers from far and wide.

But within minutes of the bustling centre of town and the runways of Luton Airport, which handles millions of passengers a year, are picturesque villages and stunning landscapes where time seems to have stood still for centuries.

Dunstable was built in the Chiltern hills around the crossing point of two ancient roads, the Icknield Way and Watling Street. Many Roman remains have been found underneath the town centre but the town came to prominence when King Henry l founded an Augustinian priory there. The town's beautiful Priory Church is all that remains visible today of the huge monastery which was demolished in the time of Henry Vlll.

• Luton Carnival

Houghton Regis is part of the Dunstable-Luton conurbation but proudly maintains its own identity. Its most attractive feature is the large green in the centre of the town, overlooked by Houghton Hall - once a stately residence but now maintained for commercial office use. The parish church next to the town's shopping centre is, incidentally, the place where Hollywood film star Gary Cooper was christened.

Luton itself exploded from a tiny market town to bustling industrial base during the 19th century, when it became a major centre of hat manufacture which gave Luton Town's players their famous nickname.


Developing into a major engineering centre, most famously home to the Vauxhall motor works, urban development on either side of the motorway helped the town expand at a phenomenal rate.

• Luton Hoo

On Dunstable's doorstep you have the popular attraction of the Dunstable Downs, popular with gliding enthusiasts and walkers alike.

There are also major tourist attractions close at hand, such as Whipsnade Wild Animal Park and the famous Woburn Abbey stately home and safari park.

:: Contact

Address: Media House, 39 Upper George St, Luton, Bedfordshire LU1 2RD.

Ad Doc: DX5946 Luton

Switchboard: 01582 700600

Editorial: T: 01582 700666 E: editorial@dunstablegazette.co.uk

Advertising: 01582 700601

Classified Advertising: 01582 700603

Distribution: 01234 409212

Frequency: Weekly titles, published Wednesdays.