Although perhaps best known today as the home of Vauxhall Motors, Luton s industrial roots run much deeper. Long before it became associated with motor cars, Luton was the centre of ladies hat production in this country a success founded upon the earlier regional industry of straw-plaiting. Many surrounding towns and villages fed into the industry and helped to make the region globally renowned. At its peak in the 1930s, the region was producing as many as 70 million hats in a single year; however, it entered a rapid decline following the Second World War from which it never recovered. This...

Boston, in the county of Lincolnshire, England, is a small town that has had a big place in history, as a port with important links to Europe and America where homesick emigrants would later bestow its name on their new settlement. "Boston, Lincolnshire" examines its history as reflected in the town s buildings and townscape from medieval times to the present day.
The authors discuss its religious and public architecture and important influences on the town s development, including its agriculture and manufacturing, its transportation history, its physical expansion throughout the...