# Dunstable Road

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**Dunstable Road**, also known as **Bury Park**, was a [football](/source/Association_football) ground in [Luton](/source/Luton), [England](/source/England). It was the home ground of [Luton Town](/source/Luton_Town_F.C.) between 1897 and 1905.

## History

The ground was located between Dunstable Road and the now-closed [railway line](/source/Dunstable_Branch_Lines) between [Luton](/source/Luton_railway_station) and [Dunstable](/source/Dunstable_Town_railway_station).[1] Luton moved to the site in 1897 from their previous [Dallow Lane](/source/Dallow_Lane) ground, and Dunstable Road was officially opened on 3 April 1897 by the [Duke of Bedford](/source/Herbrand_Russell,_11th_Duke_of_Bedford), who also donated £50 towards the £800 building costs.[2] The match saw Luton beat [Loughborough](/source/Loughborough_F.C.) 3–0 in the [United League](/source/United_League_(football)).[2] 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.[1]

After finishing as runners-up in the [United League](/source/United_League_(football)) in the 1896–97 season, Luton were elected to the Second Division of [the Football League](/source/The_Football_League). The first Football League match at the ground was played on 11 September 1897, with Luton beating [Gainsborough Trinity](/source/Gainsborough_Trinity_F.C.) 4–0. The highest league attendance was recorded later in the season, when 5,000 saw Luton beat [Grimsby Town](/source/Grimsby_Town_F.C.) on 27 December 1897. However, by the [1899–1900 season](/source/1899%E2%80%931900_Football_League) 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](/source/Southern_Football_League) for the [following season](/source/1900%E2%80%9301_Southern_Football_League). The final Football League match at the ground saw Luton lose 2–1 to [Small Heath](/source/Small_Heath_F.C.) on 21 April 1900 in front of 1,000 spectators.[1]

In 1905 the site was sold for housing,[3] and the club moved to [Kenilworth Road](/source/Kenilworth_Road),[1] around 200 metres away. The site is now a mix of residential and commercial developments.

## References

1. Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) *The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005*, Yore Publications, p47, ISBN 0954783042

1. Timothy Collings (1985) *The Luton Town Story 1885–1985*, Luton Town FC, pp12–13

1. Collings, pp18–19

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dunstable Road](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunstable_Road) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunstable_Road?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.