Eaton Bray Millenium Book - Pages 22

 

Bower Lane / Medley Close

This little group are standing where Medley Close is now. On the right are the Yew trees at the entrance to Yew Tree Farm. The first house on the left is The Victoria Pub, where Victoria Terrace gets it's name.

 

Straw Plait

Like many villages in the area surrounding Luton and Dunstable, Eaton Bray played its part in supplying straw plait, the material used to make hats for which Luton was to become famous.

Plait schools were set up locally where children were expected to make a quantity of plait for a small amount of money. Plaiting dominated home life, even men supplemented their income, usually by clipping the loose straws and by milling (by passing the plait between two rollers).