Dunstable began as a Roman town. Long before the Romans came to Britain there was a track called the Icknield Way, which cross the middle of England. In the 2nd century, the Romans built a road called Watling Street, which crossed Icknield Way at the point where Dunstable stands today.
Dunstable appears as a royal borough in the reign of Henry I (1100–35), who granted a charter to the Augustinian priory he had built.
8 High Street North is located in the very centre of Dunstable. The property was built 1839 and was occupied by Benjamin Bennett, a straw manufacturer (i.e. a straw hat maker), employing 70 'hands'.
In the 20th century, the use of the property shifted to commercial use as Gibbards Corn Merchants. The ground floor has been occupied as Estate Agency since the late 70’s. You will notice when you enter the property a few artifacts on the walls which we found whilst carrying out the full renovation of the building.
The property is located within the Conservation area. Award Winning Property Developer “Harper Luxe” has just undergone a painstaking 12 month complete refurbishment of the property. The Team carried our extensive works stripping the building back to a shell & core which equated to the following:
What was offices above number 8 is now two separate apartments
The property has two front doors accessible from the street, the left door serves the business premises of the property and the right gate leads to a cross passage accessing to the first floor apartments. The private landscaped courtyard to the rear of the building features the original granite kerb stones from the old high street.
