Do you know how your town got its name? Was it linked to kings, famous people or unusual happenings? Was it named because of its location? Or was it named after a robber? Dunstable, in Bedfordshire, may have been named after ancient words, which meant "the market place on the hillside." But it may also have been named after the robber - Dunne.

During the reign of King Henry I, a band of fifty outlaws lurked in the thickest of woods, where the Icknield Way crosses Watling Street near Houghton Regis. A courageous young man called Dunne led them through these woods to wait for passers by who they would wound, rob or even kill. No traveller could pass that way safely. They would share the riches among themselves and they lived without a care.

Eventually, King Henry I heard of their deeds whilst travelling in the area and ordered their capture. He found the forest where the thieves lurked but the outlaws had heard that he was coming and ran back to their houses. Dunne was becoming a legendary figure.

To stop attacks on good and honest people, King Henry ordered the cutting down of the wood. Travellers could now see the way ahead and see any danger coming. When the wood had been cleared a trap was set.

The king had a long pole (or staple) put up at the busy crossroads. A valuable ring, belonging to the king, was attached to the staple. He then dared any thief brave enough, or foolish enough, to steal the ring from under the noses of his guards. The ring disappeared!

In response to this, King Henry set up an enquiry across the area, locating first the shire in which the man lived. The search was then narrowed down to the parish of Houghton Regis and, finally, the King located the very house in which the robber was living. It was the house of the widow Dunne. Her son, the courageous leader of the robber gang, had dared to steal the king's ring. The Dunne house was searched under the king's instruction and the staple and the ring were found.

A few days later, Dunne was hanged for his crimes. Where the wood once stood, the king built a market town to provide shelter for travellers. The town was called Dunstable. The name was thought to come from the robber Dunne and the staple.

The king himself built a place to live in the area that is now called Kingsbury. He started a monastery nearby which became very important. Around these two great buildings, the present town of Dunstable grew.

The king issued his new town with a charter, giving it permission to hold a market. Dunstable thrived and many important and historic decisions were taken there, including the decision that ended the first marriage of King Henry VIII. Until 1600, every king or queen of England visited the town.

Would the King really have allowed the town to be named after a notorious villain? Many people have questioned this. The story was first recorded one hundred and fifty years after the death of Dunne, by a monk from the monastery. It was passed down through the generations. Many years later, John Willis wrote down the story in a long poem called 'The Legend of Dunne'.

There are very few towns that have been named after a rogue, but Dunstable might just be one of them. As the final words of the poem record:

'And for that Dunne, before the woods was downe,
Had there his haunte, and thence did steale away,
The staple and the ringe, thereof the towne,
Is called Dunstable until this daye'