Reginald Street on the boundary of High Town and New Bedford Road was at the heart of the “cottage industry” hat trade as opposed to the factories near the centre of town. Kingham Way (between 67 & 69 Reginald Street) perpetuates the name of G. Kingham, a building firm.
The premises at the rear are now used by a variety of businesses, mostly unconnected with the hat trade, though the old sign ‘Luton Boxes Ltd’ at the entrance indicates a past connection (second from top on the sign). Box manufacturers produced the large cardboard boxes which were used to transport the hats by train across the country, but this aspect of the trade gradually became absorbed by the larger factories following the introduction of wool-felt hats – it was a way to make use of wool scraps by incorporating threads into the boxes, thus maximising profits.
Please also note the presence of milliners “H &M Levinson” as further evidence of the presence of the hat trade in the last century.
Footnote : sign writers often personalise their creations by signing them and the last vestige of "H. H. Brown" can just be seen in the bottom right.
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