originally relied on straw plaits, made by farmers' wives, bought and collected by a "plaitman" and brought into the Luton hat factories to be made into straw hats. A new artwork has been unveiled in the area, reflecting on this former activity. The manor of Leagrave was held by the Lucy family from 1305 to 1455. The Lucys gave their name to the neighbouring suburbs of Lewsey, Lewsey Farm, and Lewsey Park. Leagrave station was built by the Midland Railway company in 1868 on its extension to St Pancras. The original Midland station buildings still exist, having been carefully restored in the 1980s. In 1866 the villages of Leagrave and Limbury were formed into the ecclesiastical parish of 'Holy Trinity, (Biscot)'. Thirty years later, on 1 April 1896 Leagrave civil parish was formed from Luton Rural under the provisions of the 'Local Government Act 1894', in the ecclesiastical parish of Limbury-cum-Biscot. In 1914 Hewlett & Blondeau Limited, an aircraft manufacturing business, opened a factory at Leagrave called The Omnia Works. The company was managed by Hilda Hewlett who lived on site. During the First World War the factory produced more than 800 aircraft and employed up to 700 people. The business closed in 1920 and in 1926 the factory site was sold to Electrolux. In 1921 the parish had a population of 1643. The area grew significantly in between the wars and on 1 October 1928 the parish was abolished when the boundaries of Luton were extended to include Leagrave, as well as Limbury and Stopsley. Parts of Leagrave parish went to Houghton Regis and Sundon. Further expansion of the area took place during the 1930s. Much of the housing stock of the area dates from the 1920s and 1930s and is typical of the era, with large bay-fronted semi-detached and terraced houses the typical housing built at this time. Some of the old farm names live on in the modern road names, Strangers Farm lends its name to the current Strangers Way, and Grange Avenue (Grange Road until the 1920s) takes its name from The Grange Farm. Until the 1990s Electrolux was one of the larger employers in the area; however, much of the old factory site was sold off in the early 2000s for redevelopment into housing. The most recent development on the site was Saxon-Gate. The current site of the McDonald's restaurant on Marsh Road was the