51 High Town Road adjoins Hightown Methodist Church. For the greater part of a century it was a butcher's shop. At the time of writing [2011] it is a shop dispending Chinese medicine.

The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 specified that every building and piece of land in the country was to be assessed to determine its rateable value. The valuer visiting 51 High Town Road [DV1/R59/16] found it, like 53 High Town Road next door, owned by Alfred Pridmore. The property was a butcher’s shop, leased by London Central Meat Company Limited for £32 per annum.

The property comprised a cellar measuring 11 feet by 22 feet which was not used and a ground floor with a shop measuring 10 feet 3 inches by 15 feet. Two bedrooms lay on the first floor. The valuer commented: “These Premises are in a bad state of Repair and only the shop is used”.

Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service has a Borough of Luton Public Health Department Shops Act 1934 Section 10 inspection book [BorL/EH/14/1]. This book reveals that on 17th November 1936 London central meat Company was still in occupation, though a later hand has annotated this in red “Griffiths Bros.”; ventilation was provided by a fanlight in the door and a continuous grille over the window. The premises was unheated. A men’s toilet stood in a passage behind the shop. The premises had good natural lighting and electric light was also provided. Meals were taken “In outhouse – not suitable”. This was rectified by March 1937 when the outhouse was reconditioned. Staff comprised one man and one boy under eighteen though by February 1938 only one boy under eighteen worked there.

Directories for Bedfordshire were published every few years from 1839, for example, the beginning of the 20th century has directories for 1903, 1906, 1910 and 1914. Countywide directories ceased to be published during the Second World War, the last for Bedfordshire being in 1940. Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service has directories just for Luton for 1939, 1950, 1960, 1965, 1968, 1972, 1974 and 1975. The first street numbers in High Town Road begin to appear in directories in 1885 but it looks as if there was some renumbering of properties on the odd side of the road between 1890 and 1894.

• 1894: London Central Meat Company, butchers;
• 1898: George Lowe, butcher;
• 1903: London Central Meat Company Limited, butchers;
• 1906: London Central Meat Company Limited, butchers;
• 1910: London Central Meat Company Limited, butchers;
• 1914: London Central Meat Company Limited, butchers;
• 1920: London Central Meat Company Limited, butchers;
• 1924: London Central Meat Company Limited, butchers;
• 1928: London Central Meat Company Limited, butchers;
• 1931: London Central Meat Company Limited, butchers;
• 1936: London Central Meat Company Limited, butchers;
• 1939: Griffiths Brothers;
• 1940: Griffiths Brothers, butchers;
• 1950: Griffiths Brothers;
• 1960: Griffiths Brothers, butchers;
• 1965: Griffiths Brothers, butchers;
• 1968: Griffiths Brothers, butchers; Barry Blaydon;
• 1972: Griffiths Brothers, butchers;
• 1974: Griffiths brothers, butchers;
• 1975: A. Courtenay, butcher;
• 2011: Waterside Chinese Health Centre.