Neolothic era Blow's Down has a lengthy history, with evidence of human habitation dating back around 4000 years. The archeologist
Worthington G. Smith identified several remains of
Neolithic huts, finding among other things a horse's bone and, in 1888, part of a human skeleton.
Medieval period Following the establishment of the town of Dunstable by
Henry I, the land would likely have been rented by the king, with the slopes of the downs being mainly used for grazing as they were too steep to plough. The fields at the foot of Blow's Down would likely have made ideal locations for such mock battles of the time. At the top of the downs lies
Zouche's farm, which is likely to have been the site of Zouche's manor, an important estate of the family of the name la Zouche of Harringworth, who leased the land in the mid 14th century. For a while, among other names, Blow's down was eponymously referred to as Zouche's (or Souches) Downs, as seen in
Jefferys' 1765 map of Bedfordshire.
1800s and onwards Throughout the 1800s and later, the Downs underwent several changes from human activity. The parliamentary
enclosures of the early 1800s would likely have drastically changed the appearance of Blow's Downs, due to hedges planted to separate fields. Around this time is when the Downs became known by the name they are known today, probably named after tenant farmers at Zouche's farm with the surname "Blow". The
Luton-Dunstable rail link, which opened in 1858, provided transportation of lime away from Blow's Down. The British Portland Cement Manufacturing Company acquired the lease to the site, and were still running the works during the 1920s. Production ceased some time before the
Second World War, with the chalk pit being used by the
Home Guard as a training area. ==References==