Brixworth

Brixworth
All Saints' parish church
Brixworth  Brixworth shown within Northamptonshire
Population	5,162 (2001 census)
OS grid reference	SP7470
Civil parish	Brixworth
District	Daventry district
Shire county	Northamptonshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Northampton
Postcode district	NN6
Dialling code	01604
Police	Northamptonshire
Fire	Northamptonshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Daventry
Website	Brixworth Online
List of places: UK • England • Northamptonshire

Brixworth is a village and civil parish in the Daventry district of Northamptonshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a parish population of 5,162. The village is particularly notable for All Saints' Church, Brixworth, its historic Anglo-Saxon church.

Location

The village is about 5 miles (8 km) north of Northampton next to the A508 road, now by-passed, and about 8 miles (13 km) south of Market Harborough. About 3 miles (5 km) north of the village is a junction with the A14 road that runs between the M1 and M6 motorway interchange at Catthorpe east to Cambridge and the east coast port of Felixstowe.

The village is popular with commuters to Leicester, Peterborough, Birmingham and London. The nearest railway stations for London are at Northampton, for Euston, and Kettering for St Pancras.

History

All Saints' church is one of the oldest, largest and most complete Anglo-Saxon churches in the country. It was founded circa 680 AD and has been called as "The finest Saxon church north of the Alps". There is another Anglo-Saxon church 8 miles (13 km) away at Earls Barton, east of Northampton.

The Northampton and Market Harborough railway through the parish was opened in 1859, passing 0.5 miles (800 m) west of the village. An ironstone quarry, served by its own industrial railway, was developed near the village. British Railways closed Brixworth railway station to passenger traffic in 1960 and closed the line to freight traffic in 1981. The trackbed of the former railway was reopened in 1993 as the Brampton Valley Way.

Many Indianapolis and Formula One championships have been won with racing engines built within 800 yards (730 m) of the Saxon church, and part of its tower masonry is secured by an advanced steel tension bar designed and given by Ilmor Engines, who also sponsor many other clubs and associations in the village. The Ilmor factory filters the noise and heat of the engines under test through large water tanks, both to reduce the noise and to heat the factory.

Proposed Expansion

On 28 April 2011 landowners south of the village submitted proposals to build 150 houses on land which had previously been identified by the parish council and Daventry District Council as not suitable for development. A residents action group, 'BRANE' (Brixworth Residents against New Estates), was formed to oppose this and any other such development which would stretch the existing infrastructure.. On 11 January 2012 Daventry District Council unanimously rejected the proposal.

Amenities

The village has a small parade of shops that includes The Brixworth Fish Bar, Lovells Hardware, Co-operative Store, Co-operative Pharmacy, Post Office, Brixworth Stores, K.F. Troop & Son, Fruiterers and Lake House Bed & Breakfast.

The Brampton Valley Way passes 0.5 miles (800 m) west of the village, Pitsford Reservoir is about 2 miles (3 km) to the east and the Northampton & Lamport Railway is 3 miles (5 km) to the south at Pitsford and Brampton railway station.

Brixworth Juniors Football Club is a football that encourages children of all ages throughout the community to be active and play sport. It has produced many successful footballers, including Kidderminster Harriers' Liam Dolman. The adults team, Brixworth All Saints, currently plays in the Premier Division of the Northamptonshire Football Combination, which is at level 7 of the National League System. It play its home games on the village's St. David's Recreation Ground.

There is also a Cricket Club which plays at a new ground, Haywards Barn opened in 2008 as well as St. Davids playing field for third team and junior games.

It also has a flourishing drama society, who stage 2-3 productions annually - including a highly popular pantomime.

There is a free village newspaper, the Brixworth Bulletin.

Wind Farm

In 2008 the Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines (HTP) premises in Brixworth planned to build two 127 m (417 ft) high wind turbines - two-thirds the height of the London Post Office Tower. Lancaster-based Wind Direct has submitted a planning application to Daventry District Council to install the two turbines and Mercedes-Benz HTP plans to use 92 per cent of the electricity generated, with the rest being exported to the National Grid. The plans are controversial with widespread opposition from some, but not all local residents. The size of the installations would affect the setting of Brixworth's historic church and nearby Cottesbrooke Hall. The site of the proposed wind farm is shown in the Brixworth Bulletin issue 18, September 2008.

Sources and further reading

• Blair, Peter Hunter (1977) [1956]. An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England (Second ed.). Cambridge & London: Cambridge University Press. pp. 146, 151–152. ISBN 0 521 29219 0. 
• Clapham, A.W. (1930). English Romanesque Architecture: Volume I: Before the Conquest. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 30. 
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (1973) [1961]. Northamptonshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0 14 071022 1. 
• Salzman, L.F., ed (1937). A History of the County of Northampton, Volume 4. Victoria County History. pp. 150–157. 

External links

• Brixworth Parish Council
• Brixworth Online
• Brixworth Village Hall
• Brixworth Directory
• BRANE: Brixworth Residents Against New Estates
• Brixworth Historical Society
• Brixworth Drama Group