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Northampton

Coordinates: 52°14′14″N 0°53′46″W / 52.237211°N 0.896028°W / 52.237211; -0.896028
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This article is about Northampton in England. For other places of the same name, see Northampton (disambiguation).

Northampton
Large town and borough
Northampton Guildhall, built 1861—4 by E. W. Godwin
Northampton Guildhall, built 1861—4 by E. W. Godwin
Northampton shown within Northamptonshire
Northampton shown within Northamptonshire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionEast Midlands
Ceremonial countyNorthamptonshire
Admin HQNorthampton Guildhall
Government
 • Governing bodyNorthampton Borough Council
 • Council LeaderDavid Mackintosh[1]
 • Borough MayorRoger Conroy[2]
 • MPs:Brian Binley (Northampton South)
Michael Ellis (Northampton North)
Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total(Ranked )
 • Ethnicity
86.1% White
6.4% South Asian
3.9% Black British
2.1% Mixed Race
2.3% Chinese or Other[3]
DemonymNorthamptonian
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode area
NN1—NN6
Area code01604
ISO 3166-2GB-NTH
ONS code34UF (ONS)
E07000154 (GSS)
NUTS 3UKF24
Websitenorthampton.gov.uk

Northampton /nɔːrˈθæmptən/ ⓘ is a large town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire with an estimated population of 212,100 (2011 census), making it 35th largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Situated about 67 miles (108 km) north-west of London and around 50 miles (80 km) south-east of Birmingham, Northampton stands on the River Nene.

Original human settlement in the area dates back to the 6th century. During the Middle Ages, the town was home to Northampton Castle and Northampton's first university, and was the site of two major English battles. By the 18th century, Northampton had become a major centre of footwear and leather manufacture. Its population grew rapidly following the creation of the Grand Union Canal and arrival of the railways in the 19th century, and Northampton became an industrial centre, particularly noted for its manufacture of boots and shoes.

Following the Second World War, growth was limited until its designation as a New Town in the early 1970s. Northampton is now the most populous district in England that is not a unitary authority, a status it failed to obtain in the 1990s local government reform.[4] The population is still expanding and plans for the regeneration of its town centre and borough are under way. In common with much of the United Kingdom, industrial employment has fallen, with new jobs tending to be in public administration, financial services and distribution.

History

Early history

Present-day Northampton is the result of a series of settlements that date back from remains found in the local area from the Bronze Age, particularly where present-day district Hunsbury is now located.[5] Farming settlement probably began around the 7th century AD. In the 8th century it is believed Northampton was a site of some significance in the kingdom of Mercia, possibly as an administrative and/or religious centre.[6]

Northampton began life as a pre-Norman village known as Hamm tun (which means either the village by the well-watered meadow (by the River Nene)or (as Ekwall states), 'hamtun' meaning the 'main settlement' as opposed to outlying settlements) and was only ca.0.60 acres (2,400 m2). The settlement was later called North Hamm tun, possibly to distinguish it from Southampton; this gradually evolved into Northampton. The name Northampton first appeared in writing in 914.[7] A large hall was discovered just west of St. Peter's church that is estimated to be 8–9th century.[8]

During the Danish occupation of Eastern England in the late 9th century, Northampton was turned into a stronghold called a burh. A ditch was dug around the settlement and it was fortified with earth ramparts. Within the settlement, Northampton was a place of trade where craftsmen worked and where goods were bought and sold at a market. In 1010, Northampton was captured and burned by the Danes, but it soon recovered and by the time of the Domesday Book (1086), the town had a population of about 1500 residents, living in 300 houses.

Medieval

Following the arrival of the Normans in the 11th century, Northampton grew rapidly in the 12th and 13th centuries. Under the stewardship of the first Earl of Northampton, Simon de Senlis, the Church of the Sepulchure was built in addition to his fortification of Northampton by building stone walls around it. The Earl also built Northampton Castle to safeguard the town.[9] The original defence line of the walls is preserved in today's street pattern (Bridge St, The Drapery, Bearward St and Scarletwell Street). Being located in the centre of England, Northampton and its castle became an important royal establishment, with the Parliament of England, trials (including that of Thomas Becket in 1164), tournaments and feasts being held there. Other buildings like St Andrews Priory (in 1100) and Delamere Abbey (in 1145) were also erected.

The town was originally controlled by officials acting for the King who collected taxes and upheld the law. This changed in 1189 when King Richard I gave Northampton its first charter, granting the townspeople certain rights. In 1215, King John authorised the appointment of William Tilly as the town's first Mayor[10] and ordered that: 'twelve of the better and more discreet residents of the town join him as a council to assist him' . In 1176, the Assize of Northampton laid down new powers for dealing with law breakers. Northampton had a large Jewish population in the 13th century, centred around Gold Street. In 1277, two years after Edward I passed the Statute of the Jewry, some Jewish residents in Northampton were executed while the remainder were driven out of town.[11] Archaeological sites include a medieval Jewish cemetery and the Northampton Medieval Synagogue.[12]

In the 13th century, Northampton had weekly markets held in the present-day Market Place. There were also annual fairs in Northampton, attracting buyers and sellers from all over the region. The main industry in Northampton was making wool, where it was woven and dyed. The importance of the wool industry is shown by street names such Mercers Row (a mercer was a dealer in fine cloth), The Drapery and Woolmonger Street.

The first Battle of Northampton took place at the site of Northampton Castle in 1264 – when the forces of Henry III overran the supporters of Simon de Montfort. In 1460, a second Battle of Northampton took place in the grounds of Delapré Abbey – and was a decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, and King Henry VI was captured in the town by the Yorkists.

In May 1328 the Treaty of Northampton was signed – being a peace treaty between the English and the Scots in which Edward III recognised the authority of Robert the Bruce as King of Scotland and betrothed Bruce's still infant son to the king's sister Joanna.

It is believed that a large network of medieval tunnels remains under the centre of Northampton, around All Saints' Church.[13]

Civil War to 1900

An 1810 engraving of Northampton by George Cole and engraved by J Roper

Northampton supported the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War. For this reason the town walls and castle were later torn down on the orders of King Charles II as punishment. The railway station in Northampton stands on the site of the former castle, and used to be called "Northampton Castle Station".

The town was destroyed by fire in both 1516 and 1675 (for the latter see Great Fire of Northampton), and was rebuilt as a spacious and well-planned town. In the 18th century Northampton became a major centre of footwear and leather manufacture. The prosperity of the town was greatly aided by demand for footwear caused by the Napoleonic Wars of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In his 18th century "Tour through the Whole Island of Great Britain", Daniel Defoe described Northampton as, "...the handsomest town in all this part of England."

Northampton's growth was accelerated in the 19th century, first by the Grand Union Canal, which reached the town in 1815 and later the coming of the railways. The first railway to be built into Northampton was a branch from the main London-Birmingham line at Blisworth to Peterborough through Northampton which opened in 1845. This was followed by lines to Market Harborough (1859) and Bedford (1872). The Northampton loop of the West Coast Main Line was built in the late 1870s. After 1850 the town grew beyond the old town walls. In 1800 the population was round 7,000 and was 87,000 a century later. In the 19th century Northampton acquired a reputation for political radicalism when radical non-conformist Charles Bradlaugh was elected as the town's Member of Parliament.

20th century

Growth after 1900 slowed until the 1960s. The shoe industry declined and other employment was slow to arrive. In the 1920s and 30s, council houses were built in the east of the town at Headlands; north at St. David's; and south in Far Cotton. The Borough boundary, first extended in 1900, expanded again in 1932. From the 1920s until 1975 the town had its own power station supplying electricity to areas as far away as Wolverton.

In the 1960s The Deco was an ABC cinema. The Beatles appeared there twice on stage in 1963, on Wednesday, 27 March as part of the Tommy Roe/Chris Montez Tour.[14] Montez commented "Who are these guys The Beatles? I try to keep up with the British scene, but I don't know their work".[14] The Beatles were back on Wednesday, 6 November, in their own right and on their own tour.

Northampton was designated a New Town in 1968, and the Northampton Development Corporation (NDC) was set up to almost double the size of the town, with a population target of 230,000 by 1981, rising to 260,000 in later years. In 1959 the M1 motorway was opened nearby. Growth was slower than planned. The 1960s and 70s saw the town centre change with development of a new bus station, the Grosvenor Shopping Centre, flats and hotels.

The population grew to 100,000 by 1961, and 130,000 by 1971. When NDC wound up after 20 years, another 40,000 residents and 20,000 houses had been added. The borough boundaries changed in 1974 with the abolition of Northampton county borough and its reconstitution as a non-metropolitan district also covering areas outside the former borough boundaries but inside the designated New Town.

The rail link and busy M1 motorway to London helped the growth as a commuter town for London. Northampton's housing expansion was east with the 1970s eastern district estates built mainly for the London overflow population and more recently, in the west at Upton and south near M1 junction 15 at Grange Park, initially of 1,500 houses actually in South Northants Council area.

21st century

2008 projected that the population would grow to 226,400 by 2016 and t261,300 by 2026.[15] Northampton pleaded, unsuccessfully, for city status as a part of the 'millennium cities' scheme.[16][17]

In 2006 Northampton became a government expansion zone with new growth promoted by West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC)[18] an unelected quango. Expansion began in 2007 at Upton and St Crispins spreading west towards junction 16 of the M1. Another major projected area south-east of the town enveloping villages such as Little and Great Houghton, Quinton, Hackleton and Cogenhoe has not materialised as at 2013.

Governance

The town established the Northampton Parliament constituency in 1295, which returned two MPs to the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom until its representation was reduced to one member for the 1918 general election. The constituency was abolished for the February 1974 general election, when it was replaced by the new constituencies of Northampton North and Northampton South, which elect one member each. These boundaries changed further for the 2010 general election when the South Northamptonshire Parliamentary constituency was created, representing the town's most southern districts. Northampton is currently represented by three Conservative MPs: Brian Binley (Northampton South), Michael Ellis (Northampton North) and Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire). Northampton is administered by both the Northampton Borough Council (NBC) and also Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) both currently controlled by the Conservative Party.

Geography

Compass

Northampton's nearest towns are Wellingborough, Daventry and Towcester

Climate

As with the rest of the British Isles, Northampton experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The official Metoffice Weather Station for Northampton is the Moulton Park Weather Station at the University of Northampton. Situated at an elevation of around 130m above sea level compared to Northampton town centre at 50-60metres, it is one of the highest points in the Borough, and so may not be a perfect representation of other parts of the town. Its hilltop location means less pooling of cold air on calm clear nights, and lower maxima during summer. The absolute maximum recorded is 34.7c (94.5f)[19] on 3 August 1990. A high of 34.4c (93.9f)[20] was recorded on 19 July 2006. The absolute minimum is −16.8c (1.8f),[19] recorded during February 1986. It is likely the absolute maximum in the town centre is a degree or so higher owing to the lower elevation, and absolute minimum on the eastern and western edges of the Borough around the Nene valley a couple of degrees colder due to katabatic drainage of cold air allowing a frost hollow effect. Most recently, the temperature fell to −9.6c(14.7f)[21] on 20 December 2010.

Rainfall, at around 650mm per year is not high, though is often unpredictable, giving rise to flooding events such as 1998, but also short term droughts. Desborough Weather Station also supplies the public with a local weather service.

Climate data for Northampton Moulton Park, elevation 127m, 1981–2010
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 6.8
(44.2) 		7.1
(44.8) 		10.0
(50.0) 		12.8
(55.0) 		16.2
(61.2) 		19.2
(66.6) 		21.7
(71.1) 		21.5
(70.7) 		18.4
(65.1) 		14.1
(57.4) 		9.7
(49.5) 		7.0
(44.6) 		13.7
(56.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 1.1
(34.0) 		0.9
(33.6) 		2.7
(36.9) 		4.0
(39.2) 		6.8
(44.2) 		9.7
(49.5) 		11.9
(53.4) 		11.8
(53.2) 		9.8
(49.6) 		7.0
(44.6) 		3.7
(38.7) 		1.5
(34.7) 		5.9
(42.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 54.0
(2.13) 		41.1
(1.62) 		44.1
(1.74) 		49.4
(1.94) 		54.4
(2.14) 		54.9
(2.16) 		49.2
(1.94) 		54.5
(2.15) 		57.6
(2.27) 		63.9
(2.52) 		60.0
(2.36) 		55.3
(2.18) 		638.1
(25.12)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 55.7 77.9 108.2 151.4 189.9 173.8 199.3 185.2 134.0 109.6 64.4 49.5 1,498.9
Source: Met Office[22]
Climate data for Northampton Moulton Park, elevation 127m, 1971–2000. Rainfall data Althorp, elevation 122m, 1841–1987
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 6.4
(43.5) 		6.8
(44.2) 		9.5
(49.1) 		11.9
(53.4) 		15.6
(60.1) 		18.5
(65.3) 		21.2
(70.2) 		21.1
(70.0) 		17.9
(64.2) 		13.7
(56.7) 		9.3
(48.7) 		7.2
(45.0) 		13.3
(55.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 0.8
(33.4) 		0.6
(33.1) 		2.3
(36.1) 		3.5
(38.3) 		6.3
(43.3) 		9.2
(48.6) 		11.5
(52.7) 		11.5
(52.7) 		9.5
(49.1) 		6.6
(43.9) 		3.3
(37.9) 		1.7
(35.1) 		5.6
(42.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 54.7
(2.15) 		42.6
(1.68) 		44.9
(1.77) 		45.5
(1.79) 		53.5
(2.11) 		55.4
(2.18) 		64.1
(2.52) 		64.3
(2.53) 		58.3
(2.30) 		66.1
(2.60) 		61.3
(2.41) 		56.7
(2.23) 		668.5
(26.32)
Source 1: YR.NO[23]
Source 2: WorldClimate[24]

Economy

The Barratt Boot and Shoe factory opened in 1911 and still exists

Northampton was a major centre of shoemaking and other leather industries, although only specialist shoemaking companies such as Edward Green Shoes, Crockett & Jones, Church's[25] and Trickers,[26] formerly located in nearby Earls Barton, survive. A large number of old shoe factories remain, mostly now converted to offices or accommodation, some of which are surrounded by terraced houses built for factory workers.

Northampton's main private-sector employers are now in distribution and finance rather than manufacturing, and include Avon Products,[27][28] Barclaycard, Blacks Leisure Group, Nationwide Building Society (Anglia Building Society was formed by amalgamation of Northampton Town and County Building Society with Leicestershire Building Society in 1966 and subsequently merged with Nationwide Building Society),[29] Panasonic, Travis Perkins, Coca Cola, Schweppes, National Grid, Texas Instruments and Carlsberg.[30] In 1974, Princess Benedikte of Denmark opened Northampton’s Carlsberg brewery, the first outside Denmark.[31] The University of Northampton is also a major employer, as is St Andrew's Healthcare, a national mental health charity whose St Andrew's Hospital campus in Northampton is by far the UK's largest psychiatric hospital.

Culture

Leisure

Northampton's Market Square at night

Northampton has one of Britain's largest market squares, dating from 1235. There are also two shopping centres in the town centre are the Grosvenor Centre, which was built in the 1970s, and Market Walk (previously Peacock Palace), which was constructed in 1988. Outside the centre, Weston Favell Shopping Centre, built in the 1970s, is in the eastern district. There are also various out-of-town retail and leisure parks like Sixfields.

Billing Aquadrome leisure park is on the eastern outskirts with a caravan site, marina, funfair, bar, riverside restaurant and converted water mill with original workings. Northampton Leisure Trust have 4 leisure centres across Northampton: Danes Camp, Lings Forum, Mounts Baths, and its newest addition Duston Sports Centre.

According to the website of the Northampton Borough Council, there are a total of 170 parks and open spaces around Northampton, which altogether span around 1880 acres.[32] The biggest of the two are Abington Park, which is the town's oldest, and the Racecourse, which was used for horseracing (until 1904) and asa cricket ground (between 1844–1885) in addition to being the original home of Northampton Balloon Festival. Other parks include Beckets Park which is named after Thomas Becket as are nearby Becket's Well and Thomas á Becket pub; Bradlaugh Fields; Dallington Park; Delapré Park; Eastfield Park; Hunsbury Hill which is built around an Iron Age fort; Kingsthorpe Park; and Victoria Park.

Popular annual events include Northampton Carnival, the Delapre Beer Festival, the Dragonboat Race, the Umbrella Fair, Diwali celebrations and St Crispins Fair. Northampton Balloon Festival used to be a major event in Northampton, but since being scaled down, it has been poorly attended.

Entertainment

The Deco and the Northampton Jesus Centre share a Grade II listed Art Deco building, formerly the Cannon cinema

The Royal & Derngate theatre complex, situated on Guidhall Road in the town centre, is the main venue for arts and entertainment in Northampton. The Deco, situated in Abington Square in the town centre, is a 900-seat theatre and conference centre (formerly the Grade II listed Cannon Cinema), which shares it Art Deco building with the Northampton Jesus Centre mainly used by the voluntary and charitable sector. It was restored by the Jesus Army as part of their Jesus Centre project. Smaller theatres include the Northampton Playhouse and the Cripps Theatre, which is part of Northampton School for Boys.

The two commercial cinemas in Northampton are Vue (formerly UCI) at Sol Central in the centre and Cineworld (formerly UGC, Virgin Cinema and MGM) at Sixfields. There is also the subsidised Forum Cinema at Lings Forum, whose film programme is widely varied and includes art-house and non-mainstream films. The Errol Flynn Filmhouse, an independent cinema being joined to the side of the Royal & Derngate complex, is scheduled to open in June 2013.

There are also many local entertainment venues which provide events. The Roadmender, which used to be run and funded by the council and later bought by The Purplehaus group, hosts mainstream touring bands and one off gigs. Other popular entertainment venues include the Charles Bradlaugh, the Picturedrome and the Black Bottom Club, which are all part of the Richardson Group.

Popular nightclubs and bars include Balestra, Embargo, Fever, Groove, Momo, NBs and Revolution in addition to its gay club The Boston. Northampton also has an Aspers Casino and a Gala Casino as well as a Beacon Bingo on the outskirts of the town centre.

Libraries, museums and galleries

In addition to the Grade II listed Central Northamptonshire Library in the town centre that was erected in 1910, there are eight other public libraries that are dotted across Northampton — Abington, Duston, Far Cotton, Hunsbury, Kingsthorpe, Moulton, St James and Wootton — which are all controlled by the Northamptonshire County Council.

Northampton Museum and Art Gallery has a collection of historical footwear (one of the world's largest at 13,000), Italian art, glass and ceramics, plus visiting exhibitions and local history. There is also a smaller historical museum in the former Abington Park house.

The Northampton Arts Collective is homed on a four-storey building on Guidhall Road, opposite the Northampton Museum and next to the Royal & Derngate theatre complex. They relocated from the Old Fishmarket which was demolished to make way for the new bus interchange.[33] An independent contemporary arts gallery and studios, The Sanctuary,[34] self-funded and supported by the Arts Council has 16 studios.

The Avenue Gallery[35] is at the Avenue campus of Northampton University. Northamptonshire runs an annual county-wide Open Studios[36] event in which artists' studios are open to the public. The university also spent £3m on its Portfolio Innovation Centre in early 2011.[37] It now houses around 60 creative freelancers, digital media developers, and designers.

Sport

The town is home to Premiership rugby union club Northampton Saints, who play at Franklin's Gardens in the St James area. "The Saints" had their greatest moment when they won the Heineken Cup in 2000 at Twickenham, beating Munster 9–8. There are also a number of "Junior" rugby clubs in the area, the most successful of these at producing young players is Northampton Old Scouts RFC[38] who have produced Ben Cohen and Steve Thompson amongst others.[38]

League Two football club Northampton Town, known as "The Cobblers" from the town's shoemaking background, are based at Sixfields Stadium. Established in 1897, in their centenary season of 1997 they reached Wembley through the play-offs and beat Swansea City 1–0 with an injury time winning free kick from John Frain. It was the first club to set up a trust for supporters to work with the club as many have done. There is an athletics track adjacent to the ground. There are also three non-league clubs in the United Counties Football League: Northampton Spencer; Northampton Sileby Rangers; and Northampton Old Northamptonian Chenecks.

Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, known in limited overs cricket as "The Steelbacks", play at the County Ground, in the Abington area. They play in the Second Division of the County Championship

Nene Whitewater Centre provides an artificial whitewater course for canoes, kayaks and rafts.

Northampton Swimming Club trained the young Olympic swimmer Caitlin McClatchey.

Collingtree Park Golf Club hosted the British Masters in 1995.

Media

The Northampton Chronicle & Echo (established 1931) is the town's newspaper, published on Thursdays (before 2012, it was published Monday to Saturday) with jobs, property, motors and entertainment supplements. There are other free newspapers circulated within the town. These include The Mercury (on Thursdays) and Northants on Sunday, both from the publishers of the Chronicle & Echo, and the Northampton Herald & Post (on Thursdays). These free papers mostly consist of advertising and have limited news. The Mercury is one of the oldest newspapers still in circulation first published in 1720. It is the fifth-oldest such newspaper in the UK and the tenth-oldest such in the world.[39]

Three radio stations are based in the town, two of which broadcast county-wide. BBC Radio Northampton broadcasts news, topical items and some music, switching to a regional network after 7 pm. A commercial station, Heart Four Counties (formerly Northants 96 and Heart Northampton), broadcasts mostly popular music. A community radio station, Inspiration FM was awarded a 5 year licence on 24 July 2008 and officially launched on Saturday 24 July 2010.[40]

Regional TV news is broadcast on the BBC East (terrestrial and satellite) with a main programme, BBC Look East, and on ITV's Anglia News. From 1997–2004, Northants TV (NTV) on cable and later terrestrial showed local ads, sport, and limited local activities.

Northampton has been used as a location for various television programmes and films. The town was the location for the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances from 1990 until 1995. Parts of the 2005 film Kinky Boots were also made in Northampton and featured shots of the statue outside the Grosvenor Centre in the town centre and inside RE Tricker's shoe factory in St. Michaels Road representing the original factory in Earls Barton.[26] The film has since been turned into a musical Kinky Boots, maintaining its Northampton backdrop, which premiered on Broadway in 2013. In addition, the third series of BBC Three's Bizarre ER was filmed at Northampton General Hospital.

Notable buildings

Interior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Interior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
All Saints' Church in central Northampton
All Saints' Church in central Northampton

Northampton's oldest standing building, the Church of The Holy Sepulchre, is one of the largest and best-preserved round churches in England. It was built in 1100 on the orders of the first Earl of Northampton, Simon de Senlis, who had just returned from the First Crusade. It is based on a plan of the original Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Simon de Sensil also founded Delapre Abbey, which was previously a former Cluniac nunnery, the County Records Office and site of the second Battle of Northampton.

The current All Saints' Church was built on the site of a great Norman church, All Hallows, which was almost completely destroyed by the Fire of Northampton in 1675. All that remained was the medieval tower and the fine vaulted crypt, but by 1680 All Saints had been rebuilt, with the help of donations from all over England, including 1,000 tons of timber from King Charles II, whose statue can be seen above the portico. Famously, the poet John Clare liked to sit beneath the portico of the church.

Other notable church buildings include Northampton Cathedral, the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton and seat of the Bishop of Northampton; St Edmunds, which closed in 1978 and was demolished in 2007 (its bells are now in St Paul's Cathedral in Wellington); St Giles Church; St Matthew's in Phippsville, which was built between 1891-4, has a Henry Moore sculpture of the Madonna.

Northampton Castle (now only remaining as a rebuilt postern gate in a wall outside the railway station and the hill on which it stood) was for many years one of the country's most important castles. The country's parliament sat here many times and Thomas Becket was imprisoned here until he escaped.

The Express Lift Tower

Queen Eleanor's body rested here on its way to London – and the nearby Eleanor cross in Hardingstone, now part of the Delapre area of the town, commemorates this. Out of the twelve originally erected, this cross is one of only three left including others at Geddington and Waltham. The original top of the monument widely thought to have been an ornate cross has apparently been destroyed and replaced several times from as early as 1460.[41] The last cross is reported to have been knocked off by a low flying aircraft from a nearby airfield during the Second World War. However The Friends of Delapré Abbey charity is raising funds for the restoration of the cross in their tea room inside the abbey. The Cross is also referred to in Daniel Defoe's a "Tour through the whole island of Great Britain" where he describes the Great Fire of Northampton, "...a townsman being at Queen's Croos upon a hill on the south side of the town, about two miles off, saw the fire at one end of the town then newly begun, and that before he could get to the town it was burning at the remotest end, opposite where he first saw it."

St Andrew's Hospital, which opened 1838, and its new building William Wake House, is the largest neo-classical structure in England since the Ministry of Defence. Northampton & County Club, which was established in 1873, was also the old county hospital before becoming a private members' club; the cellars are medieval. Northampton Guildhall was constructed mostly in the 1860s in Victorian Gothic architecture, and extended in the 1990s. It is built on the site of the old town hall.

78 Derngate is a Grade II* listed Georgian Town House remodelled by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke in 1916–17. It contains notable Mackintosh interiors (which have been restored) and is his only major domestic commission outside Scotland. It is open to the public.

The 127.45 m (418 ft 2 in) tall Express Lift Tower is a dominant feature and visible from most of the town. A Terry Wogan radio phone-in during the 1980s to came up with the name "Northampton Lighthouse" as Northampton is one of the furthest places from the sea. It is also known as the "Cobblers' Needle". It was built for testing new lifts at the Express Lifts factory, now closed. Though now redundant, it is a listed building. Carlsberg has its UK brewery in Northampton.

The Greyfriars bus station has served the town since the 1970s. In the 2000s, it was featured on Channel 4's Demolition programme as the ugliest transport station in the UK and worthy of demolition. Plans for its demolition are currently in place and work on a new bus station is underway.

Transport

Northampton's current Greyfriars bus station has served the town since the 1970s. It is soon to be demolished and replaced by a new station.

Northampton is near junctions 15, 15a and 16 of the M1 motorway which connects Northampton with London at its most southern point and Leeds at its most northern. Both the A45 and A43 link Northampton with the other major towns in Northamptonshire, and can be accessed by a partially completed ring road. The A14 is close by to the north of Northampton, providing links east and west of the town.

Northampton railway station is on the Northampton Loop of the West Coast Main Line, and has regular services southbound to London and northbound to Birmingham and Crewe provided by London Midland. Virgin Trains also provide infrequent fast services to and from London and Birmingham only at the extremes of the day.

Sywell Aerodrome is the nearest airfield which has recently been upgraded with a 1000 metre concrete runway, however it only caters for private flying, flight training and corporate flights.[42] For international links, the East Midlands Airport and Luton Airport are quickly accessible by the M1; Birmingham Airport is also just north of the town via the M1 and M6 motorways and also by train.

In the town, buses are mainly operated by First and Stagecoach from the Greyfriars bus station. First only serves areas within the town whilst Stagecoach provides travel to outlying villages and towns within the county, making good links to Corby, Daventry, Kettering, Rushden and Wellingborough. They also go as far afield as Bedford, Leicester, Market Harborough, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Peterborough and Rugby. National Express also operates in Northampton, covering routes between major towns and cities in the UK.

Northampton is the terminus of an arm of the Grand Union Canal. The arm connects to the River Nene and from that to the River Great Ouse and the North Sea. No longer used for freight, the waterway is now popular with anglers and narrowboaters. Principal outlying villages on the canal include Gayton, Blisworth, Braunston and Stoke Bruerne.

Northampton once had a horse-drawn tramway which opened in 1881. The system was extended in stages and taken over by the council in 1897 and named Northampton Corporation Tramways. It was electrified in 1904, but closed in 1934 mainly as a result of competition from motor buses which were introduced in 1929. Two of the original tram shelters are preserved: one at the Racecourse park and another in Kingsthorpe opposite the Cock Hotel.[43]

Education

Northampton's first university was established by royal charter by Henry III in 1261, and started to rival Cambridge and Oxford, with their students migrating to the Northampton establishment. However, when advised by bishops and magnates that Northampton was a threat to Oxford, Henry III dissolved the university in 1265, and signed a Royal Decree which banned the establishment of a university in Northampton. This was repealed and the university's name was revived in 2005 when the unconnected University College Northampton was upgraded to full university status and renamed the University of Northampton. Now on two campuses, the university offers courses from foundation and undergraduate levels to postgraduate, professional and doctoral qualifications. The university is made of up six schools: Business, Education, Health, Science and Technology, Social Sciences and The Arts.

The town's two main further education colleges are Northampton College, one of the largest FE colleges in the South Midlands, and Moulton College. Northampton College has two campuses across the town, offering vocational courses, GCSEs and A Levels. Moulton College also has several campuses across the town and provides many vocational courses, specialising in land-based subjects, sports and construction. In collaboration with several universities, the colleges also offers Higher Education options.

Until 2004, Northamptonshire operated a three-tier system in education of lower, middle and upper schools. In 2001, the move to a two-tier system to primary and secondary schools began, aimed at improving educational standards.[44] There are now 50 primary schools and 9 secondary schools in the town. Some of its successful secondary schools include Northampton School for Boys, which became the top performing comprehensive school in the country in 2007,[45] and Northampton School for Girls, the first school in England to gain Specialist Music College status.[46] There are also 5 special schools dotted across Northampton. Northampton is also home to many independent schools, including Great Houghton, Maidwell Hall, Northampton High School, Pitsford School, Overstone Park School, Quinton House School, St Peter's Independent School and Spratton Hall School.

Notable residents

Modern

Historical

Musical

Northampton is twinned with:

Northampton is also a sister town of:

See also

References

  1. ^ Cllr David Mackintosh's Profile on the NBC website Accessed 26 November 2012
  2. ^ "Introducing the Mayor 2012-13". Northampton Borough Council. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  3. ^ "Office for National Statistics (Northampton Area)".
  4. ^ "City winners named". BBC News. 18 December 2000. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  5. ^ http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/mapping-ancient-landscapes-northamptonshire/mapping-ancient-landscapes-in-northamptonshire-chp6-7.pdf
  6. ^ http://www.le.ac.uk/ulas/publications/documents/emidas_000.pdf
  7. ^ A History of Northampton
  8. ^ "Northants Review Part V: The Middle and Late Saxon periods".
  9. ^ "Northampton Castle", The Gatehouse
  10. ^ Mayors of Northampton W N Terry Central Art Gallery, Northampton, updated June 2011, accessed 5 October 2012
  11. ^ http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/susser/thesis/thesischapterone.htm
  12. ^ Northampton synagogue discovered under kebab shop Jewish Chronicle – Marcus Dysch – 15 April 2010 TheJC.com
  13. ^ Underground Northampton
  14. ^ a b Harry, Bill (2000). The Beatles Encyclopaedia (2000 paperback edition; first published 1992). London: Virgin Publishing, London W6 9HA. pp. 9 and 776. ISBN 0-7535-0481-2.
  15. ^ Microsoft Word – Northamptonshire 2006-based Population Projections – Draft.... (PDF) . Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  16. ^ "Millennium city leak angers bookies". BBC. 7 March 2000. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  17. ^ "City winners named". BBC. 18 December 2000. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  18. ^ West Northamptonshire Development Corporation website. Wndc.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  19. ^ a b "Moulton Park Weather". Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  20. ^ "19th July 2006". Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  21. ^ Rogers, Simon (21 December 2010). "20 December 2010". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  22. ^ "Climate Normals 1981-2010". Met Office. November 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  23. ^ "Climate Normals 1971–2000". YR.NO. August 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  24. ^ "Long term Rainfall". WorldClimate. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  25. ^ Church's English Shoes. Church-footwear.com. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  26. ^ a b "RE Trickers Limited". Retrieved 21 May 2008.
  27. ^ '' 'Avon New European HQ to Open Autumn 2009' '' Northampton Chronicle & Echo report. Northamptonchron.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  28. ^ Avon cease manufacturing in Northampton – BBC report 2003. BBC News (17 April 2003). Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  29. ^ Extract from Building Societies Yearbook 2009/10 (p.127) Building Societies Association (Retrieved 17 November 2009)
  30. ^ English Partnerships. English Partnerships. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  31. ^ BBC: Princess Benedikte of Denmark visits Carlsberg brewery http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-19085817
  32. ^ http://www.northampton.gov.uk/info/200073/parks_and_open_spaces
  33. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-16925032
  34. ^ The Sanctuary Contemporary Art Gallery. The-artist-sanctuary.org.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  35. ^ Avenue Gallery[dead link]
  36. ^ Open Studios. Open Studios. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  37. ^ The Portfolio Innovation Centre. Portfoliocentre.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  38. ^ a b Northampton Old Scouts RFC. Nosrfc.com. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  39. ^ "World Association of Newspapers". Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  40. ^ Ofcom press release 24 July 2008 "Ofcom website". {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  41. ^ Hardingstone Eleanor Cross:: OS grid SP7558 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland – photograph every grid square!. Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  42. ^ Sywell Aerodrome – new concrete runway to open. Northamptonchron.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  43. ^ "Trams". Far Cotton History Group. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  44. ^ – Education – Parents' concern over school closures. BBC News (28 June 2001). Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  45. ^ "Five-star performance by NSB's A-level students". Newspaper. Chronicle & Echo. 14 August 2008. Archived from the original on 19 May 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
  46. ^ Woodthorpe, David (10 February 2006). "East: Education, education ..." BBC. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
  47. ^ Parker, Helen (13 September 2007). "Tutti Frutti has room for all sorts – [[Daily Telegraph]] 13 September 2007". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 5 October 2008. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  48. ^ "The Donor" (Quarterly magazine from the National Blood Service) Winter 2010.
  49. ^ "Alan Carr book Launch – Chronicle & Echo report 1 October 2008". Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  50. ^ "Anne Fine biography". Bibliography. The Wee Web. Archived from the original on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  51. ^ Anglian TV's Celebrity Going Home: Robert Llewellyn (2004)
  52. ^ Northampton Chronicle & Echo 16 January 2009. Northamptonchron.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  53. ^ "BBC – Doctor Who – The Official Site". BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  54. ^ "BBC – Doctor Who – News Story". BBC. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  55. ^ "Ex-NSB head boy Matt Smith is new Doctor Who". Chronicle & Echo. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  56. ^ "Ex-NSB student Matt Smith is new Dr Who!". Northampton School for Boys. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  57. ^ "Who on earth is Matt Smith?". BBC. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  58. ^ "Diana, Princess of Wales – Northamptonshire's most famous daughter – BBC News". Retrieved 28 October 2008.
  59. ^ "Royal Pioneer Corps, guard of honour for visit of Prince & Princess of Wales, 1989, when Diana received Freedom of the Borough". Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  60. ^ Sculpture celebrates DNA pioneers BBC News, 13 December 2005

52°14′14″N 0°53′46″W / 52.237211°N 0.896028°W / 52.237211; -0.896028

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