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This article is about Kettering in England. For other uses, see Kettering (disambiguation).
Kettering
Kettering High Street
Population81,844 [1](2001 Census)
OS grid referenceSP8778
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townKETTERING
Postcode districtNN14 NN15 NN16
Dialling code01536
PoliceNorthamptonshire
FireNorthamptonshire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Northamptonshire

Kettering is a town in the north of Northamptonshire, England. It is the main town within the Borough of Kettering.

Kettering is on the River Ise, a tributary of the Nene and is twinned with Lahnstein, Germany and Kettering, Ohio, in the United States.

Kettering's economy was built on the boot and shoe industry. With the arrival of railways in the 19th century, industries such as engineering and clothing grew up. The clothing manufacturer Aquascutum built its first factory here in 1909. Now Kettering's economy is based on service and distribution industries due to its central location and transport links. A large and growing commuter population takes advantage of Kettering's position on the Midland Main Line railway, currently operated by East Midlands Trains, giving Kettering a direct link to St Pancras railway station, home of Eurostar.

History

Early history

Once believed obscure, the name Kettering is now taken to mean 'the place (or territory) of Ketter's people (or kinsfolk)'.[1] Spelt variously Cytringan, Kyteringas and Keteiringan in the 10th century, although the origin of the name appears to have baffled place-name scholars in the 1930’s, words and place-names ending with 'ing' usually derive from the Anglo-Saxon word inga or ingas meaning 'the people of the' or 'tribe'.

The town traces its origins to an early, unwalled Romano British settlement, the remnants of which remain under the northern part of the modern town. Occupied until the 4th century AD, there is evidence that a considerable amount of iron-smelting took place on the site; indeed it is believed that up to and for some time after the Domesday Book iron-smelting continued in the adjacent Rockingham Forest area. Along with the Forest of Dean and the Weald of Kent/Sussex this area of Northamptonshire "was one of the three great centres of iron-working in Roman Britain", according to Greenall's A History of Kettering.[2] The settlement reached as far as the Weekley and Geddington parishes. However it is felt unlikely that the site was continuously occupied from the Romano British into the Anglo-Saxon era.[3] Pottery kilns have also been unearthed at nearby Barton Seagrave and Boughton.

Before the Romans the Kettering area, like much of Northamptonshire’s countryside, appears to have remained somewhat intractable with regards to early human occupation, resulting in an apparently sparse population and relatively few finds from the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.[4] About 500 BC the Iron Age was introduced into the area by a continental people in the form of the Hallstatt culture,[5] and over the next century a series of hill-forts were constructed, the closest to Kettering being at nearby Irthlingborough.

Like most of what later became Northamptonshire, from early in the 1st century BC the Kettering area became part of the territory of the Catuvellauni, a Belgic tribe, the Northamptonshire area forming their most northerly possession.[6] The Catuvellauni were in turn conquered by the Romans in 43 AD.

Between 1900-1904 an extensive early Saxon burial site, consisting of at least a hundred cremation urns dating to the 5th century AD, was unearthed either side of Stamford road (A43) in the area of what is now the site of the former Prime Cuts factory. The early dating suggests this may perhaps be among the earliest Anglo-Saxon penetrations into the interior of what later became England. The prefix ‘Wic-’ of the nearby village of Weekley may also give a hint as to Anglo-Saxon activities in the area; Greenall reports that it could be "an indication of foederati, Anglo-Saxon mercenaries brought in to boost the defences of the Empire."[7] This was established Imperial policy, which the Romano British continued after Rome effectively relinquished control of Brittania circa 410 AD, with disastrous consequences for the Romano Britons.

By the 7th century the lands that would eventually become Northamptonshire formed part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia.[8] The Mercians converted to Christianity in 654 AD with the death of the pagan king Penda.[9]

From about 889 the Kettering area, along with much of Northamptonshire (and in fact at one point almost all of England except for Athelney marsh in Somerset), was conquered by the Danes and became part of the Danelaw (with the ancient trackway of Watling Street serving as the border) until being recaptured by the English under the Wessex king Edward the Elder, son of Alfred the Great, in 917. Northamptonshire was conquered again in 940, this time by the Vikings of York, who devastated the area, only for the county to be retaken by the English in 942.[10]

It is unlikely however that Kettering itself existed as a village earlier than the 10th century (the county of Northampton itself is not referenced in documents before 1011)[11]. Before this time the Kettering area was most likely populated by a thin scattering of family farmsteads,[12] Britain as a whole having a much smaller population (possibly up to sixty times smaller) than it does today. The first historical reference of Kettering is in a charter of 956 AD in which King Edwy granted ten "cassati" of land to Aelfsige the Goldsmith. The boundaries delineated in this charter would have been recognisable to most inhabitants for the last thousand years and can still be walked today. It is possible that Aelfsige the Goldsmith gave Kettering to the monastery of Peterborough, as King Edgar in a charter dated 972 confirmed it to that monastery. At the Domesday survey in 1086, Kettering manor is listed as held by the Abbey of Peterborough. Kettering was valued at £11, with 107 acres of meadow, 3 of woodland, 2 mills, 31 villans with 10 ploughs, and 1 female slave.[13]

At the nearby hamlet of Pipewell once stood Pipewell abbey, founded for Cistercian monks in 1143 by William Butevilain. Never rising to any great importance it was dissolved in 1538 by Henry VIII's Dissolution. The only remains of the abbey are earthworks located on private farm land (although visible from the road); however an elaborately carved wooden rood screen was relocated to Brigstock church, where it can still be seen.

The nearby stately home of Boughton House - large and lavish enough to often be described as the 'English Versailles' - has for centuries been the seat of the Dukes of Buccleuch, major landowners in Kettering and most of the surrounding villages; along with the Watsons of Rockingham Castle, the two families were joint lords of the manor of Kettering.[14]

Architecturally Kettering has few tall buildings and is dominated by the Parish church of SS Peter and Paul, it’s tower and crocketed spire - with a combined height of some 180 feet - having served as a conspicuous landmark down the centuries, not least for American bomber crews during WW2. Little is known of the origins of the church, it’s first known priest becoming rector in 1219-20. The chancel is in the Early Decorated style of about 1300, the main fabric of the building being mostly Perpendicular, having been rebuilt in the mid 15th century (it’s tower and spire remarkably similar to the tower and spire at Oundle). Whether the current building replaced an earlier church on the site is unknown.[15] Two medieval wall paintings, one of two angels with feathered wings, and one of a now faded saint, can still be seen inside the church. In 1348 twenty one local men led by one Alan de Crophill, clerk, attacked and seized the church, killed a clerk, caused a considerable amount of damage, and held the rectory and it’s assets for three months. The root cause of the attack is believed to have been a dispute over the appointment of a certain John Wade as rector; Wade had been appointed after promising to pay 200 florins towards a crusade against the Turks, which he failed to honour. Kettering’s parish church provided a higher than average living for a priest (said to be 40 marks a year) to such an extent that on this occasion it was possibly worth fighting for. If so, de Crophill won, for despite the murder he was appointed rector in 1349.[16] In an unrelated incident, on 9 November 1364 a Hugh de Welborn took sanctuary within the church after stabbing a Robert Songes to death. As punishment de Welborn swore to leave the realm penniless and go into exile via the port of Lynn.[16]

The charter for Kettering's market was granted to the Bishop of Peterborough by Henry III in 1227. The market thrived for centuries, until effectively being killed off by the 1989 decision to relocate the bus station away from the market area to the Newland Street entrance of the modern Newlands shopping centre, thus depriving the market of most of its passing trade. Attempts have occasionally been made to revive the market as a small scale street market centring on the pedestrianised area of Gold Street, but many local shops and stores have proved less than welcoming of the idea.

In June 1607 at the nearby village of Newton, the Newton Rebellion broke out[17], providing a spark for the brief uprising known as the Midland Revolt, which itself involved several nearby villages. Protesting at land enclosures at Newton and Pytchley by local landlords the Treshams, on 8 June a pitched battle took place between Levellers - in this case rioting locals, many from Kettering, Corby and especially Weldon[18] - and local gentry and their servants (local militias having refused the call to arms). 40-50 local men are said to have been killed and the ringleaders hung and quartered. The Newton rebellion represents one of the last times that the English peasantry and the gentry were in open conflict.

By the 17th century the town was a centre for woollen cloth. The present town grew up in the 19th century with the development of the boot and shoe industry, which had declined by the middle of the 1990s. Many large homes in both the Headlands and Rockingham Road were built for factory owners. Terraced streets housed the workers, most of whom worked long hours for low pay. All the large footwear manufacturers, such as Dolcis, Freeman, Hardy and Willis, Frank Wright and Timpsons, have gone. Some were victims of overseas competition; others moved to lower-cost countries. A few smaller footwear businesses remain.

Recent history

Victorian era Kettering was the centre of the 19th-century religious non-conformism and the Christian missionary movement, and this has been preserved in many names. William Carey was born in 1761 at Paulerspury and spent his early life in Kettering before leaving for India as a missionary in 1793. Carey Mission House and Carey Street was named after him. Andrew Fuller helped Carey found the Baptist Missionary Society and he is remembered in the Fuller Church and Fuller Street. In 1803 William Knibb was born in Market Street and became a missionary and emancipator of slaves; he is commemorated by the Knibb Centre and Knibb Street. Toller Chapel and Toller Place are named after two ministers, father and son, who preached in Kettering for a total of 100 years. The chapel was built in 1723 for those who since 1662 had been worshipping in secret.

After several false starts between 1843-1847[19] Kettering finally entered the railway era in may 1857 with the opening of Kettering station by the Midland Railway Company, thus providing a valuable economic stimulus to what had by then become a somewhat ailing local economy. Following the introduction of railways at the start of the Industrial Revolution (Northampton's station opening in 1838) coaching in Britain had been destroyed almost overnight, emptying the roads of long distance traffic. Thus until the opening of Kettering station the town's economy, like many others, had suffered with the loss of wayfaring business. The line was finally linked to London in 1867.[20]

In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Kettering as:

Kettering, market town and parish with railway station, Northamptonshire, 8 miles N. of Wellingborough and 75 miles from London, 2840 ac., pop. 11,095; P.O., T.O.; 3 Banks, 2 newspapers. Market-day, Friday. Kettering is an ancient place, and was called by the Saxons, "Kateringes". It is a fairly prosperous town, with tanning and currying, mfrs. of boots and shoes, stays, brushes, agricultural implements, and some articles of clothing. It has a handsome town hall, a cattle market, a corn exchange, and a grammar school. Many Roman relics have been found in the vicinity.

In 1921 Wicksteed Park, Britain's oldest theme park, was officially opened on the southern outskirts of the town, and remains popular to this day.

From 1942 to 1945 the town witnessed a large influx of American servicemen (including on several occasions Clark Gable), mainly from the USAAF 8th Air Force base at RAF Grafton Underwood, 3.7 miles away. The base was soon nicknamed ‘Grafton Undermud’ in reference to the perceived English weather of 'rain, rain and more rain'.[21] On 17 August 1942 twelve B-17E Flying Fortresses of the 342nd and 414th Bomber Squadrons, 97th Bombardment Group, took off from Grafton Underwood and bombed the marshalling yards at Rouen, northern France. Led by Major Paul W. Tibbets - who in 1945 became famous as the pilot of Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima – the raid made history as the first raid by heavy bombers from the 8th Air Force upon occupied Europe.[22]

After 11 missions the 97th BG was replaced by the 305th Bombardment Group on 12 September 1942. After several raids these in turn relocated to RAF Chelveston on 10 December. Next to arrive was the 96th Bombardment Group on 16 April 1943, who following a handful of missions relocated to RAF Andrews Field on 27 May 1943.[23] Their replacements were the 384th Bombardment Group on 3 June 1943, equipped, like all previous squadrons, with B-17s. Consisting of the 544th, 545th, 546th and 547th Bomber Squadrons, the 384th remained until June 1945. In that time they flew 315 missions, losing 159 aircraft and 1625 men killed in action. On 25 April 1945 they dropped the 8th Air Force’s last bombs on enemy territory; thus aircraft from Grafton Underwood dropped the 8th Air Force’s first and last bombs of WWII.[24]

Growth

In mid-2003 the population of the Borough of Kettering was estimated at 86,000, with 51,063 residing in the town proper.

Kettering is centrally located in North Northamptonshire, the biggest single growth area outside London. Set to grow to 370,000 people by 2021, North Northamptonshire will be a community equivalent in population to Bristol. It will see 52,100 new homes by 2021 with a further provisional 28,000 homes by 2031. The East Kettering development area alone covers 300 hectares and extends from the A43 in the north to the A14 in the south.

In March 2007, a project was revealed to refurbish and bring new leisure and shopping to the town centre, including water features, public art, sculptures, street furniture, trees, plants and an innovative pavement lighting scheme.[25]

Economy

Kettering railway station looking north along platform 2

Kettering has transport links and lies roughly halfway between Sheffield and London by rail, and on the A14 East - West trunk road, approximately midway between the M1 motorway and the A1 road. The town benefits from its "Heart of England" location on the busy A14 and is said to be within two hours' drive of 75% of the UK's population. It might expand the A14 to three lanes between junctions 7 and 9 to relieve traffic congestion.[26]

Kettering's unemployment rate is amongst the lowest in the UK and has over 80% of its adults in full time employment.[27] It is home to a wide range of companies including Weetabix, Pegasus Software, RCI Europe, Timsons Ltd and Morrisons Distribution as well as Wicksteed Park, the United Kingdom's oldest theme park, which now plays host to one and a quarter million visitors every season.

It is the home of Kettering General Hospital, which provides Acute and Accident & Emergency department services for the whole of Northern and parts of Eastern Northamptonshire including Corby and Wellingborough. With its new £20 million campus, 16,000 students and 800 staff, Tresham Institute of Further and Higher Education is a significant employer in the region.

Kettering Business Park, a recent and current commercial property development undertaken by Buccleuch Property is situated on the A43/A6003, on the north side of Kettering. Many office buildings are being built as part of the project as well as a leisure sector with a new hotel. Many large distribution warehouses have been constructed in the area, creating thousands of jobs for the local economy. The north of Kettering has Argos and BOSCH warehouses and a new Harvester pub and holiday express hotel are expect to open soon. The former Cransley iron works is also getting develop at the moment so it will bring jobs to the town. Also Tesco has just expanded and now has a Costa coffee.

Kettering's Heritage Quarter houses the Manor House Museum and the Alfred East Gallery.[28] The magnificent Boughton House, Queen Eleanor cross and the 1597 Triangular Lodge are local landmarks within the borough. Sir Thomas Tresham was a devout Catholic who was imprisoned for his beliefs. When he was released he built Triangular Lodge to defy his prosecutors and secretly declare his faith. The construction's 'three of everything' - sides, floors, windows and gables - represent the Holy Trinity.

From 2003 til present, British sitcom Peep Show has various scenes in Kettering, due to the Head office of character Mark Corrigan being located there. However, it was not filmed in Kettering, and all places shown in the show were named especially (such as the nightclub LAPLand Kettering, and the hotel Park Kettering).

Sport

Rugby

Kettering is home to Kettering Rugby Football Club (KRFC), located in Waverley Road on the south side of the town. The earliest available records indicate that the playing of Rugby Football in Kettering was initiated by the Rector of Barton Seagrave village in 1871. After a period of playing under Uppingham Public School Rules the club formally adopted RFU rules in 1875 and quickly became a significant participant in both the local community and the fast-developing Rugby scene in the East Midlands.

In the early days games were played on a number of sites including farmers' fields and council-owned grounds. It was during this period, prior to adopting a home of their own, that the club developed its high profile in the town. Social occasions and players "meetings" were held traditionally at the Royal Hotel, later moving to the George, with more formal occasions such as the Annual Ball becoming the highlight of the local function calendar.

Dougie Bridgeman, a local man, but proud Welshman, has in recent years had a similar profound effect on the club's fortunes. Returning to Kettering after a period of playing 1st Class Rugby this talented centre led the 1st XV successfully for years and now mixes playing duties with those of Club Coach. His skills and knowledge contributing greatly to the 1st XV's successes in recent years.

KRFC currently plays in the Midlands 1st Division. Their website can be found at [2]

Football

Kettering is home to Kettering Town F.C. Current Chairman Imraan Ladak installed former Tamworth manager Mark Cooper as the new Kettering Town supremo for the 2007-08 season. After a record breaking start to the season (7 consecutive wins), the club held pole position virtually all season, winning the Blue Square North with 5 games in hand. The Poppies broke their win record of 28 games, now 30 and registered a record points tally for the Division of 96 points.

Kettering Town play in the Blue Square Premier.

Politics

In Parliament, Kettering falls wholly within the parliamentary constituency of the same name, which is currently represented by Conservative MP Philip Hollobone, who gained the marginal constituency from former Labour MP Phil Sawford in the 2005 general election.

In the European Parliament, Kettering falls within the East Midlands European Parliament constituency and is represented by 6 MEPs (elected June 2004): - Derek Clark (UKIP / ID) - Chris Heaton-Harris (Conservative / EPP-ED) - Roger Helmer (Conservative / EPP-ED)) - Bill Newton Dunn (Liberal Democrat / ALDE) - Robert Kilroy-Silk (Independent (formerly UKIP and Veritas) / Independent (formerly ID) - Glenis Willmott (Labour / PES)

In local government, Kettering falls within the areas of Northamptonshire County Council and Kettering Borough Council, which incorporates the small, satellite towns of Burton Latimer, Desborough and Rothwell.

A key local issue relates to plans to construct at least 145,000 new homes within Northamptonshire, increasing the population by 50%, including significant development for the Borough of Kettering. A protest group entitled STOP ("Stop the Over-development Plans for Northamptonshire") has been established, and campaigns against what it fears will be the creation of a "linear city" blurring the boundaries between Kettering and the neighbouring towns of Corby and, to a lesser degree, Wellingborough. There is less than two miles of open land between Kettering and Corby.

Politics in Kettering has not always been a sedate affair: in 1835 a horrified Charles Dickens, then a young reporter for the Morning Chronicle, watched aghast as a Tory supporter on horseback, intent (along with others) on taking control of bye-election proceedings, produced a loaded pistol and had to be restrained by his friends from committing murder. The ensuing riot between Tory and Whig supporters led Dickens in his article to form various opinions of Kettering and it's voters, none of them complementary.[29]

Notable residents

Town twinning

See also

References

  1. ^ R.L. Greenall: A History of Kettering, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003, ISBN 1 86077 254 4. p.7.
  2. ^ R.L. Greenall, A History of Kettering, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003, ISBN 1 86077 254 4. P. 9.
  3. ^ R.L. Greenall, A History of Kettering, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003, ISBN 1 86077 254 4. P. 10.
  4. ^ R.L. Greenall: A History of Northamptonshire, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 1979, ISBN 1 86077 147 5. p.19.
  5. ^ R.L. Greenall: A History of Northamptonshire, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 1979, ISBN 1 86077 147 5. p.20.
  6. ^ R.L. Greenall: A History of Northamptonshire, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 1979, ISBN 1 86077 147 5. p.20.
  7. ^ R.L. Greenall, A History of Kettering, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003, ISBN 1 86077 254 4. P. 9.
  8. ^ R.L. Greenall: A History of Northamptonshire, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 1979, ISBN 1 86077 147 5. p.26.
  9. ^ R.L. Greenall: A History of Northamptonshire, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 1979, ISBN 1 86077 147 5. p.29.
  10. ^ Michael Wood: The Domesday Quest, BBC Books, 1986 ISBN 0 563 52274 7. p. 90.
  11. ^ R.L. Greenall: A History of Northamptonshire, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 1979, ISBN 1 86077 147 5. p.34.
  12. ^ R.L. Greenall, A History of Kettering, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003, ISBN 1 86077 254 4. p.9.
  13. ^ Domeday Book: A Complete Translation, Penguin Books, 1992, ISBN 0 14 100523 8. p. 596.
  14. ^ R.L. Greenall: A History of Kettering, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003, ISBN 1 86077 254 4. p.4.
  15. ^ R.L. Greenall, A History of Kettering, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003. p.20.
  16. ^ a b R.L. Greenall, A History of Kettering, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003. p.21.
  17. ^ R.L. Greenall: A History of Northamptonshire, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 1979, ISBN 1 86077 147 5. p.41-42.
  18. ^ R.L. Greenall: A History of Northamptonshire, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 1979, ISBN 1 86077 147 5. p.42.
  19. ^ R.L. Greenall, A History of Kettering, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003. p.105.
  20. ^ R.L. Greenall, A History of Kettering, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003. p.116.
  21. ^ John N. Smith, Airfield Focus 44: Grafton Underwood, GMS Enterprises, 2001, ISBN 1 870384 84 9. p. 4.
  22. ^ John N. Smith, Airfield Focus 44: Grafton Underwood, GMS Enterprises, 2001, ISBN 1 870384 84 9. p. 3.
  23. ^ John N. Smith, Airfield Focus 44: Grafton Underwood, GMS Enterprises, 2001, ISBN 1 870384 84 9. p. 6.
  24. ^ John N. Smith, Airfield Focus 44: Grafton Underwood, GMS Enterprises, 2001, ISBN 1 870384 84 9. p. 33.
  25. ^ "A new dawn" by Monique Cleaver in Northants Evening Telegraph, 21 March 2007
  26. ^ Kettering Borough Council downloads
  27. ^ Government Office of the East Midlands
  28. ^ "A Walk Around Kettering's Heritage Quarter" (PDF). Retrieved May 25th 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  29. ^ R.L. Greenall, A History of Kettering, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003, ISBN 1 86077 254 4. P. 106.
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