(abbreviated '''''Northants''''' or '''''N'hants''''') is a landlocked .
Northamptonshire has often been called the county of "
Squire s and
Spire s" due to its wide variety of historic buildings and country houses.
Northamptonshire's
County Flower is the
Cowslip .
By the standards of the English
Midlands , Northamptonshire is an upland county. It includes the watershed between the
Severn and
The Wash . Several important rivers have their sources in the north west of the county, these include the
River Nene (to The Wash) and the "
Warwickshire Avon " (to the Severn). In the 1820s it was boasted that "not a single brook, however insignificant, flows into it from any other district". The highest point in the county is nevertheless the modest
Arbury Hill at 225 m (738 ft).
Northampton is the largest town in the county, with a population of 194,122. This is followed by
Corby (53,500),
Kettering (51,063),
Wellingborough (46,959 ),
Rushden (25,849) and
Daventry (22,367). Most of the county's population is concentrated in a central north-south band which includes the four largest towns (corresponding to districts 2, 4, 5 & 6 on the map). The west (districts 1 & 3) and east (district 7) are predominantly rural with small towns and many villages. Northamptonshire is a long, thin county (more so with the
Soke Of Peterborough ), running from south-west to north-east.
These are the main settlements in Northamptonshire with a town charter, a population over 5,000, or otherwise notable. For a complete list of settlements see
List Of Places In Northamptonshire ''
The
Soke Of Peterborough , including the
City Of Peterborough , was historically associated with Northamptonshire as the county diocese is focused upon the cathedral there. Under the
Local Government Act 1972 Peterborough became a district of
Cambridgeshire .
''Main article
History Of Northamptonshire ''
Pre-Celtic and
Celt ic peoples settled in the region, and there are some traces of
Roman settlements and roads. Most notably the
Watling Street passed through the county, and there was an important Roman settlement called ''Lactodorum'' on the site of modern day
Towcester . There were other Roman settlements at the site of Northampton, and along the
Nene Valley near
Raunds .
After the Romans left, the area became part of the
Anglo-Saxon kingdom of
Mercia , and Northampton functioned as an administrative centre. The area was overrun by the Danes (
Viking s) in the
9th Century and briefly became part of the
Danelaw , but was later re-claimed by the Saxons. Consequently, it is one of the few counties in England to have both Saxon and Danish town-names and settlements.
The county was first recorded in the ) of ''Hamtun'' (the homestead). The "North" was added to distinguish Northampton from the other important ''Hamtun'' further south: Southampton.
Later,
Rockingham Castle was built for
William The Conqueror and was used as a Royal fortress until
Elizabethan times. The now-ruined
Fotheringhay castle was used to imprison
Mary, Queen Of Scots before her execution. In
1460 , during the
Wars Of The Roses , the
Battle Of Northampton took place and King
Henry VI was captured.
s 17th century map of Northamptonshire.]]
During the
English Civil War Northamptonshire strongly supported the
Parliamentarian cause, and the
Royalist forces suffered a crushing defeat at the
Battle Of Naseby in
1645 in the north of the county. King
Charles I was later imprisoned at
Holdenby House .
In the
18th and
19th centuries, parts of Northamptonshire became
Industrialized . Northampton and its surrounding areas, gained a sizeable
Shoe making and
Leather industry and by the end of the nineteenth century it was almost definitely the boot and shoe making capital of the world. And in the north of the county a large
Ironstone Quarry ing industry developed. In the
20th Century , during the
1930s , the town of
Corby was established as a major centre of the
Steel industry. Much of Northamptonshire nevertheless remains largely rural.
After the
Second World War Northampton and Corby were designated as
New Town s.
As Of 2005 the government is encouraging development in the
South Midlands area, including Kettering and Corby.
Northamptonshire returns six
Members Of Parliament . Following the
2005 General Election , four MPs belong to the
Conservative Party , while the other two represent the
Labour Party .
Like most English shire counties, Northamptonshire has a two-tier structure of
Local Government . The county has an elected
County Council based in
Northampton , and is also divided into seven
Districts each with their own district councils.
These districts are:
Corby ,
Daventry District ,
East Northamptonshire ,
Kettering ,
Northampton ,
South Northamptonshire ,
Wellingborough (see map). The district council offices for East Northamptonshire are based in
Thrapston , and those for South Northamptonshire are based in
Towcester . Northamptonshire also has a large number of
Civil Parishes .
Until 2005, Northamptonshire County Council, for which each of the 73
Electoral Division s in the county elects a single councillor, had been held by the Labour Party since 1993; before then it had been under
No Overall Control since
1981 . The councils of the rural districts — Daventry, East Northamptonshire, and South Northamptonshire — are strongly Conservative, whereas composition in the urban districts is more mixed. At the 2003 local elections, Labour lost control of Kettering, Northampton, and Wellingborough, retaining only Corby. Elections for the entire County Council are held every four years — the last were held on
5 May 2005 when control of the County Council changed from the Labour Party to the Conservatives. The County Council uses a
Leader And Cabinet executive system and has recently (from April 2006) abolished its
Area Committee s.
Northampton itself is somewhat unusual in being the most populous urban district in England not to be administered as a
Unitary Authority (even though several smaller districts are unitary). During the
1990s Local Government Reform , Northampton Borough Council petitioned strongly for unitary status, which led to fractured relations with the County Council.
Northamptonshire is policed by
Northamptonshire Police , and is covered by
Northamptonshire Fire And Rescue Service .
Before
1974 , the
Soke Of Peterborough was considered part of Northamptonshire for
Ceremonial Purposes , although it had had a separate county council since the
19th Century , and separate
Quarter Sessions courts before then. The
City Of Peterborough is now part of the county of
Cambridgeshire .
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Northamptonshire at current basic prices
published (pp.240-253) by ''Office for National Statistics'' with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
Northamptonshire has some nationally important companies. Historically, it is home to footwear manufacturing companies. The
Dr. Martens company in the UK is based in
Wollaston near Wellingborough, where the boots used to be made.
Weetabix is made at
Burton Latimer near Kettering.
Carlsberg is brewed in Northampton. Daventry has many distribution centres.
Northamptonshire operates a complete comprehensive system. There are no selective schools. However, selection by house price instead may be taking place. At GCSE, for those obtaining 5 GCSEs at grades A-C including Maths and English, the England average is 45.8%. The Northamptonshire average is 42.1% - below average. The best state school in Northamptonshire is
Brooke Weston CTC in Corby with 99.9%, followed by the
Bishop Stopford School in Kettering with 81% and then the
Northampton School For Boys with 80%. These are excellent results for comprehensive schools. For the Brooke Weston result, this is substantially (three times) better than other schools in Corby, and Brooke Weston is often in the top five comprehensives in England. It is almost like a selective system in Corby. The same could be said for Northampton, with only the Northampton schools for
Boys and
Girls producing good results. Wellingborough is also the same to a lesser extent, with only the Sir
Christopher Hatton School producing good results.
At A level, the best schools are the
Campion School in
Bugbrooke , South Northamptonshire; followed by the
Ferrers Specialist Arts College in Higham Ferrers; then the
Moulton Schools And Science College in
Moulton , Daventry district; and then the Northampton School for Boys. The Brooke Weston CTC does not achieve particularly high results at A level, but above average.
Northamptonshire boasts an extensive
Music And Performing Arts Service that provides peripatetic music teaching to schools in the area. It also supports 15 local Saturday morning music and performing arts centres around the county as well as providing a range of county level music groups.
- 1. South Northamptonshire 51.5
- 2. East Northamptonshire 48.4
- 3. Kettering 47.8
- 4. Daventry 44.0
- 5. Northampton 37.5
- 6. Corby 36.2
- 7. Wellingborough 34.8
The gap in the hills at
Watford Gap meant that many southeast to northwest routes passed through Northamptonshire. The Roman Road
Watling Street (now part of the
A5 ) passed through here, as did later canals, railways and major roads.
Major roads such as the
M1 Motorway and the
A14 provide Northamptonshire with valuable transport links, both north-south and east-west. The A43 joins the M1 to the M40, passing through the south of the county to the Junction west of Brackley. The former steelworks town of Corby is now home to large areas of
Warehousing and
Distribution companies.
''See also: ''
Two major canals - the
Oxford and the
Grand Union — join in the county at
Braunston . Notable features include a flight of 17
Locks on the Grand Union at Rothersthorpe, the
Canal Museum at
Stoke Bruerne , and a tunnel at
Blisworth which, at 3076 yards (2813 m), is the third-longest navigable canal tunnel on the
UK Canal Network .
A branch of the Grand Union Canal connects to the
River Nene in Northampton and has been upgraded to a "wide canal" in places and is known as the ''Nene Navigation''. It is famous for its guillotine locks.
For last five years Northamptonshire County Council is in partnership with WS Atkins, Europe's largest Engineering Consultants to manage and maintain all highways functions.
near
Daventry ]]
Two trunk railway routes, the
West Coast Main Line and the
Midland Main Line traverse the county. At its peak, Northamptonshire had 75 railway stations. It now has only five, at
Northampton and
Long Buckby (on the WCML),
Kettering and
Wellingborough (on the Midland Main Line), along with
King's Sutton , which is a matter of yards from the boundary with Oxfordshire on the
London-Banbury Line .
Corby is one of the largest towns in Britain without a railway station. A railway runs through the town (from Kettering to
Oakham in
Rutland ), but is currently used only by freight traffic and occasional diverted passenger trains (which do not call). The line through Corby was once part of a main line to
Nottingham via
Melton Mowbray but the stretch between Melton and Nottingham was closed in
1968 . In the
1980s , an experimental passenger shuttle service was tried between Corby and Kettering, but this was proved unsuccessful. A bus link operated by
Midland Mainline provides access to Corby from Kettering station. As of 2005, there are plans to build a new station in Corby - one providing direct access to
St Pancras in
London and not just a branch line service to Kettering, but these are not yet off the ground.
Northamptonshire was hit hard by the by way of Wellingborough,
Thrapston , and
Oundle . Its closure left eastern Northamptonshire devoid of railways. Part of this route has been re-opened as the
Nene Valley Railway , with a small section of line, and the station at
Yarwell junction being within Northamptonshire.
A section of one of the closed lines, the Northampton to
Market Harborough line, is now the
Northampton & Lamport Heritage Railway , while the route as a whole forms a part of the
National Cycle Network , as the
Brampton Valley Way .
As early as
1897 Northamptonshire had its own putative
Channel Tunnel rail link with the creation of the
Great Central Railway , which was intended to connect to a tunnel under the
English Channel . Although the complete project never came to fruition, the rail link through Northamptonshire was constructed, and had stations at
Charwelton ,
Woodford Halse ,
Helmdon , and
Brackley . It became part of the London and North Eastern Railway in
1923 (and of British Railways in 1948) before its closure in
1966 .
Before
Nationalization of the railways in
1948 and the creation of
British Railways ), Northamptonshire was home to three of the "Big Four" railway companies; the
London, Midland And Scottish Railway ,
London And North Eastern Railway and
Great Western Railway . Only the
Southern Railway was not represented. Post nationalisation, it is served by
Silverlink ,
Central Trains ,
Chiltern Railways and
Midland Mainline . So from having 75 stations in 1948 and three operators it has 5 stations with four operators.
Northamptonshire has a local BBC radio station, ''
BBC Radio Northampton '', which broadcasts on two
FM frequencies — 104.2 MHz for the south and west of the county (including
Northampton and surrounding area) and 103.6 MHz for the north of the county (including
Kettering and
Corby ). There are three commercial radio stations. ''
Northants 96 '' (96.6 MHz FM) is part of
GCap Media , whilst
AM station ''
Classic Gold '' (1557 kHz) also forms part of a national network. The former ''Kettering and Corby Broadcasting Company (KCBC)'' station originally broadcast on 1530 (later 1584) kHz AM before eventually moving to 107.4 MHz FM. Its studios and FM frequency are still in use following a merger with Wellingborough-based ''Connect FM'' which now broadcasts on 97.2 and 107.4 MHz.
National
Digital Radio is also available in Northamptonshire, though coverage is limited. As of 2005 a multiplex for local DAB stations had yet to be set up.
In regional radio and television terms, the county is not usually considered as part of the East Midlands; unusually, it is associated with
East Anglia , being part of the
BBC East region and the
Anglia Television region of
ITV , the latter having an office adjacent to BBC Radio Northampton in Abington Street, Northampton. These services are broadcast from the
Sandy Heath transmitter.
Northamptonshire is home to a number of
Football teams, the most prominent being the professional sides
Northampton Town F.C. of
League One and
Rushden & Diamonds F.C. , who are in the
Football Conference . Other teams include
Kettering Town F.C. , who play in the
Conference North , though having been higher.
Wellingborough Town F.C. claims to be the sixth oldest in the country.
Northamptonshire is more successful in
Rugby Union , though
Northampton Saints were relegated from the
Guinness Premiership (the highest league) at the end of the 2006/2007 season.
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is presently in Division Two of the
County Championship .
Silverstone has a major
Motor Racing circuit, notably used for the
British Grand Prix .
Rockingham Speedway in
Corby is a US-style elliptical racing circuit (the largest of its kind outside of the US), and is used extensively for all kinds of
Motor Racing events.
''see also ''
