Desborough
Encyclopedia
Desborough is a town
in Northamptonshire
, England
. It is one of the founding 12 members of the Charter of European Rural Communities and through this has links with 26 other EU member towns and villages. Through the Desborough and District Twinning Association the town is twinned with Neuville de Poitou in the Vienne
departement of France
and with Bievre in Belgium.
and weaving
industries, by the nineteenth century specialising in silk
. Many archaeological finds from the Celt
ic and Anglo-Saxon periods have been made in the town, some of which have been inducted into the collection of London
's British Museum
. The Desborough Mirror is an example of this. Desborough is 8 km (5 mi) south-east of Market Harborough, 8 km (5 mi) north-west of Kettering and 8 km (5 mi) south-west of Corby.
The Kettering Leg of the Student cross
pilgrimage leaves from near Desborough every year.
The A6 Rothwell
-Desborough Bypass opened on August 14, 2003.
Notable buildings in the town include the thirteenth century parish church
.
The Domesday Book
of 1086 refers to Desborough, in modern day Northamptonshire, as a 'place of judgement'. In fact the name itself is thought to have derived from 'Disburg' which meant a sacred and fortified place.
In the High Street, as a centrepiece of what is now the Market Square, stands a pillar. Locals call it the Town Cross, despite it being a square column with a stone ball on top. It is perhaps better referred to as an obelisk. Its origins are thought to be a gateway pillar from Harrington Hall.
Desborough's origins lie in the Bronze Age some 2000 years BC. Urns from this period have been found in and around the town. The most important archeological find was the 1st Century Desborough Mirror which is now in the British Museum as is an Anglo-Saxon necklace found in the Paddock Lane area of the town which comprises gold beads, a gold cross and a red garnet. Other stone artifacts are on display in the parish church of St Giles.
On 7 September 1969 the Anglican (Church of England) and Methodist partnership was inaugurated in the presence of the Bishop of Peterborough and the Chairman of the Oxford District. Since that time a Methodist minister has been working in equal partnership with the Anglican vicar. St Giles is part of the United Benefice of Desborough and Brampton Ash with Braybrooke and Dingley.
St Giles has regular church festivals including one of the UKs longest running (since 1998) and largest (over 100 trees) Christmas Tree Festival. The trees are contributed by local organisations, companies, individuals and families.
In addition to the parish church there is a Baptist church, a United Reformed Church and the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity.
To counter exploitation by agents and employers, local men founded the Desborough Co-operative Society in 1863. Starting with local shops and then a corset and lingerie factory, the Desborough Co-op still has a department store, a bank, a supermarket, a travel agents, a ladies shoe and clothing shop and a couple of corner stores.
The former Co-op Corset Factory is now owned by Eveden Ltd making lingerie and swimwear. The site includes the original Victorian factory and, immediately opposite, Eveden's warehousing and UK factory shop.
The former Co-operative Society Sports Ground with its football field and tennis courts is now the site of a major housing development called Desbeau Park. Desbeau was the name of one of the range of lingerie made at the Corset Factory.
The Desborough Co-op was recently purchased by the larger East Midlands Co-op who have since closed the bank and the ladies shoe and clothing shop. They have also turned one of the corner shops in to a funeral directors.
The former RS Lawrence's shoe factory site on the High Street was sold by the Midland Co-operative Society to Kettering Borough Council
.
in Rothwell.
Magnetic Park is a project to build a business park in Desborough, most construction has been completed.
There were plans to build a Sainsburys near Magnetic Park but Kettering Borough Council’s planning committee turned down the company’s proposals. Committee members voted 4-3, with one abstention, against the plans.
Plans have been submitted to Kettering to redevelop the town centre Lawrence Factory site with a new Tesco
store. In September 2011, Kettering published a report recommending approval of the Tesco plans, but the Planning Committee due to consider the application on 13 September 2011 was cancelled: no decision has yet been taken.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is one of the founding 12 members of the Charter of European Rural Communities and through this has links with 26 other EU member towns and villages. Through the Desborough and District Twinning Association the town is twinned with Neuville de Poitou in the Vienne
Vienne
Vienne is the northernmost département of the Poitou-Charentes region of France, named after the river Vienne.- Viennese history :Vienne is one of the original 83 departments, established on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Poitou,...
departement of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and with Bievre in Belgium.
Overview
Desborough developed around the spinningSpinning (textiles)
Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
and weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
industries, by the nineteenth century specialising in silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
. Many archaeological finds from the Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic and Anglo-Saxon periods have been made in the town, some of which have been inducted into the collection of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. The Desborough Mirror is an example of this. Desborough is 8 km (5 mi) south-east of Market Harborough, 8 km (5 mi) north-west of Kettering and 8 km (5 mi) south-west of Corby.
The Kettering Leg of the Student cross
Student Cross
Student Cross is the annual, Ecumenical, cross-carrying, walking pilgrimage to Walsingham that takes place at Easter. The pilgrimage was founded in 1948 by a University of London student, Wilfred Mauncote-Carter, who led a group of students including many ex-servicemen, on a walk from London to...
pilgrimage leaves from near Desborough every year.
The A6 Rothwell
Rothwell, Northamptonshire
Rothwell is a market town in the Kettering district of Northamptonshire, England. It is located south of Desborough, southeast of Market Harborough, southwest of Corby and northwest of the larger town of Kettering. It is twinned with the French town of Droué...
-Desborough Bypass opened on August 14, 2003.
Notable buildings in the town include the thirteenth century parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
.
The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 refers to Desborough, in modern day Northamptonshire, as a 'place of judgement'. In fact the name itself is thought to have derived from 'Disburg' which meant a sacred and fortified place.
In the High Street, as a centrepiece of what is now the Market Square, stands a pillar. Locals call it the Town Cross, despite it being a square column with a stone ball on top. It is perhaps better referred to as an obelisk. Its origins are thought to be a gateway pillar from Harrington Hall.
Desborough's origins lie in the Bronze Age some 2000 years BC. Urns from this period have been found in and around the town. The most important archeological find was the 1st Century Desborough Mirror which is now in the British Museum as is an Anglo-Saxon necklace found in the Paddock Lane area of the town which comprises gold beads, a gold cross and a red garnet. Other stone artifacts are on display in the parish church of St Giles.
St Giles Church
St Giles Church is the oldest surviving building in the town having been built in about 1225 AD. It is believed to stand on the site of an earlier Saxon church. Relics of the town's history including part of an Anglo-Saxon cross carved from stone, a Tudor rood screen and reminders of the Civil War. Close by the church is the 18th century Church House the 19th century Desborough House with its stucco and Doric pillars, now the Services Club.On 7 September 1969 the Anglican (Church of England) and Methodist partnership was inaugurated in the presence of the Bishop of Peterborough and the Chairman of the Oxford District. Since that time a Methodist minister has been working in equal partnership with the Anglican vicar. St Giles is part of the United Benefice of Desborough and Brampton Ash with Braybrooke and Dingley.
St Giles has regular church festivals including one of the UKs longest running (since 1998) and largest (over 100 trees) Christmas Tree Festival. The trees are contributed by local organisations, companies, individuals and families.
In addition to the parish church there is a Baptist church, a United Reformed Church and the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity.
The Old Manor House
The Old Manor House in Gold Street retains many features of its late 17th century origins. Ferdinando Poulton, a Roman Catholic lawyer was Lord of the Manor, reputedly one of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators.Employment
In the 17th century the town developed as a spinning and weaving centre. Using local wool and flax, the town's factories produced fine cloth and linen until the mid 19th century. Silk weaving then developed in a Paddock Lane factory.To counter exploitation by agents and employers, local men founded the Desborough Co-operative Society in 1863. Starting with local shops and then a corset and lingerie factory, the Desborough Co-op still has a department store, a bank, a supermarket, a travel agents, a ladies shoe and clothing shop and a couple of corner stores.
The former Co-op Corset Factory is now owned by Eveden Ltd making lingerie and swimwear. The site includes the original Victorian factory and, immediately opposite, Eveden's warehousing and UK factory shop.
The former Co-operative Society Sports Ground with its football field and tennis courts is now the site of a major housing development called Desbeau Park. Desbeau was the name of one of the range of lingerie made at the Corset Factory.
The Desborough Co-op was recently purchased by the larger East Midlands Co-op who have since closed the bank and the ladies shoe and clothing shop. They have also turned one of the corner shops in to a funeral directors.
The former RS Lawrence's shoe factory site on the High Street was sold by the Midland Co-operative Society to Kettering Borough Council
Kettering Borough Council
Kettering Borough Council is a local authority in Kettering Borough, composed of 36 local councillors and currently controlled by the Conservatives, who have controlled the Council since the 2003 local elections, where they gained control from Labour with a majority of 15. Having retained control...
.
Schools
There is one primary school and one infant/junior school in Desborough, Loatlands Primary School, Havelock Infants, and Havelock Junior but no secondary school so children aged 11–16 mostly attend Montsaye Community CollegeMontsaye Community College
Montsaye Academy is a large Academy in Rothwell.It is privately funded, as an academy and was granted dual specialty status in late 2004, adding Humanities to its well established Language College status. Over 1200 students attend the college, which until recent years had consistently attained a 5...
in Rothwell.
New development
Several housing projects are currently taking place, such as "The Grange", a joint project by several house building companies, and Jelson Homes's "Carisbrooke Grange".Magnetic Park is a project to build a business park in Desborough, most construction has been completed.
There were plans to build a Sainsburys near Magnetic Park but Kettering Borough Council’s planning committee turned down the company’s proposals. Committee members voted 4-3, with one abstention, against the plans.
Plans have been submitted to Kettering to redevelop the town centre Lawrence Factory site with a new Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
store. In September 2011, Kettering published a report recommending approval of the Tesco plans, but the Planning Committee due to consider the application on 13 September 2011 was cancelled: no decision has yet been taken.