Thrapston is a small town

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 the headquarters of the East Northamptonshire

East Northamptonshire

East Northamptonshire is a local government district in Northamptonshire, England. Its council is based in Thrapston and Rushden, which is the largest town in the area...

 district, and in 2001 had a population of 4,855. By 2006, this was estimated to be over 5,700.

Thrapston is close to the River Nene

River Nene

The River Nene is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in the county of Northamptonshire. The tidal river forms the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk for about . It is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom, and is navigable for from Northampton to The...

 and is at the junction of the A14 and the A45

A45 road

The A45 is a major road in England. It runs east from Birmingham past the National Exhibition Centre and the M42, then bypasses Coventry and Rugby, where it briefly merges with the M45 until it continues to Daventry...

. Until the 1960s, Thrapston had two railway stations. Thrapston (Midland) was on the Kettering

Kettering

Kettering is a market town in the Borough of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. It is situated about from London. Kettering is mainly situated on the west side of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene which meets at Wellingborough...

 to Cambridge

Cambridge

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

 route, and the former station and viaduct can be seen from the adjacent A14 road. Thrapston (Bridge Street) was on the former LNWR

London and North Western Railway

The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...

 Northampton

Northampton

Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

 to Peterborough

Peterborough

Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...

 line.

The market charter was granted over 800 years ago, in the year 1205, in exchange for two palfrey

Palfrey

A palfrey is a type of horse highly valued as a riding horse in the Middle Ages. It is not a breed.The word "palfrey" is cognate with the German word for horse , "Pferd". Both descend from Latin "paraveredus", meaning a post horse or courier horse...

s. This is celebrated every year with the town's Charter fair

Charter fair

A charter fair in England is a street fair or market which was established by Royal Charter. Many charter fairs date back to the Middle Ages, with their heyday occurring during the 13th century...

, where the high street is closed and the people in the town get together to commemorate this event. A relative of George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

, Sir John Washington, lived in Chancery Lane within the town, and his wife is buried in the church. Sir John was brother to George Washington's great-grandfather. Naturalist and writer Horace William Wheelwright

Horace William Wheelwright

Horace William Wheelwright was an English hunter, naturalist and writer who spent many years of his life in Australia and Sweden....

 practiced as an attorney in Thrapston in the 1840s. Fashion photographer James Kenny

James Kenny (photographer)

James Kenny is a professional photographer based in the United Kingdom, best known for his fashion, celebrity portrait and documentary work.- Biography :...

 currently resides in the town.

Thrapston has two school

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

s, Thrapston Primary

Primary education

A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...

 and King John middle school, which serve children from four to thirteen. Thrapston Primary is for children aged 4 to 9 and King John is for ages 9 to 13, after which children go to schools elsewhere, usually Prince William School

Prince William School

Prince William School is a comprehensive school in Oundle, Northamptonshire. The school was built in 1971 and currently holds 1156 pupils. It was named in honour of Prince William of Gloucester whose family home, Barnwell Manor is a few miles away. Prince William was killed in an air crash less...

 in Oundle

Oundle

Oundle is an ancient market town on the River Nene in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 5,345 or 5,674 . It lies some north of London and south-west of Peterborough...

.

The town's football club, Thrapston Town

Thrapston Town F.C.

Thrapston Town F.C. is an English football club based in Thrapston, Northamptonshire. The club are currently members of the United Counties League Premier Division and play at Chancery Lane.-History:...

, plays in the United Counties League

United Counties Football League

The United Counties Football League is an English football league covering Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire, as well as parts of Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. It has a total of four divisions, two for first teams and two for reserve teams...

.

External links

• Thrapston OnLine
• Scotts of Thrapston - one of the town's major employers
• Martin's Thrapston Weather Site - amateur meteorologist's live weather data
• Thrapston Tourist Information