Wootton, Northamptonshire
Encyclopedia
Wootton, Northamptonshire is a village about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Northampton
town centre and now part of the Northampton Borough Council area.
The village is separated from Hardingstone
by the Newport Pagnell
Road the B526
, formerly part of the A50 road
. Part of the village is alongside the busy A45
dual carriageway from the M1 to Wellingborough
which is seen and heard from that part of the village.
, Wootton is described as “Wetone”. It later became Weton, Wutton and then Witton. "Wootton" appeared in the 14th century. The names probably have the Saxon origin of "Wudutun" and mean settlement or farmstead in, or by, a wood, which may have been Salcey Forest
.
The Rectory, west of the church is dated 1630.. A memorial in the south wall is to the wife of John Harris – the Lord of the Manor in the eighteenth century.
times. Most of the stone houses are ca. late 17th or early 18th century. Many of these houses were originally thatched, as can be seen from the steep pitch of the roof.
Many brick cottages are at least as old with those in Church Hill, at least 1770's, as they are mentioned in the Enclosure Act of 1779. Wootton had its own brick works along Berry Lane. A nearby field was known as Clay Pit field as late as 1932, but even in 1899, it was known as the "Old" Brick Works and used for many years as an ash tip. The Department of the Environment listed Carey's Cottage in Berry Lane as 16th century.
and later Royal Pioneer Corps
were stationed at the former Quebec Barracks, later renamed Simpson Barracks on a large site adjacent to the Newport Pagnell Road which include the old Hardingstone workhouse building which dates from 1839.
The Barracks closed on 1 April 1993 and the site is now used for a housing estate, including the old workhouse, many road names reflecting its military origin. During the war the corps had an ammunition dump hidden in woods at Yardley Chase
, where signs still remain.
near junction 15 and is next to the large housing estates of Wootton Fields, Grange Park
and East Hunsbury
.
, Quinton
and Preston Deanery
.
is being sought in connection with the murders. Alice and Xing were talented musicians. .
The village is in the Nene
Valley two-member ward of Northampton Borough Council and in the Nene
Valley single-member division of Northamptonshire County Council.
, a Working men's club
; opticians and a medical centre.
The village has two pub/restaurants – "The Yeoman of Old England" in the centre of the old village. The second, “The Queen Eleanor” together with a Premier Inn hotel are both on Newport Pagnell road near the Queen Eleanor junction of Mereway and the A45. There is a village shop, butcher, chemist and a large Wyevale
Garden Centre in Newport Pagnell Road. Waitrose
have also indicated they would like to build a supermarket on the road but this was opposed in a report commissioned by the West Northampton Development Corporation.
The village primary school is Wootton County founded in 1873. A modern all-through Caroline Chisholm School
for young people aged 4–19 is located on Wooldale Road.
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...
town centre and now part of the Northampton Borough Council area.
The village is separated from Hardingstone
Hardingstone
Hardingstone is a village in Northamptonshire, England. It is on the southern edge of Northampton, and now forms a suburb of the town within the Northampton Borough Council area. It is about from the town centre...
by the Newport Pagnell
Newport Pagnell
Newport Pagnell is a town in the Borough of Milton Keynes , England. It is separated by the M1 motorway from Milton Keynes itself, though part of the same urban area...
Road the B526
B roads in Zone 5 of the Great Britain numbering scheme
B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme for the rationale behind the numbers allocated.-Zone 5 :-Zone 5 :...
, formerly part of the A50 road
A50 road
The A50 is a major trunk road in England. It runs from Warrington to Leicester; however, it was once a much longer route.-Current route:...
. Part of the village is alongside the busy 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...
dual carriageway from the M1 to Wellingborough
Wellingborough
Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...
which is seen and heard from that part of the village.
Domesday Book
In the Domesday BookDomesday 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...
, Wootton is described as “Wetone”. It later became Weton, Wutton and then Witton. "Wootton" appeared in the 14th century. The names probably have the Saxon origin of "Wudutun" and mean settlement or farmstead in, or by, a wood, which may have been Salcey Forest
Salcey Forest
Salcey Forest is a former medieval hunting forest in the south of the county of Northamptonshire in England.It lies to the east of the village of Hartwell, between Northampton and Newport Pagnell...
.
Church
The thirteenth century Parish Church of St. George, The Martyr, stands in the High Street in a conservation area and is a Group 1 listed building. It was restored in 1865. It was again restored and re-dedicated in 1991 after a £93,000 restoration programme had been successfully completed.The Rectory, west of the church is dated 1630.. A memorial in the south wall is to the wife of John Harris – the Lord of the Manor in the eighteenth century.
17th and 18th centuries
Little of the village dates from earlier than StuartHouse of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
times. Most of the stone houses are ca. late 17th or early 18th century. Many of these houses were originally thatched, as can be seen from the steep pitch of the roof.
Many brick cottages are at least as old with those in Church Hill, at least 1770's, as they are mentioned in the Enclosure Act of 1779. Wootton had its own brick works along Berry Lane. A nearby field was known as Clay Pit field as late as 1932, but even in 1899, it was known as the "Old" Brick Works and used for many years as an ash tip. The Department of the Environment listed Carey's Cottage in Berry Lane as 16th century.
Royal Pioneer Corps
The Northamptonshire RegimentNorthamptonshire Regiment
The Northamptonshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1960. Its lineage is now continued by The Royal Anglian Regiment.-Formation:The regiment was formed as part of the reorganisation of the infantry by the Childers reforms...
and later Royal Pioneer Corps
Royal Pioneer Corps
The Royal Pioneer Corps was a British Army combatant corps used for light engineering tasks.The Royal Pioneer Corps was raised on 17 October 1939 as the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps. It was renamed the Pioneer Corps on 22 November 1940...
were stationed at the former Quebec Barracks, later renamed Simpson Barracks on a large site adjacent to the Newport Pagnell Road which include the old Hardingstone workhouse building which dates from 1839.
Yardley Chase
Yardley Chase is a fairly large forest in Northamptonshire , which consists of two similar shaped forests, which are each about long, and wide, in places...
, where signs still remain.
1980s urban expansion
The village backs on to a several modern housing estates including Wootton Fields and the area previously occupied by an army barracks. The development and loss of village character has occurred in the 1980s and 90's as the town expanded south towards the M1 motorwayM1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
near junction 15 and is next to the large housing estates of Wootton Fields, Grange Park
Grange Park, Northamptonshire
Grange Park is a large residential housing estate on the edge of the Borough of Northampton but outside the Borough boundary. Some residents refer to its status as a "village", although in reality it is an extension to the Northampton urban area. It is south of Northampton town centre, in the...
and East Hunsbury
East Hunsbury
East Hunsbury is a large housing estate in the south of the town of Northampton, England, from the town centre and from the M1 motorway, junction 15. It is part of the Hunsbury residential area, which also constitutes West Hunsbury on the west side of Towcester Road...
.
2008 expansion proposals
Further urban expansion of Northampton was being planned in October 2008 with another 13,500 houses and additional infrastructure in the rural areas around Grange ParkGrange Park, Northamptonshire
Grange Park is a large residential housing estate on the edge of the Borough of Northampton but outside the Borough boundary. Some residents refer to its status as a "village", although in reality it is an extension to the Northampton urban area. It is south of Northampton town centre, in the...
, Quinton
Quinton, Northamptonshire
Quinton is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England. It is about south of Northampton town centre along the road from Wootton to Hanslope, near Salcey Forest.-Geography:...
and Preston Deanery
Preston Deanery
Preston Deanery is a hamlet in the civil parish of Hackleton in South Northamptonshire, England. It is south of Northampton town centre and by road to the M1 London to Yorkshire motorway junction 15...
.
2011 murder
At about 3 to 4pm on Friday, 29 April, a family of four of Chinese descent, Professor Jifeng "Jeff" Ding, his wife Helen Chui and their two daughters Xing (aged 18) and Alice (aged 12) were stabbed to death at their home in Pioneer Close, part of the re-developed Royal Pioneer Corps' Simpson Barracks. The family were found at 6pm the following Sunday. Anxiang Du, 52, of CoventryCoventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
is being sought in connection with the murders. Alice and Xing were talented musicians. .
Governance
As a former village distinct from the town, it has its own Parish Council, unlike more recent 20th and 21st century suburbs of the town. The area has a Parish Council which includes East Hunsbury a rural part of the parish before development in the 1980s.The village is in the 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...
Valley two-member ward of Northampton Borough Council and in the 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...
Valley single-member division of Northamptonshire County Council.
Demographics
The 2001 census showed there were 2,015 people living in the parish, 978 male, 1,037 female in 885 dwellings.Facilities
There is a community centre, a recreation ground with Multi-use games areaMuga
The Muga is a river in Catalonia which rises in the Alberes mountains of the eastern Pyrenees and enters the sea at the Gulf of Roses.The river is 58 km long with its source below the summit of Montnegre...
, a Working men's club
Working men's club
Working men's clubs are a type of private social club founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of the United Kingdom, particularly the North of England, the Midlands and many parts of the South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families.-...
; opticians and a medical centre.
The village has two pub/restaurants – "The Yeoman of Old England" in the centre of the old village. The second, “The Queen Eleanor” together with a Premier Inn hotel are both on Newport Pagnell road near the Queen Eleanor junction of Mereway and the A45. There is a village shop, butcher, chemist and a large Wyevale
Wyevale
The Garden Centre Group is a chain of 130 garden centres in the United Kingdom. Prior to 2009, it was known as Wyevale Garden Centres.It was voted 'Best Garden Centre 2009' in an online poll by Gardeners' World Magazine.- Name change :...
Garden Centre in Newport Pagnell Road. Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
have also indicated they would like to build a supermarket on the road but this was opposed in a report commissioned by the West Northampton Development Corporation.
The village primary school is Wootton County founded in 1873. A modern all-through Caroline Chisholm School
Caroline Chisholm School
Caroline Chisholm School is an all-through 4-18 primary and secondary school, in south Northampton, England. It is named after Caroline Chisholm, a 19th century social reformer The principal is Tony Downing.. The school was built in 15 months and cost £25 million. The school added its final year,...
for young people aged 4–19 is located on Wooldale Road.