Desborough

Desborough is a town in Northamptonshire, England, lying in the Ise Valley between Market Harborough and Kettering. It was an industrial centre for weaving and shoe-making in the 19th century and had a long association with the Co-operative movement.[1] Desborough today is a residential centre: new homes and industry are being developed to the north of the old town.

For the hundred in Buckinghamshire, see Desborough Hundred. For Lord Desborough, see William Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough.

Desborough
Desborough
Location within Northamptonshire
Population10,697 (2011)
OS grid referenceSP805835
Civil parish
  • Desborough
District
  • Kettering
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townKETTERING
Postcode districtNN14
Dialling code01536
PoliceNorthamptonshire
FireNorthamptonshire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament

History

Desborough's origins lie in the Bronze Age of about 2000 BC. Urns from that period have been found in and around the town.[2]

Many archaeological finds from the Iron Age and the Anglo-Saxon period have been made in the town. Some, such as the 1st-century Desborough Mirror[3][4] and the Anglo-Saxon Desborough Necklace,[5] are now in the possession of the British Museum.[6]

Domesday Book (1086) refers to Desborough as a "place of judgement". The name itself is thought to have derived from 'Disburg', which meant a sacred and fortified place. In the High Street centrepiece of what is now the Market Square stands a pillar that is called locally the Town Cross, despite being a square column with a stone ball on top. It is thought to have served as a gateway pillar from Harrington Hall.

From the 17th century, Desborough developed around the spinning and weaving industries. The town's factories used local wool and flax to produce fine cloth and linen until the mid-19th century. Silk weaving then developed in a Paddock Lane factory, and shoe-making also gained importance.

The Cross, Desborough

Transport

Desborough lies five miles (8 km) south-east of Market Harborough, north-west of Kettering, and south-west of Corby. The A6 Rothwell–Desborough bypass opened on 14 August 2003.

Between 1857 and 1968, Desborough had a railway station, opened and operated by the Midland Railway (later the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and, after nationalisation, British Rail). This was part of an extension of its network from Leicester to Bedford and Hitchin, but it was closed as one of the Beeching cuts.

Churches

Desborough has an Anglican parish church, St Giles's, along with a Baptist church,[7] a United Reformed Church,[8] and the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity.[9]

St Giles's Church is the oldest surviving building in the town, dating from about 1225. It is believed to stand on the site of an earlier Saxon church. It contains relics from the town's history that include part of an Anglo-Saxon cross carved from stone, a Tudor rood screen, and reminders of the English Civil War. Close by the church is the 18th-century Church House, with stucco, Doric pillars. This became Desborough House in the 19th century and is now the Services Club.

Partnership

On 7 September 1969, an Anglican/ Methodist partnership was inaugurated in the presence of the Bishop of Peterborough and the Chairman of the Oxford District.[10] Since then a Methodist minister has been working in partnership with the Anglican vicar. St Giles is part of the Anglican united benefice of Desborough and Brampton Ash with Braybrooke and Dingley.[11] It has regular church festivals, including one of the United Kingdom's largest and longest-running Christmas tree festivals (over 100 trees, held since 1998). The trees are contributed by local organisations, companies, individuals and families.

The Kettering Leg of the annual Student Cross pilgrimage to Walsingham starts near Desborough.

The Old Manor House

The Old Manor House in Gold Street retains many features of its late 17th-century origins. Ferdinand Poulton, a Roman Catholic lawyer, was Lord of the Manor, and reputedly one of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot conspirators.

Government and community

Governance of Desborough lies (in descending order) with Northamptonshire County Council, Kettering Borough Council and the local DesboroughTown Council.[12]

Desborough belongs to the Charter of European Rural Communities, which links it with 27 other EU member towns and villages.[13] The town is twinned with Neuville de Poitou in the Vienne department of France and Bièvre in the Walloon region of Belgium.[14]

The Desborough Community Development Trust campaigns for improvements to the town.[15]

The co-operative movement

With the intention of preventing exploitation of workers 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 once had a department store, a bank, a supermarket, a travel agents, a ladies' shoe and clothing shop and a number of corner stores.

After a number of mergers, the town is now served by the Central England Co-op. Over the years, a number of its functions have ceased, including the bank branch and the ladies' shoe and clothing shop. However, a co-operative undertakers has opened in one of the former corner shops.

The former Co-op Corset Factory is now owned by Wacoal Eveden Ltd[16] 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 covered by a housing development, Desbeau Park – Desbeau being the name of a range of lingerie made at the Corset Factory.

Sport and leisure

Desborough has a Non-League football team, Desborough Town F.C., which plays at Waterworks Field.

The town's up-to-date leisure complex, built in the later months of 2012, includes a gym, a café, a football court, a basketball court and an outside skate park.

Targetcraft Archers club meets at nearby West Lodge Rural Centre. Desborough Green Space Junior park run takes place there every Sunday morning at the Leisure Centre. Local residents organize a free 2-km run aimed at increasing physical activity and volunteering within the community.

Education

The town has a primary school-cum-infant/junior school, consisting of Loatlands Primary[17] and the combined Havelock Infant and Junior schools.[18] Secondary education for pupils aged 11 and over takes place outside the town.[19]

Notable residents

In birth order:

gollark: Too bad.
gollark: https://old.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/9h2jbi/you_should_probably_lift_weights/ however.
gollark: So I'm gluing together the API for handling phone calls, a random TTS program I found, and zzcxz.
gollark: I have the apioform hotline, which is very underutilized, and zzcxz would work *excellently* over the phone.
gollark: zzcxz by telephone.

References
  1. "Desborough Co-operative Society Jubilee Souvenir". A Family Story. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  2. "British History Online – Desborough". Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  3. "British Museum - The Desborough Mirror". Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  4. "About Desborough Heritage Centre – The Official Website for the Town of Desborough in Northants". Desboroughheritagecentre.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  5. "British Museum – The Desborough Necklace". Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  6. Desborough Heritage Centre Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  7. "Desborough Baptist Church". Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  8. "Desborough United Reformed Church". Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  9. "Welcome to Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, Desborough". Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  10. "Church partnership marks 40 years". BBC News. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  11. "Four Northamptonshire Churches". Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  12. "Town Council". Desborough Town Council. 31 March 2012. Archived from the original on 25 February 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  13. "Charter Members". Charter of European Rural Communities. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  14. "Our twin towns and cities". Kettering Borough Council. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  15. Site under development. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  16. Eveden
  17. "Loatlands Primary School". Loatlands Primary School. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  18. "Havelock Schools Website". Havelock Schools. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  19. Secondary schools near Desborough Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  20. Stow, John (1615). The Annales, or Generall Chronicle of England. London. pp. 889–890. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
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