Northampton
Northampton (
pronunciation ) is a big market town and a local government district of the East Midlands part of the United Kingdom. The district has a population of 200,100 people.
Borough of Northampton | |
|---|---|
Town & Borough | |
 Northampton Guildhall, built in 1864 | |
 Northampton | |
| Coordinates: 52.198697°N 0.873928°W | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Ceremonial county | Northamptonshire |
| Admin. HQ | Northampton |
| Government | |
| • Type | Northampton Borough Council Mayor of the Borough and Chair 2011–2012 Cllr Jamie Lane[1] |
| • Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet Cllr David Palethorpe[1] |
| • Executive: | Conservative |
| • MPs: | Brian Binley, Michael Ellis |
| Area | |
| • Total | 31.18 sq mi (80.76 km2) |
| • Rank | Ranked 262nd |
| Population (2005 est.) | |
| • Total | 195,000 |
| • Rank | Ranked 70th |
| • Density | 6,300/sq mi (2,400/km2) |
| Demonym | Northamptonian |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
| Postcode | NN1-NN6 |
| ONS code | 34UF |
| Ethnicity | 86.1% White 6.4% S.Asian 3.9% Black British 2.1% Mixed Race 2.3% Chinese or other[2] |
| Website | northampton.gov.uk |
Northampton has a major entertainment centre called the Derngate.
Notable residents
- Modern
- Steve Flint, aged 19, represented Northamptonshire at the 1980 Inter-Counties Championships One Mile, winning in a time of 3 minutes 58 seconds, making him one of only four teenage sub-four minute milers in the UK.
- Composer William Alwyn (1905-1985) was born in the town.
- Composer Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) was born in Northampton.
- Judy Carne, born Joyce Botterill on April 27, 1939 in the town, is an actress who may be best remembered for her introducing the phrase "Sock it to me!" while a regular on Laugh-In.
- Comedian Alan Carr attended what is now Weston Favell School. His father Graham Carr managed the Town's football club at the time.
- Scientist Francis Crick, born in the town in 1916, along with James D. Watson discovered the structure of DNA, and went on to win a Nobel Prize. In December 2005, a public sculpture called Discovery by Lucy Glendinning was erected in Abington Street as a memorial to Crick .
- Journalist and broadcaster Andrew Collins is from Northampton and wrote about growing up in the town in his memoir Where Did It All Go Right?.
- Actress Joan Hickson, famous for playing Miss Marple, comes from Kingsthorpe.
- Birds of a Feather actress Lesley Joseph grew up in the town.
- Actor Robert Llewellyn (Kryten from Red Dwarf) was also born in the town, and lived at 47 Booth Rise until the age of 13 (source: Anglian TV's Celebrity Going Home: Robert Llewellyn (2004))
- Writer Alan Moore, creator of V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, is a lifelong resident of Northampton. His novel Voice of the Fire is a fictionalized history of the town.
- BBC radio presenter Anna Murby comes from the county.
- Nanette Newman, actress and author, was born in Northampton.
- Des O'Connor lived in Northampton, worked at Church's for some years and played for the Cobblers (Northampton Town Football Club).
- Myrea Pettit, renowned fantasy artist of fairies, flowers and butterflies learned her craft in Northamptonshire.
- Jo Whiley, the BBC Radio 1 DJ was born in the town in 1965.
- The late Delia Derbyshire, who was behind the original version of the Doctor Who theme tune, spent her final years in the town.
- Blue Peter's Peter Purves lived in the nearby village of Cogenhoe.
- Composer Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986) was born in the town.
- Professional wrestler Norman Smiley was born in the town.
- Nearby is Althorp, the country estate of Earl Spencer where Diana, Princess of Wales is buried. Charles Spencer, the current and 9th Earl Spencer (b. 1964) is her brother.
- Television presenter Michael Underwood lives in the town.
- Marc Warren, who plays Danny Blue in the BBC's Hustle series, was born in Kingsthorpe.
- Stuart Pearson Wright, award winning artist was born in Northampton in 1975.
- Lorna Fitzgerald, who plays Abi Branning in Eastenders lives in Hunsbury
- Issim Ullah, acclaimed late Bangladeshi businessman, landlord and soldier lived in Spencer.
- Historical
- Elizabeth Bowen, 20th century Anglo-Irish writer, lived here after her marriage.
- Charles Bradlaugh, the famous radical MP, was a member for the town.
- Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)- a puritan poet later based in Massachusetts.
- Alban Butler (1710-1773) - the author of Lives of the Saints
- John Clare, the poet, was sectioned in the local madhouse, where he remained until his death in 1864.
- Errol Flynn acted in the Northampton Repertory Theatre between 1933 and 1935.
- Jerome K. Jerome, author of Three Men in a Boat and other works, died in Northampton in 1927.
- Spencer Perceval was a local MP and Prime Minister. He was shot in the House of Commons by assassin John Bellingham in 1812.
- Victorian cricketer and pioneer missionary Charles ("C.T.") Studd who played in the first Ashes test, was born at Spratton.
- Musical
- Bauhaus (band)
- The Departure
- Mark Griffiths, bass player with Shadows, Cliff Richard, David Essex, Matthews Southern Comfort
- Faye Tozer, singer from pop group Steps
- Other
- Northampton was used as the town location for Keeping Up Appearances between 1990-1995.
References
- NBC Councillors 2007–2011 Accessed 16 August 2011
- "Office for National Statistics (Northampton Area)". Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
Other websites
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