Kettering
Kettering shown within the United Kingdom
Population	51,063 [1] (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	SP8778
District	Kettering
Shire county	Northamptonshire
Region	East Midlands
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	KETTERING
Postcode district	NN14 NN15 NN16
Dialling code	01536
Police	Northamptonshire
Fire	Northamptonshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Kettering
European Parliament	East Midlands
List of places: UK • England • Northamptonshire

Coordinates: 52°′″N 0°′″W / 52.39312, -0.72292

Kettering is a town in the northern part of Northamptonshire, England. Northamptonshire is the UK's 4th fastest growing county and Kettering is a significant contributor to this growth. Kettering's economy was built on the boot and shoe industry. With the arrival of railways in the 19th Century, other industries grew up, such as engineering and clothing. The luxury clothing manufacturers Aquascutum built their first factory here in 1909. Now it is largely based upon service and distribution industries due to its central location and excellent transport links. There is a large and growing local commuter population that takes advantage of Kettering's position on the Midland Main Line railway.

Kettering is situated on the River Ise, a tributary of the Nene. It is the second largest town in Northants.

History

Kettering can trace its origins back to an early Roman British settlement. The local Roman industry is represented by the pottery kilns at Barton Seagrave and Boughton.

The first historical reference to Kettering is found in a charter of 956 AD in which King Edwy granted ten "cassati" of land to his then Aelfsige the Goldsmith. The boundaries delineated in this charter would have been recognisable to most inhabitants of Kettering for the last thousand years and can still be walked today. It is possible that Aelfsige the Goldsmith gave Kettering to the monastery of Peterborough as King Edgar in a charter dated 972 confirmed it to that monastery. Certainly at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, Kettering manor is listed as a property held by the Abbey of Peterborough. Words and names ending with 'ing' usually derive from the early Saxon word inga or ingas meaning 'the people of the' or 'tribe'. Kettering has its roots in literary spellings used in the 10th century – Cytringan, Kyteringas and Keteiringan.

The hamlet of Pipewell was the holder of England's third biggest abbey, which was knocked down by Henry VIII in 1538. Pipewell nowadays only has 70 inhabitants, but still some of the remains remain, although they are on private grounds.

The charter for its market was granted by Henry III in 1227 . By the 17th century the town was a centre for the production of woollen cloth. The present town mostly grew up in the 19th century with the development of the boot and shoe industry, which had seriously declined by the middle of the 1990s.

Victorian Kettering was the centre of the 19th century religious non-conformity and the missionary movement, and this has been preserved in many of the names. William Carey was the first of the great and good men associated with the town. He was born in 1761 at Paulerspury and spent much of his young life in Kettering before leaving for India as a missionary in 1793. The Carey Mission House and Carey Street was named after him. Andrew Fuller helped Carey found the Baptist Missionary Society and he is remembered in the Fuller Church and Fuller Street. In 1803 William Knibb was born in Market Street and became a missionary and emancipator of slaves; he is commemorated by the Knibb Centre and Knibb Street. The Toller Chapel and Toller Place are named after two ministers, father and son, who preached in Kettering for a total of 100 years. The chapel was built in 1723 for those independents who since 1662 had been worshipping in secret.

In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Kettering like this:"Kettering, market town and parish with railway station, Northamptonshire, 8 miles N. of Wellingborough and 75 miles from London, 2840 ac., pop. 11,095; P.O., T.O.; 3 Banks, 2 newspapers. Market-day, Friday. Kettering is an ancient place, and was called by the Saxons Kateringes. It is a fairly prosperous town, with tanning and currying, mfrs. of boots and shoes, stays, brushes, agricultural implements, and some articles of clothing. It has a handsome town hall, a cattle market, a corn exchange, and a grammar school. Many Roman relics have been found in the vicinity."

2007 Flooding

On 14 June 2007, after heavy rainfall in a relatively short period of time, large scale flooding occurred in the south of the town, near to the Kettering Venture Park area. Flooding also occurred elsewhere in the town, where a house was struck by lightning [1]. The exact reason why the flooding was so bad is still being determined but it is believed to have been caused partly due to the fact that the ground was still very hard after a prolonged dry period and therefore could not absorb as much water [2]. It is predicted that the cost of the flooding and associated damage is likely to run into millions [3].

Growth

In 1801 Kettering's population was 12,734. In 1901 it was 41,770. By mid-2003 the population was 86,000. This is expected to rise significantly over the next 15 years.

North Northamptonshire, which comprises the boroughs of Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and the district of East Northants, is expected to deliver about 52,000 new homes and 43,800 new jobs over the period 2001–2021 and a further 28,000 new houses in the following decade. The 52,000 new houses to be built by 2021 will be equivalent to a city the size of Worcester.

The borough of Kettering is due to see 13,100 new houses built during that period, with further thousands of houses thereafter. This will increase the number of houses and people in the borough by more than a third by 2021, and even more thereafter. Given the housing expansion elsewhere in Northamptonshire the county, the 4th fastest growing in the UK, will see at least 145,000 new houses constructed by 2031, increasing its population by 50%.

In March 2007, a massive urban regeneration project was revealed, which will refurbish and bring new leisure and shopping facilities to the town centre, including water features, public art, sculptures, new street furniture, trees, plants and an innovative pavement lighting scheme.[4].

Economy

Recently restored Kettering railway station looking south along platform 2

Kettering has excellent transport links and lies on the Midland Main Line roughly halfway between Sheffield and London, and on the A14 East - West trunk road, approximately midway between the M1 and the A1. The town benefits from its "Heart of England" location on the busy A14 and is said to be within two hours drive of 75% of the UK's population [5].

Kettering's unemployment rate is amongst the lowest in the UK with 80% of its adults in full time employment [6]. It is home to a wide range of companies including Weetabix, Pegasus Software, RCI Europe and Morrisons Distribution park. as well as Wicksteed Park, the United Kingdom's oldest theme park, which now plays host to one and a quarter million visitors every season.

It is the home of Kettering General Hospital, which provides Acute and Accident & Emergency services for the whole of north Northamptonshire. With almost 800 staff at 5 campuses, the Tresham Institute of Further and Higher Education is a significant employer as well as a seat of learning for local students of all ages. A new £20 million campus opens in 2007.

Kettering Business Park, a recent and current commercial property development undertaken by Buccleuch Property is situated on the A43/A6003, on the north side of Kettering. Many office buildings are being built as part of the project as well as a leisure sector with a new hotel. Several large distribution warehouses have been constructed in the area, creating thousands of jobs for the local economy.

Culture

Kettering's Heritage Quarter houses the Manor House Museum and the Alfred East Gallery. The magnificent Boughton House, Queen Eleanor Cross and the 1597 Triangular Lodge are local landmarks within the Borough. Sir Thomas Tresham was a devout catholic who was imprisoned for his beliefs. When he was released he built Triangular Lodge to defy his prosecutors and secretly declare his faith. The construction's 'three of everything' - sides, floors, windows and gables - represent the Holy Trinity.

Kettering is home to Kettering Town F.C.. The club currently play in the Conference North, which is in the second tier of the English non-league football structure.

Politics

In Parliament, Kettering falls wholly within the parliamentary constituency of the same name, which is currently represented by Conservative MP Philip Hollobone, who gained the marginal constituency from former Labour MP Phil Sawford in the 2005 general election.

In the European Parliament, Kettering falls within the East Midlands European Parliament constituency and is represented by 6 MEPs (elected June 2004): - Derek Clark (UKIP / ID) - Chris Heaton-Harris (Conservative / EPP-ED) - Roger Helmer (Conservative / EPP-ED)) - Bill Newton Dunn (Liberal Democrat / ALDE - Robert Kilroy-Silk (Independent (formerly UKIP and Veritas) / Independent (formerly ID) - Glenis Willmott (Labour / PES) - replacing former Labour MEP

In local government, Kettering falls within the areas of Northamptonshire County Council and Kettering Borough Council, which incorporates the towns of Burton Latimer, Desborough and Rothwell.

A key local issue relates to plans to construct at least 145,000 new homes within Northamptonshire, increasing the population by 50%, including significant development for the Borough of Kettering. A protest group entitled STOP ("Stop the Over-development Plans for Northamptonshire") has been established, which is officially non-partisan but incorporates several senior figures within the local Conservatives, which campaigns against what it fears will be the creation of a "linear city" blurring the boundaries between Kettering and the neighbouring towns of Corby and, to a lesser degree, Wellingborough. There is currently (June 2007) less than 2 miles of open land between Kettering and Corby.

Notable residents

• William Carey
• William Knibb
• John Profumo
• Frank Bellamy
• Charles Wicksteed
• Richard Coles
• Thomas Cooper Gotch
• Sir Alfred East
• Neil Campbell

Town twinning

• Kettering, Ohio
• Lahnstein, Germany

References

See also

• Kettering Ironstone Railway

External links

• BBC Northamptonshire
• Kettering Evening Telegraph
• Kettering Borough Council
• Kettering Business Park
• Kettering Town F.C.

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