Welford, Northamptonshire

Last updated

Welford
Welford marina.JPG
Welford Marina
Northamptonshire UK location map (2021).svg
Red pog.svg
Welford
Location within Northamptonshire
Population1,043 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference SP6480
Civil parish
  • Welford
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town NORTHAMPTON
Postcode district NN6
Dialling code 01858
Police Northamptonshire
Fire Northamptonshire
Ambulance East Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Northamptonshire
52°25′01″N1°03′29″W / 52.417°N 1.058°W / 52.417; -1.058

Welford is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England, just south of the River Avon and the border with Leicestershire. At the 2011 Census, the population of the parish was 1,043. [1]

Contents

Location

It is on the main A5199 road connecting Northampton and Leicester and, being halfway between the two, was an important stagecoach stop. The A5199 is known as the 'Welford Road' for much of its length. It is close to the junction of the two major motor routes in England - the M1 motorway and the M6 motorway - and is 1½ miles north of Junction 1 of the A14, which connects that junction with the east of England.

History

The Welford Cup in the British Museum Welford Cup.jpg
The Welford Cup in the British Museum

The village's name means 'ford with a spring/stream'. [2]

In medieval times its Premonstratensian Abbey moved to Sulby some two miles to the east and Welford lost its market charter which was sold to West Haddon. There is clear evidence that Welford shrank considerably during the medieval period and it is notable that three of its neighbouring civil parishesElkington, Stanford-on-Avon and Sulby — are almost entirely depopulated.

In 2016, a new housing estate was built called Miller's Lock. While the builders were digging up the foundations, they found the remains of an Iron Age roundhouse. [3]

A silver cup dating from the sixteenth century that was found in the village is in the British Museum. [4]

The history of the parish has been the subject of two books:

Notable buildings

The Historic England website contains a total of 38 entries for listed buildings in the parish of Welford. [7] These are all Grade II, apart from St Mary's Church, which is Grade II*. They include:

Facilities

It is served by a short arm from the Grand Union Canal and has two marinas. The Jurassic Way long distance footpath passes through the village on a southwest–northeast axis; although it officially makes its way through the fields to the east of the village, many walkers prefer to walk along the High Street to make use of the village's facilities.

The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin St. Mary's Church, Welford, 2.JPG
The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin

Welford has a village shop and post office, a beauty therapy studio, a Church of England Endowed primary school, a garage, and one public house. Another public house lies just over the Leicestershire border, but is reached by walking through the Welford Pocket Park.

The primary school is part of the Peterborough Diocese Education Trust and accepts children from the surrounding parishes, giving the name Welford, Sibbertoft and Sulby Endowed School (WSSES). There are around 85 pupils at the school. WSSES is a feeder school to the secondary provision of Guilsborough Academy, in the neighbouring village of Guilsborough, Northamptonshire.

Other amenities include a village hall, a sports field which is home to Welford Victoria F.C., a youth centre and a pocket park. There is also a spinney which is near the park and was a gravel quarry in the 19th century. To the North East of the village lie Welford Reservoir and Sulby Reservoir.

A painted wood carving of Postman Pat and his black and white cat, Jess stands at the junction of High Street and West Street. It was crowd funded by villagers and installed in 2019 after the previous statues, which stood in the same spot for 25 years, rotted away.

It is now administered as part of West Northamptonshire. Previously it was in Daventry District (1974-2021) having earlier been part of Oxendon Rural District (1894–1935) followed by Brixworth Rural District (1935–74).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naseby</span> Human settlement in England

Naseby is a village in West Northamptonshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 687.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Market Harborough</span> Town in Leicestershire, England

Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the 2021 census. It is the administrative headquarters of the Harborough district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lutterworth</span> Town in Leicestershire, England

Lutterworth is a market town and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The town is located in southern Leicestershire, close to the borders with Warwickshire and Northamptonshire. It is located 6.4 miles north of Rugby, Warwickshire and 12 miles south of Leicester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harborough District</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

Harborough is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. It is named after its main town, Market Harborough, which is where the council is based. The district also includes the town of Lutterworth and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. In the north of the district it includes parts of the Leicester Urban Area, notably at Thurnby, Bushby and Scraptoft. Covering 230 square miles (600 km2), the district is the largest by area of the eight districts in Leicestershire and covers almost a quarter of the county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Haddon</span> Human settlement in England

West Haddon is a village in West Northamptonshire, England about 11 miles (18 km) north-west of Northampton and 7 miles (11 km) east of Rugby and just off the A428 road which by-passes the village. The population of civil parish was 1,718 at the 2011 Census. The villages of West Haddon and Crick were by-passed by the A428 main road from Rugby to Northampton when the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) was built in 1996 near junction 18 of the M1 Motorway, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilbourne</span> Human settlement in England

Lilbourne is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. It is close to the M1 motorway which runs east of the village, and the A5 road, west of the village which marks the boundary with Warwickshire, slightly to the north is the River Avon which marks the boundary with Leicestershire. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 254 people, increasing to 273 at the 2011 Census, and further to 305 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollowell</span> Human settlement in England

Hollowell is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, in Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population, including the nearby hamlet of Teeton, was 353 people, increasing to 385 at the 2011 Census. The village was originally a hamlet of Guilsborough, becoming a separate parish from 1850. Hollowell is mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086 as belonging the Bishop of Lincoln having "... 4 villeins with 1 bordar having 1 plough. It was, and is worth, 10 schillings. Bardi held (it) freely."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guilsborough</span> Human settlement in England

Guilsborough is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 882 people, reducing to 692 at the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creaton</span> Human settlement in England

Creaton is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clipston, Northamptonshire</span> Human settlement in England

Clipston is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The village lies around 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of the town of Market Harborough in the neighbouring county of Leicestershire. At the 2011 Census, the population of the parish was 643, an increase from 613 at the 2001 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A5199 road</span> Road in England

The A5199 road is the direct road from Northampton to Leicester in England. It was formerly part of the A50 trunk road that ran from Bedfordshire to Lancashire. For most of its length it is known as the Welford Road, except for small stretches near Welford where it is known as High Street and Northampton Road, and a section near Wigston Magna where it is known as Bull Head Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingsthorpe</span> Suburb in Northampton, England

Kingsthorpe is a suburb and civil parish of Northampton, England. It is situated to the north of Northampton town centre and is served by the A508 and A5199 roads which join at Kingsthorpe's centre. The 2011 Census recorded the population of the district council ward as 4,477.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleckney</span> Human settlement in England

Fleckney is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated 2.5 miles (4 km) west of the A6 national route between Market Harborough and Leicester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Easton, Leicestershire</span> Human settlement in England

Great Easton is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The parish had a population of 558 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 671 at the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catthorpe</span> Village and civil parish in England

Catthorpe is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is located beside the River Avon and close to the A5 road, and hence close to the tripoint at Dow Bridge formed by Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire; the nearest towns are Rugby, in Warwickshire around 4 miles (6.4 km) to the southwest, and Lutterworth around 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north. At the 2001 Census, the parish had a population of 179, falling slightly to 173 at the 2011 census, further decreasing to 156 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A508 road</span> Road in Leicestershire and Northants

The A508 is a 50.961 kilometres (31.666 mi), A-class road for north–south journeys in central and south central England, forming the route from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, via Northampton, to Old Stratford in Northamptonshire, just outside Milton Keynes.

Oxendon was a rural district in Northamptonshire, England from 1894 to 1935.

Guilsborough Academy is a co-educational academy school in Guilsborough, Northamptonshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theddingworth</span> Human settlement in England

Theddingworth is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 217. The parish includes the neighbouring hamlet of Hothorpe, which lies across the county boundary in Northamptonshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welford Congregational Church</span> Church

Welford Congregational Church is a Congregational church built in 1793 in the village of Welford, Northamptonshire. It is a Grade II listed building and stands on the east side of West End.

References

  1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  2. "Key to English Place-names".
  3. "A home from 2,000 years ago: the Iron Age roundhouse excavated by archaeologists in a Northamptonshire village". European Museum Network. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  4. British Museum Collection
  5. Welford: Portrait of a Northamptonshire Village. Market Harborough: The Welford Village Appraisal Steering Group. 2000.
  6. Crowther, Barry, ed. (2001). Welford: The Legacy 1856 to 1980. Market Harborough: Matador.
  7. "Historic England – The List" . Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  8. "Congregational Federation" . Retrieved 30 September 2015.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Welford, Northamptonshire at Wikimedia Commons