80-674: United Counties Omnibus was an English bus company, operating in Northamptonshire , Bedfordshire , and parts of surrounding counties. On 24 September 1921, the United Counties Omnibus & Road Transport Co Limited acquired the assets of the Wellingborough Motor Omnibus Co Limited, which began in May 1913. The majority shareholder was Tillings . At this time, the previous livery of blue and white with red wheels
160-474: A central covered bus station at Derngate, Northampton, thus putting it into a good shape to withstand the rigours of wartime operation. The company entered the long-distance coach service market in 1933, when it bought Allchin & Sons of Northampton, which ran coach services to London , Bournemouth , Torquay and several Midlands cities. In 1934, it acquired a route between Oxford and London from its fellow Tillings subsidiary, Eastern Counties . In 1934, it
240-523: A comprehensive system of state-funded secondary schools. From May 2021 compulsory education in the county is administered by North Northamptonshire Council and West Northamptonshire Council. The county is home to private schools Oundle , Quinton House School , Wellingborough School , Spratton Hall School , Northampton High School . The county's music and performing arts trust provides peripatetic music teaching to schools. It also supports 15 local Saturday morning music and performing arts centres around
320-490: A continental people in the form of the Hallstatt culture , and over the next century a series of hill-forts were constructed at Arbury Camp, Rainsborough camp, Borough Hill , Castle Dykes, Guilsborough , Irthlingborough , and most notably of all, Hunsbury Hill . There are two more possible hill-forts at Arbury Hill ( Badby ) and Thenford . In the 1st century BC, most of what later became Northamptonshire became part of
400-528: A number of bus routes, using the Millerbus name, and this operation became a new Millerbus Ltd. subsidiary, under the direct control of the Cambus management; the operation lasted for about three years before being absorbed into its parent. Meanwhile, Millers Coaches itself was placed under the control of Premier Travel, although the name was retained (and both companies adopted liveries using different colours applied in
480-514: A number of small industrial centres which specialise in engineering and food processing. Much of Northamptonshire's countryside appears to have remained somewhat intractable as regards early human occupation, resulting in an apparently sparse population and relatively few finds from the Palaeolithic , Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. In about 500 BC the Iron Age was introduced into the area by
560-622: A period when the company was under severe pressure in coping with the maintenance of the Luton combined fleet and for a time had to forgo its duty to deal with the recovery of fellow National Bus Company subsidiaries’ coaches broken down on its allocated and very busy section of the M1 motorway . Towards the end of the 1970s, better relationships were negotiated with county councils and the Milton Keynes Development Corporation . The company
640-522: A separate operation, but have since started to brand buses as Arriva vehicles. Blazefield sold the Huntingdon & District operation to Cavalier Travel in November 2003, who sold that operation to Stagecoach Cambridge on 31 March 2008. Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( / n ɔːr ˈ θ æ m p t ə n ʃ ər , - ʃ ɪər / nor- THAMP -tən-shər, -sheer ; abbreviated Northants. )
720-409: A year, as well as a minor injury unit to serve Eastern Northamptonshire. This was opened to relieve pressure off Kettering General Hospital, and has also replaced the dated Rushden Memorial Clinic which provided at the time about 8,000 appointments a year, when open. In June 2008, Anglian Water found traces of Cryptosporidium in water supplies of Northamptonshire. The local reservoir at Pitsford
800-557: Is Arbury Hill southwest of Daventry , at 225 m (738 ft). There are Iron Age and Roman remains in the county, and in the seventh century it was settled by the Angles and Saxons , becoming part of Mercia . The county likely has its origin in the Danelaw as the area controlled from Northampton, which was one of the Five Boroughs . In the later Middle Ages and Early Modern Period
880-488: Is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire , Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire , Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire to the south and Warwickshire to the west. Northampton is the largest settlement and the county town . The county has an area of 2,364 km (913 sq mi) and a population of 747,622. The latter
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#1732837196145960-687: Is a landlocked county in the southern part of the East Midlands , sometimes known as the South Midlands . The county contains the watershed between the River Severn and The Wash , and several important rivers have their sources in the north-west of the county, including the River Nene , which flows north-eastwards to The Wash, and the Warwickshire Avon , which flows south-west to the Severn. In 1830, it
1040-805: Is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and is headquartered and registered in Cambridge . Under the control of the National Bus Company , Cambus Ltd. was set up when the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company was split in preparation for privatisation. The company was incorporated on 8 June 1984; it took over Eastern Counties' bus and National Express coach operations from garages in Cambridgeshire and parts of Suffolk (Newmarket and Haverhill) on 9 September 1984. On 5 December 1986, Cambus
1120-402: Is concentrated in the centre of the county, which contains the county's largest towns: Northampton (249,093), Corby (75,571), Kettering (63,150), and Wellingborough (56,564). The northeast and southwest are rural. The county contains two local government districts , North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire , which are both unitary authority areas . The historic county included
1200-427: Is due to have tens of thousands additional homes built between 2010 and 2020. In North Northamptonshire (Boroughs of Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and East Northants), over 52,000 homes are planned or newly built and 47,000 new jobs are also planned. In West Northamptonshire (boroughs of Northampton, Daventry and South Northants), over 48,000 homes are planned or newly built and 37,000 new jobs are planned. To oversee
1280-627: Is just over the border in Bedfordshire but has a Northamptonshire postcode. A study commissioned by Northamptonshire Enterprise Ltd (NEL) reported that Northamptonshire's motorsport sites attract more than 2.1 million visitors per year who spend a total of more than £131 million within the county. Northamptonshire forms part of the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Growth area which also includes Milton Keynes , Aylesbury Vale and Bedfordshire . This area has been identified as an area which
1360-522: Is the most populous civil parish in England, and (prior to 2021) was the most populous urban district in England not to be administered as a unitary authority (even though several smaller districts are unitary). During the 1990s local government reform , Northampton Borough Council petitioned strongly for unitary status, which led to fractured relations with the County Council. The Soke of Peterborough
1440-416: Is within the historic county of Northamptonshire, although it had had a separate county council since 1889 and separate courts of quarter sessions before then. The city of Peterborough has been a unitary authority since 1998, but it forms part of Cambridgeshire for ceremonial purposes . In early 2018, Northamptonshire County Council was declared technically insolvent and would be able to provide only
1520-595: The A361 between Kilsby and Banbury (Oxon) and all B, C and unclassified roads. Since 2009, these highways have been managed on behalf of the county council by MGWSP, a joint venture between May Gurney and WSP. Stagecoach in Cambridge Stagecoach East is a bus operator providing local and regional services across the East of England , operating in the counties of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire . The company
1600-495: The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and technology provider Via, Stagecoach East began trial operation of the 'TING' demand-responsive transport system in west Huntingdonshire . The service, operated by Fenstanton Depot, made use of buses that were not restricted to a timetable and bookable through a smartphone app at a flat fare of £2. The trial period was extended to June 2022 shortly after its launch, and by
1680-716: The Danelaw – with Watling Street serving as the boundary – until being recaptured by the English under the Wessex king Edward the Elder , son of Alfred the Great , in 917. Northamptonshire was conquered again in 940, this time by the Vikings of York , who devastated the area, only for the county to be retaken by the English in 942. Consequently, it is one of the few counties in England to have both Saxon and Danish town-names and settlements. The county
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#17328371961451760-646: The Labour Party and two from the Conservative Party . Several of the constituencies have been marginal in the past, including the Northampton seats, Wellingborough, Kettering, and Corby, which were all Labour seats before 2005. In the 2016 EU referendum, all of the Northamptonshire districts voted to Leave, most by a significant margin. From 1993 until 2005, Northamptonshire County Council, for which each of
1840-733: The Nene Valley near Raunds . A large fort was built at Longthorpe . After the Romans left, the area eventually became part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia , and Northampton functioned as an administrative centre. The Mercians converted to Christianity in 654 AD with the death of the pagan king Penda . From about 889 the area was conquered by the Danes (as at one point almost all of England was, except for Athelney marsh in Somerset ) and became part of
1920-627: The Soke of Peterborough . The county is characterised by low, undulating hills, particularly to the west. They are the source of several rivers, including the Avon and Welland , which form much of the northern border; the Cherwell ; and the Great Ouse . The River Nene is the principal river within the county, having its source in the southwest and flowing northeast past Northampton and Wellingborough. The highest point
2000-563: The South Midlands has been described as " Motorsport Valley ... a global hub" for the motor sport industry. The Mercedes-AMG and Aston Martin Formula One teams have their bases at Brackley and Silverstone respectively, while Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines and, formerly, Cosworth , are also in the county at Brixworth and Northampton respectively. International motor racing takes place at Silverstone Circuit and, formerly, Rockingham Motor Speedway ; Santa Pod Raceway
2080-713: The Wars of the Roses , the Battle of Northampton took place and King Henry VI was captured. The now-ruined Fotheringhay Castle was used to imprison Mary, Queen of Scots , before her execution. During the English Civil War , Northamptonshire strongly supported the Parliamentarian cause, and the Royalist forces suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Naseby in 1645 in the north of
2160-561: The "United Counties" registered address was changed to match the Warwickshire operations and thus "Midland Red (South) Ltd and United Counties Omnibus Company are registered as being based in Northampton. Luton & District was bought in 1994 by British Bus , which, in turn, was purchased by the Cowie Group on 1 August 1996 and rebranded as Arriva the Shires in 1998. Milton Keynes Citybus
2240-409: The 19th century. In the north of the county a large ironstone quarrying industry developed from 1850. In 1823 Northamptonshire was said to "[enjoy] a very pure and wholesome air" because of its dryness and distance from the sea. Its livestock were celebrated: "Horned cattle, and other animals, are fed to extraordinary sizes: and many horses of the large black breed are reared." Nine years later,
2320-545: The 73 electoral divisions in the county elected a single councillor, had been held by the Labour Party; it had been under no overall control since 1981. The councils of the rural districts – Daventry, East Northamptonshire, and South Northamptonshire – were strongly Conservative, whereas the political composition of the urban districts was more mixed. At the 2003 local elections, Labour lost control of Kettering, Northampton, and Wellingborough, retaining only Corby. Elections for
2400-696: The Busway opened in 2011, following two years of delays, Stagecoach East operated a fleet of Alexander Dennis Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD double deckers and Wright Eclipse Urban bodied Volvo B7RLE single decker buses, purchased for £3 million and equipped with specialist equipment for use on the Busway. As of September 2023, Stagecoach East operate three routes on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, these being routes A, B and C serving Cambridge, Huntingdon , St Ives and Trumpington , among other destinations. Double-deckers are operated only on
2480-623: The County of Huntingdon and Peterborough, was not reinstated as a Shire county in its own right in 1974. Instead, Huntingdonshire was transferred to and became a district of Cambridgeshire. Since 1965, Northamptonshire has been one of the small number of English counties that does not contain a city. In 1879, a local government district was created covering the three parishes of Market Harborough and Great Bowden and Little Bowden . When elected county councils were established in 1889, local government districts were placed entirely in one county, and thus
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2560-612: The M1 to the M40 motorway , passing through the south of the county to the junction west of Brackley, and the A45 links Northampton with Wellingborough and Peterborough. The county road network (excluding trunk roads and motorways), managed by West Northamptonshire Council and North Northamptonshire Council, includes the A45 west of the M1 motorway , the A43 between Northampton and the county boundary near Stamford,
2640-611: The Milton Keynes operations while Premier Buses took over the Huntingdon operation, both independent from Stagecoach. On 30 January 1998, the Huntingdon operation was sold to Sovereign Bus & Coach, owned by Blazefield Holdings who decided to rebrand it to Huntingdon & District. In November 2003 the operations were sold again from Blazefield to Cavalier Contracts of Long Sutton, Lincolnshire. The operations were acquired by Stagecoach on Monday 31 March 2008 when Cavalier Travel sold their interests in bus services of over 9 seats. At
2720-543: The Soke had its own county council , making it an autonomous district of Northamptonshire. In 1965, the ancient Soke of Peterborough was abolished by the Local Government Boundary Commission ; the city of Peterborough and the surrounding villages that were previously part of the Soke, were transferred to the newly created county of Huntingdon and Peterborough . The new county of Huntingdon and Peterborough
2800-561: The X5 service ran through to Cambridge using Plaxton Elite bodied Volvo B11R coaches; in late August 2020, supported by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority , the Cambridge leg of the service was split into a separate 905 route serving Bedford and Cambridge. The Enviro400 MMC double-deckers were subsequently introduced onto the X5 in October 2021. In October 2021, in cooperation with
2880-535: The acquisition of Norfolk Green , based in King's Lynn with a fleet of 70 buses, following the retirement of its owner due to ill health. The Norfolk Green brand was retained by Stagecoach for up to two years before Stagecoach began rebranding buses into standard fleet livery from 2015 onwards. In April 2018, however, Stagecoach East closed its King's Lynn depot and withdrew from operations in Norfolk and south Lincolnshire after
2960-606: The average weather for Northamptonshire from the Moulton weather station. Between 1974 and 2021, Northamptonshire, like most English counties, was divided into a number of local authorities. The seven borough/district councils covered 15 towns and hundreds of villages. The county had a two-tier structure of local government and an elected county council based in Northampton , and was also divided into seven districts each with their own district or borough councils: Northampton itself
3040-489: The bare essential services. According to The Guardian the problems were caused by "a reckless half-decade in which it refused to raise council tax to pay for the soaring costs of social care" and "partly due to past failings, the council is now having to make some drastic decisions to reduce services to a core offer." Some observers, such as Simon Edwards of the County Councils Network , added another perspective on
3120-497: The cause of the financial crisis, the United Kingdom government austerity programme : "It is clear that, partly due to past failings, the council is now having to make some drastic decisions to reduce services to a core offer. However, we can't ignore that some of the underlying causes of the challenges facing Northamptonshire, such as dramatic reductions to council budgets and severe demand for services, mean county authorities across
3200-552: The country face funding pressures of £3.2bn over the next two years." In early 2018, following the events above, Government-appointed commissioners took over control of the council's affairs. Consequently, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government commissioned an independent report which, in March 2018, proposed structural changes to local government in Northamptonshire. These changes, implemented on 1 April 2021, saw
3280-576: The county and provides a range of county-level music groups. There are seven colleges across the county, with the Tresham College of Further and Higher Education having four campuses in three towns: Corby , Kettering and Wellingborough . Tresham, which was taken over by Bedford College in 2017 due to failed Ofsted inspections, provides further education and offers vocational courses and re-sit GCSEs . It also offers Higher Education options in conjunction with several universities. Other colleges in
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3360-956: The county are: Fletton House , Knuston Hall , Moulton College , Northampton College , Northampton New College and The East Northamptonshire College . Northamptonshire has one university, the University of Northampton . It has two campuses 2.5 miles (4.0 km) apart and 10,000 students. It offers courses for needs and interests from foundation and undergraduate level to postgraduate, professional and doctoral qualifications. Subjects include traditional arts, humanities and sciences subjects, as well as entrepreneurship, product design and advertising. The main acute National Health Service hospitals in Northamptonshire Northampton General Hospital , which also operates Danetre Hospital in Daventry, and Kettering General Hospital . In
3440-437: The county was described as "a county enjoying the reputation of being one of the healthiest and pleasantest parts of England" although the towns were "of small importance" with the exceptions of Peterborough and Northampton. In summer, the county hosted "a great number of wealthy families... country seats and villas are to be seen at every step." Northamptonshire is still referred to as the county of "spires and squires" because of
3520-603: The county was relatively settled, although Northampton was the location of engagements during the First and Second Barons' Wars and the Wars of the Roses , and during the First English Civil War Naseby was the site of a decisive battle which destroyed the main Royalist army. During the Industrial Revolution Northamptonshire became known for its footwear, and the contemporary county has
3600-510: The county, Northampton being the largest and most populous. At the time of the 2011 census a population of 691,952 lived in the county, with 212,069 living in Northampton. The table below shows all towns with over 10,000 inhabitants. As of 2010 there were 16 settlements in Northamptonshire with a town charter: Like the rest of the British Isles , Northamptonshire has an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification ). The table below shows
3680-526: The county. King Charles I was imprisoned at Holdenby House in 1647. George Washington , the first President of the United States of America, was born into the Washington family who had migrated to America from Northamptonshire in 1656. George Washington 's ancestor, Lawrence Washington, was Mayor of Northampton on several occasions and it was he who bought Sulgrave Manor from Henry VIII in 1539. It
3760-597: The date of sale operations were branded under the names Cavalier Travel and Huntingdon & District. In August 2010, the Stagecoach in Northants operation was transferred from Stagecoach East to Stagecoach Midlands , with Stagecoach East retaining four depots at Bedford, Cambridge, Fenstanton and Peterborough following this reorganisation. Stagecoach East expanded into Norfolk and southern Lincolnshire in December 2013 with
3840-532: The entire County Council were held every four years – the last were held on 4 May 2017 . The County Council used a leader and cabinet executive system and abolished its area committees in April 2006. Historically, Northamptonshire's main industry was manufacturing of boots and shoes. Many of the manufacturers closed down in the Thatcher era which in turn left many county people unemployed. Although R Griggs and Co Ltd,
3920-521: The existing county council and district councils abolished and two new unitary authorities created in their place. One unitary authority, West Northamptonshire , consists of the former districts of Daventry , Northampton and South Northamptonshire ; the other, North Northamptonshire , consists of the former East Northamptonshire district and the former boroughs of Corby , Kettering and Wellingborough . Northamptonshire returns seven Members of Parliament (MPs). As of 2024 , five are currently from
4000-451: The former Cambus operations in Cambridgeshire, Stagecoach in Peterborough for the former Viscount operations and Stagecoach in the Fens for the former Huntingdon & District operations. Stagecoach East are one of the two bus companies operating services on the 16 mi (26 km) Cambridgeshire Guided Busway , the longest guided busway in the world, with the other operator being Transit Systems subsidiary Whippet Coaches . When
4080-504: The government is encouraging development in the South Midlands area, including Northamptonshire. The city and Soke of Peterborough were part of the historic county of Northamptonshire; from the time that formal county boundaries were established by the Normans in the 11th century, to 1965. The Church of England Diocese of Peterborough that covers Northamptonshire is still centred at Peterborough Cathedral . The city of Peterborough had its own courts of quarter sessions and, later,
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#17328371961454160-441: The legal company name remaining as United Counties Omnibus Company Limited. In 2010, the company was split, with the Bedford depot merging with Stagecoach in Cambridgeshire to form a new Stagecoach East and the Northamptonshire depots merging with Stagecoach in Warwickshire to form Stagecoach Midlands and mostly Stagecoach East Midlands. However, the trading names and the legal titles remained as before, until October 2014, when
4240-535: The manufacturer of Dr. Martens , still has its UK base in Wollaston near Wellingborough , the shoe industry has deeply declined as manufacturing has moved away from England. There were over 2,000 shoemakers in the region in the mid 19th century, today the number is over 30 left. Large employers include the breakfast cereal manufacturers Weetabix , in Burton Latimer , the Carlsberg brewery in Northampton , Avon Products , Nationwide Building Society, Siemens , Barclaycard , Saxby Bros Ltd and Golden Wonder . In
4320-439: The northern portion of the Busway due to the presence of low railway bridges along the section south of Cambridge railway station . These double-deckers are both in the form of Alexander Dennis Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UDs as well as Alexander Dennis Enviro400 XLB bodied Volvo B8L tri-axle buses, while single-deckers used on the service consist of Wright Eclipse 2 and MCV Evora bodied Volvo B8RLEs . Stagecoach East are
4400-442: The numbers of stately homes and ancient churches. Prior to 1901 the ancient hundreds were disused. Northamptonshire was administered as four major divisions: Northern, Eastern, Mid, and Southern. During the 1930s, the town of Corby was established as a major centre of the steel industry. Much of Northamptonshire nevertheless remains rural. Corby was designated a new town in 1950 and Northampton followed in 1968. As of 2005
4480-419: The operation was deemed not economically viable; Stagecoach East would return to operations exclusively in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire with the transfer of its Long Sutton outstation to Stagecoach East Midlands in October 2019. As of 2021, Stagecoach East uses the brand names Stagecoach in Bedford for the former United Counties Omnibus Company operations in Bedfordshire, Stagecoach in Cambridge for
4560-466: The operator of the Cambridge Park and Ride network, operating five services on contract from Cambridgeshire County Council from five colour-coded sites at Babraham Road, Madingley Road , Milton , Newmarket Road and Trumpington. The network, first introduced in 1996 with the opening of Madingley Road park and ride site, operates seven days a week using a fleet of 30 MCV bodied Volvo BZL double-decker battery electric buses , which were introduced to
4640-427: The parish of Little Bowden, a neighbourhood of Market Harborough, was transferred from Northamptonshire to Leicestershire . Until 1832 and 1835, Stamford Baron St Martin which forms the southern part of the town of Stamford in Lincolnshire was part of Northamptonshire as St Martin Without . It was later incorporated into the then Municipal Borough of Stamford under the then Parts of Kesteven . Northamptonshire
4720-449: The planned developments, two urban regeneration companies have been created: North Northants Development Company (NNDC) and the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation. The NNDC launched a controversial campaign called North Londonshire to attract people from London to the county. There is also a county-wide tourism campaign with the slogan Northamptonshire, Let yourself grow . Northamptonshire County Council previously operated
4800-511: The same style). By the autumn of 1995, however, the operations of Premier Travel and Millers Coaches had been absorbed into the main Cambus company, although the Premier Travel name survived in use with Cambus a few years longer. On 25 November 1992, Cambus Holdings expanded in Buckinghamshire , with the purchase of Generalouter Ltd., the holding company of Milton Keynes City Bus and Buckinghamshire Road Car - offshoots of former National Bus Company subsidiary United Counties . Cambus Holdings
4880-431: The service in May 2023. Prior to 2017, Stagecoach East's operation of the Cambridge Park and Ride network consisted of three colour-branded services operating across Cambridge via the city centre, making use of dual-door Alexander Dennis Enviro400 double-decker buses delivered new in 2007. Alongside the launch of new colour-branded Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC buses for the network, the Cambridge Park and Ride network
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#17328371961454960-593: The size of the company. At the same time the Oxford to London service was transferred to South Midland . On 1 January 1963, United Counties was included in the transfer of the British Transport Commission's transport assets to the state-owned Transport Holding Company , which in turn passed to the state-owned National Bus Company on 1 January 1969. On 14 September 1969, United Counties took over Birch Brothers giving it another express service into London besides its Nottingham – Leicester - London route. On 1 January 1970, it took over Luton Corporation buses. There followed
5040-446: The south-west of the county, the towns of Brackley, Towcester and surrounding villages are serviced by the Horton General Hospital in Banbury in neighbouring Oxfordshire for acute medical needs. A similar arrangement is in place for the town of Oundle and nearby villages, served by Peterborough City Hospital . In February 2011 a new satellite out-patient centre opened at Nene Park, Irthlingborough to provide over 40,000 appointments
5120-451: The summer. In December 1933, services around Aylesbury were acquired from the Aylesbury Omnibus Company. The company continued to expand, by buying out smaller bus and coach operators. The garage at Stony Stratford operated by a fellow Tillings company, Eastern National was transferred to United Counties. The company built new garages in several towns, a new headquarters, with major engineering workshops, in Bedford Road, Northampton , and
5200-424: The territory of the Catuvellauni , a Belgic tribe , the Northamptonshire area forming their most northerly possession. The Catuvellauni were in turn conquered by the Romans in 43 AD. The Roman road of Watling Street passed through the county, and an important Roman settlement, Lactodurum , stood on the site of modern-day Towcester . There were other Roman settlements at Northampton , Kettering and along
5280-479: The water crisis. The gap in the hills at Watford Gap meant that many south-east to north-west routes passed through Northamptonshire. Watling Street , a Roman Road which is now part of the A5 , passes through here, as did canals, railways and major roads in later years. Major national roads, including the M1 motorway (London to Leeds) and the A14 (Rugby to Felixstowe), provide Northamptonshire with transport links both north–south and east–west. The A43 joins
5360-492: The west of the county is the Daventry International Railfreight Terminal ; which is a major rail freight terminal located on the West Coast Main Line near Rugby . Wellingborough also has a smaller railfreight depot on Finedon Road, called Nelisons sidings. This is a chart of trend of the regional gross value added of Northamptonshire at current basic prices in millions of British Pounds Sterling (correct on 21 December 2005): The region of Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and
5440-443: Was George Washington's great-grandfather, John Washington , who emigrated in 1656 from Northamptonshire to Virginia . Before Washington's ancestors moved to Sulgrave , they lived in Warton , Lancashire. In the 18th and 19th centuries, parts of Northamptonshire and the surrounding area became industrialised. The local specialisation was shoemaking and the leather industry and became one of Britain's major centres for these crafts by
5520-512: Was acquired by Cambus (a privatised part of Eastern Counties), which was, itself, sold to Stagecoach in 1996. However, after the inquiry by the Office of Fair Trading, Stagecoach sold both the Milton Keynes and Huntingdon depot operations to Julian Peddle on 2 May 1997, who formed Premier Buses and MK Metro . Peddle soon sold the Huntingdon depot operations to Blazefield and eventually sold MK Metro to Arriva in February 2006. An OFT inquiry allowed MK Metro to pass to Arriva who, initially, ran it as
5600-489: Was boasted that "not a single brook, however insignificant, flows into it from any other district". In the west of the county, the hills most commonly referred to as the Northamptonshire Uplands can be found, in this area, the highest point in the county, Arbury Hill , at 225 metres (738 ft), can be found, just to the south of Daventry . The boundary with Lincolnshire is England's shortest ceremonial county boundary, at 20 yards (18 metres). There are several towns in
5680-439: Was first recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (1011), as Hamtunscire : the scire ( shire ) of Hamtun (the homestead). The "North" was added to distinguish Northampton from the other important Hamtun further south: Southampton – though the origins of the two names are in fact different. Rockingham Castle was built for William the Conqueror and was used as a Royal fortress until Elizabethan times. In 1460, during
5760-461: Was investigated and a European rabbit which had strayed into it, causing the problem, was found. About 250,000 residents were affected; by 14 July 2008, 13 cases of cryptosporidiosis attributed to water in Northampton had been reported. Following the end of the investigation, Anglian Water lifted its boil notice for all affected areas on 4 July 2008. Anglian Water revealed that it would pay up to £30 per household as compensation for customers hit by
5840-788: Was one of the founders of the Associated Motorways consortium, to which it transferred its Bournemouth and Torquay routes. In 1948, the Tilling Group sold its bus interests to the government. United Counties therefore became a state-owned company, under the control of the British Transport Commission . The new regime resulted in a major expansion of the company's area of operations. In 1952 Eastern National's operations in Bedfordshire , Buckinghamshire , North Hertfordshire and Huntingdonshire , with some 250 vehicles, were transferred to United Counties. This practically doubled
5920-501: Was replaced by the standard Tilling livery (green with a cream band) and retained until replaced by National Bus Company green (and always with a white band) in 1972. In September 1933, the company's name was changed to its present title, United Counties Omnibus Company Limited. In 1933, the company operated 154 buses on services throughout Northamptonshire, with some services terminating just over adjacent county boundaries, plus special services to seaside places and Whipsnade Zoo during
6000-534: Was revised in January 2017 to introduce five colour-coded routes which served only one park and ride site and terminated within the city centre. Introduced in its original form in 1992, the X5 service is operated by Stagecoach East at a 30-minute frequency between Bedford and Oxford via Milton Keynes, Buckingham and Bicester , making use of Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC double-deckers. Before double-deckers were introduced,
6080-404: Was short lived; it was abolished in 1974. Upon its abolishment, the city of Peterborough and the other settlements that were once part of the former Soke, were transferred to the county of Cambridgeshire, instead of being transferred back to Northamptonshire. Additionally, the former historical county of Huntingdonshire , which had been abolished along with the Soke of Peterborough in 1965 to create
6160-646: Was sold to Stagecoach Holdings for £12.6 million on 6 December 1995, with Stagecoach agreeing to purchase 3,168,560 employee shares in Cambus for £3.50 each. The company was rebranded as Stagecoach Cambus before ultimately becoming the Stagecoach East division. However, following a report by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission , Stagecoach was required to divest itself of its Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire operations, as well as United Counties' Huntingdon garage. In late 1997, new company MK Metro took over
6240-984: Was sold to its management team in a management buyout . In December 1988, Cambus Holdings acquired most of the bus and coach operations of Cambridge-based Premier Travel Services, with the exception being the Cambridge–London Airports coach services, which remained with the AJS Group as part of the new Cambridge Coach Services operation. A reorganisation of the acquired operator followed in May 1990, with all coach operations (including National Express contracts) being transferred to Premier Travel, and Premier Travel's bus routes being transferred to Cambus. In September 1989, Cambus's Peterborough operations were split off to form The Viscount Bus and Coach Company Ltd. In February 1992, Cambus Holdings bought Millers Coaches of Foxton from its owner, Bernard Miller, on his retirement. Millers Coaches had been competing with Cambus on
6320-803: Was split up operationally from 1 January 1986 and the new companies were privatised in 1987: Stagecoach retained the United Counties name until 1999. After Stagecoach acquired adjacent operator Cambus in 1997, an inquiry by the Office of Fair Trading ordered that Stagecoach sell the Huntingdon operations. but, in 2008, Stagecoach re-acquired the Huntingdon operations, now Stagecoach in the Fens , part of Stagecoach in Cambridgeshire . The remaining part of Stagecoach United Counties became Stagecoach East in 2000, trading as Stagecoach in Northants and Stagecoach in Bedford with
6400-509: Was then able to make strides in greatly improving its maintenance facilities with major work at Northampton depot, Wellingborough, Bedford, Milton Keynes (including a 100 vehicle Winterhill depot on a green field site) and Luton. In 1980, the government embarked on a programme of deregulation and privatisation of bus services. To make them more marketable, the larger subsidiaries of the National Bus Company were split up. United Counties
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