Daventry
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- For other uses, see Daventry (disambiguation).
  Map sources for Daventry at grid reference SP5762
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Daventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England with a population of 22,367 (2001 census). The town is also the administrative centre of the much larger Daventry district, population 71,838.
It is located roughly 12 miles (20 km) west of Northampton. The town comprises a historic market centre surrounded by much modern housing and light industrial development. On the edge of the town centre is the popular Daventry Country Park and reservoir.
There is a street market every Tuesday and Friday which is held in the High Street, although its original site was on the aptly named Market Square. On the first Saturday of each month a Farmers' market is held in the High Street. Until recently Daventry had a small Battle of Naseby museum in the Moot Hall but this is now in use as an Indian Restaurant — the village of Naseby is approximately 14 miles northeast of Daventry.
Daventry is near the M1 motorway and is served by the A45 road. Daventry once had a railway station on the former LNWR branch-line from Weedon to Leamington Spa but this was closed in September 1958; now the nearest railway station is at Long Buckby, about five miles to the north east. The local newspaper, Daventry Weekly Express, is nicknamed 'The Gusher', after the steam engine that used to serve the town. [1]
Owing to its good transport links, Daventry is now a warehousing and distribution centre. North of the town Daventry International Railfreight Terminal (DIRFT) is a major terminal for freight interchange between road and rail.
Nearby places to Daventry include: Rugby, Southam, Banbury, Northampton and Coventry. The town is twinned with Westerburg in Germany.
An alternative pronunciation for Daventry used by locals is "Daintree" but this has become less common [2] [3].
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[edit] History
[edit] Early history
On the 653 foot (199 metre) high 'Borough Hill' that overlooks the town, remains have been found of an iron age hill fort - one of the largest found in Britain. Remains have also been found on the hill of later Roman buildings.
Daventy began as a small Anglo-Saxon village in around 920, and by the 12th century had become home to a priory. In 1255 Daventry was granted a charter to become a market town. In 1576 Queen Elizabeth I granted Daventry borough status.
The town was mentioned by William Shakespeare in Henry VI, Part I, which refers to "the red nosed innkeeper of Daintree"
During the English Civil War, King Charles I stayed at Daventry along with many troops before the Battle of Naseby which occurred nearby in 1645 between Royalist and Parliamentarian forces.
[edit] Stagnation and decline 1840-1960
The main Roads from London to Holyhead passed through Daventry and the town for centuries flourished as a coaching town There were many coaching Inns in the town of which only the Dun Cow, Saracens Head, and the Coach & Horses remain as Inns.
But when the London and Birmingham Railway was opened in 1838 the coaching trade slumped and the town entered a long period of stagnation and decline which lasted for over a century. The industrial revolution largely passed Daventry by due to its poor transport links. The canals passed around Daventry, although the Grand Junction Canal (now Grand Union) passed a few miles north. A branch from the Grand Union Canal to Daventry was proposed but was never built.
The railways did not connect Daventry until quite late in the 19th century. Although the town was only a few miles from the main London to Birmingham line it took until 1888 before a branch line was built from Weedon. In 1895 the line was extended to Leamington Spa, although being only a branch line this failed to spur much growth. Daventry's economy remained largely rural, with shoe making as the main industry.
[edit] Broadcasting station
In 1925 the newly created BBC, constructed a broadcasting station on Borough Hill just outside the town. Daventry was chosen because it was the point of maximum contact with the land mass of England and Wales. From 1932 the BBC Empire Service (now the BBC World Service) was broadcast from there. The radio announcement of "Daventry calling" made Daventry well-known across the world.
On February 26, 1935 the radio station at Daventry was used for the first ever practical demonstration of radar, by its inventor Robert Watson-Watt. Watson-Watt used a radio receiver installed in a trailer to receive signals bounced off a metal-clad bomber flying up and down the radio beam.
The station closed in 1992 and only one of the radio masts now remains. Incidentally a busy directional radio beacon (VOR), identifier "DTY", for aircraft is situated approximately four miles due south of the town.
[edit] Modern times
The modern growth of Daventry occurred from the 1960s onwards as part of a planned expansion of the town.
Daventry remained a small rural town until the 1950s; in 1950 it had a population of around 6,000. Real growth started in 1954 when the tapered roller bearing manufacturer British Timken located a large factory in the town.
In the early 1960s Daventry was designated an 'overspill' to house people and industry moved from Birmingham; a planned expansion was carried out as part of an agreement with Birmingham City Council. The plan did not however live up to expectations. The target population was 36,000 by 1981 but actual growth was much slower than this; nevertheless, by 1981 the population had soared to 16,178. In 2001 it was 22,367. More recently a new wave of development has been proposed, which could take the town's population to somewhere near 40,000 by 2021.[citation needed]
In 1974 the old borough of Daventry was abolished and merged into the new Daventry district, also containing a large rural area and a population in 2001 of 71,838. In 2003 Daventry gained its own town council when it became a civil parish.
In 2004, Daventry found a new claim to fame when it was featured in a television commercial for McDonalds. A character mentioned that she was going to a sales event in Daventry, leading to responses of "Where is Daventry?" and "Are you sure you don't mean Coventry?". Some in the town, including the leader of Daventry District Council, were not happy with the jibe. Incidentally, McDonalds has a restaurant in Daventry on Vicar Lane.
Daventry was mentioned in an episode of the 2006 series That Mitchell and Webb Look
[edit] References
- Greenall, R.L (1999) Daventry Past, ISBN 1-86077-108-4
[edit] External links
- Daventry Town Council
- Daventry District Council
- Daventry Express - Local newspaper
