East Northamptonshire was from 1974 to 2021 a local government district in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Its council was based in

Thrapston Thrapston is a market town in North Northamptonshire, England. It was the headquarters of the former East Northamptonshire district, and at the time of the 2011 census, had a population of 6,239. The town's name means 'Farmstead or town of a ...

and

Rushden Rushden is a market town and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England, around east of Northampton. The parish is on the border with Bedfordshire, north of Bedford. The parish of Rushden covers an area of some . The population of Rushd ...

. Other towns include Oundle, Raunds, Irthlingborough and

Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and has an estimated populat ...

. The town of Rushden was by far the largest settlement in the district. The population of the district at the 2011 Census was 86,765. The district bordered onto the Borough of Corby, the Borough of Kettering, the Borough of Wellingborough, the Borough of Bedford, the City of Peterborough, the District of Huntingdonshire, South Kesteven District and the unitary authority county of Rutland. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, by a merger of the

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

, with the

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...

s of Irthlingborough, Oundle, Raunds and Rushden, along with Oundle and Thrapston Rural District, and

Newton Bromswold Newton Bromswold is a village and civil parish about east of Rushden in North Northamptonshire, England, adjacent to the border with Bedfordshire. At the 2001 census the parish's population was 62 people in 27 households. The population rema ...

from

Wellingborough Rural District Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

. Much of the district was home to Rockingham Forest, once a Royal hunting forest which takes its name from the village of Rockingham where

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

built a castle. The district was home to several of Northamptonshire's airfields including Spanhoe, King's Cliffe,

Deenethorpe Deenethorpe is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. It is situated north-east of Corby and near the A43 road between Corby and Stamford. Nearby villages are Deene located 1.9 miles (3.1 km) to the North-West, Bul ...

, Polebrook, Chelveston and Lyveden.

Abolition and replacement

In March 2018, following suspension of the County Council arising from its becoming insolvent, due to financial and cultural mismanagement by the cabinet and officers, the then Secretary of State for Local Government,

Sajid Javid Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

, sent commissioner Max Caller into the council, who recommended the county council and all district and borough councils in the county be abolished, and replaced by two unitary authorities, one covering the West, and one the North of the county. These proposals were approved in April 2019. It meant that the districts of Daventry,

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

and South Northamptonshire were merged to form a new unitary authority called West Northamptonshire, whilst the second unitary authority North Northamptonshire consists of Corby, East Northamptonshire,

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) ...

and Wellingborough districts. These new authorities came into being on 1 April 2021. Elections for the new authorities were due to be held on 7 May 2020, but were delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Geography

There were six towns in the district. Rushden was by far the largest with a population of 29,272. It is situated in the very south of the district and forms a single urban area with the neighbouring town of

which has a population of 7,145. The second largest town in the district was Raunds, population 8,641 followed closely by Irthlingborough, population 8,535. The smallest town in the district was Thrapston where the HQ of the East Northamptonshire council was located. Oundle is a historical market town with many ancient buildings, including St Peter's parish church with the tallest spire in the county and a large Public School. Higham Ferrers, which is part of Rushden's urban area, was the birthplace for

Henry Chichele Henry Chichele ( , also Checheley; – 12 April 1443) was Archbishop of Canterbury (1414–1443) and founded All Souls College, Oxford. Early life Chichele was born at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, in 1363 or 1364; Chicheley told Pope Eug ...

and chichele college. Irthlingborough was home to Rushden & Diamonds Football Club before it went into liquidation. There were no railway stations in East Northamptonshire. There is one

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

in East Northamptonshire.

Election results

2019 no election in any of the Northamptonshire districts, following a budgetary overspending crisis and subsequent plans to merge East Northamptonshire local authority with three other districts/boroughs to form a unitary authority of North Northamptonshire. In the meantime, councillors terms of office were extended at least up to 2020. 2015 (total 40 seats) Conservative - 37 seats (+2) Labour - 1 seats (-1) Independent - 2 seats (-1) 2011 (total 40 seats) Conservative - 35 seats (-4) Labour - 2 seats (+2) Independent - 3 seats (+2) 2007 (total 40 seats) Conservative - 39 seats (+ 6) Labour - 0 seats ( - 3) Independent - 1 seat 2004 (total 36 seats) Conservative - 33 seats (+ 12) Labour - 3 seats (- 12)

Settlements and parishes

East Northamptonshire Council Offices - geograph

* Achurch, Aldwincle, Apethorpe, Ashton * Barnwell,

Benefield Benefield is a civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England, along the A427 road and about east of Corby and west of Oundle. History The villages name means 'open land of Bera's people'. The name has evolved from Benefield (11th century); ...

Blatherwycke Blatherwycke is a village and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire, England. It is about north-east of Corby. It is near Blatherwycke Lake, on the Willow Brook. Demographics The population is grouped with the nearby village of Laxton ...

, Brigstock, Bulwick * Chelveston cum Caldecott, Clopton, Collyweston,

Cotterstock Cotterstock is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 153. Geography Cotterstock is on the banks of the River Nene, which flows through the city of Peterborough ...

* Deene,

Denford Denford is a small village and civil parish situated in North Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish population was 250 people, increasing to 282 at the 2011 census. The villages name means 'valley ford'. The vi ...

Duddington Duddington is a small village in Northamptonshire, England. It is by the junction of the A47 and A43 roads, and is southwest of the town of Stamford. The village is on the east bank of the River Welland which is the county boundary of Rutland ...

-with- Fineshade *

Easton-on-the-Hill Easton on the Hill is a village and civil parish at the north eastern tip of North Northamptonshire, England. The village had a population at the 2011 census was 1,015. The village, sited on the A43 road, is compact in form, with the older pa ...

* Fotheringhay * Glapthorn,

Great Addington Great Addington is a small village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It lies near the west bank of the River Nene, about 5 miles (8 km) east of Kettering. It consists of approximately 100 households; at the time of the 2011 ...

* Hargrave, Harringworth, Hemington,

* Irthlingborough, Islip * King's Cliffe * Laxton, Lilford-cum-Wigsthorpe * Little Addington, Lowick, Luddington, Lutton *

Nassington Nassington is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 670 people, increasing to 827 at the 2011 Census The River Nene runs along the eastern side of the parish. The ...

* Oundle * Pilton, Polebrook * Raunds, Ringstead,

* Shotley, Southwick, Stanwick, Stoke Doyle, Sudborough *

Tansor Tansor is a village and civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire. Lying near the River Nene, three miles north-east of the town of Oundle and a mile from the village of Cotterstock, Tansor forms part of North Northamptonshire. At t ...

, Thurning,

Thorpe Waterville Thorpe Waterville is a village in the English county of Northamptonshire. It is combined with Achurch to form the ecclesiastical parish of 'Thorpe Achurch'; in turn this is added to another combined parish, Lilford-cum-Wigsthorpe, to form t ...

, Titchmarsh,

Thorpe Achurch Thorpe is a variant of the Middle English word ''thorp'', meaning hamlet or small village. Thorpe may refer to: People * Thorpe (surname), including a list of people with the name Places England * Thorpe, Cumbria * Thorpe, Derbyshire * Thorp ...

Twywell Twywell is an English village and civil parish in the county of Northamptonshire. Twywell Hills and Dales Country Park is adjacent. It lies just to the north of the A14 road, about three miles (5 km) west of Thrapston, and forms part of No ...

* Wadenhoe, Wakerley, Warmington, Woodford, Woodnewton *

Yarwell Yarwell is a village on the River Nene in the extreme east of the English county of Northamptonshire near the border with Cambridgeshire. Yarwell is one mile north of Nassington, west of Peterborough and its county town of Northampton is to ...

References

External links