Thrapston is a market town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

North Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, and was created in 2021. The council is based in Corby, the district's la ...

unitary authority area of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, England. It was the headquarters of the former

East Northamptonshire East Northamptonshire was a local government district in Northamptonshire, England, from 1974 to 2021. Its council was based in Thrapston and Rushden. Other towns included Oundle, Raunds, Irthlingborough and Higham Ferrers. The town of Rushde ...

district, and at the time of the 2021 census, had a population of 7,238. The town's name means 'Farmstead or town of a man named Thraepst'. Another source suggests the individual name is related with

Old Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branch ...

'Trapsta', 'Trafstila' and 'thrafstjan' meaning 'to comfort:, henceforth 'farmstead or town of a man named Draefst or Draepst'. Thrapston is situated close to the

River Nene The River Nene ( or ) flows through the counties of Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk in Eastern England from its sources in Arbury Hill in Northamptonshire. Flowing Northeast through East England to its mouth at Lutt ...

, where the pronunciation changes from nene to neen and is at the junction of the A14 and the A45. Until the 1960s, Thrapston had two railway stations. Thrapston (Midland) was on the

Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

route, and the former station and viaduct can be seen from the adjacent A14 road. Thrapston (Bridge Street) was on the former

LNWR The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

line. A

market charter A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

was granted to the town in 1205, in exchange for two

palfrey A palfrey is a type of horse that was highly valued as a Horses in the Middle Ages, riding horse in the Middle Ages. It was a lighter-weight horse, usually a smooth horse gait, gaited one that could ambling, amble, suitable for riding over long ...

s. This is celebrated every year with the town's

Charter fair A charter fair in England is a street fair or market which was established by Royal Charter. Many charter fairs date back to the Middle Ages, with their heyday occurring during the 13th century. Originally, most charter fairs started as street marke ...

, when the high street is closed and the townspeople congregate in commemoration. A relative of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, Sir John Washington, lived in Chancery Lane in the town, and his wife is buried in the Church of St James. Sir John was brother to George Washington's great-grandfather. Naturalist and writer

Horace William Wheelwright Horace William Wheelwright (5 January 1815 – 16 November 1865) was an English hunter, naturalist and writer who spent many years of his life in Australia and Sweden. Wheelwright was born at Tansor, Northamptonshire. He was educated at Readin ...

practised as an attorney in Thrapston in the 1840s. The

Corn Exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchanges. Such trade was common in towns ...

, on the north side of the High Street, was completed in 1850. Thrapston had two schools, Thrapston

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and King John Middle School, which together served children from Nursery to Year 8. However, in 2015, East Northamptonshire switched to a two-tier school system resulting in the middle schools closing. As King John School closed, Thrapston Primary School expanded into the King John building, in order to accommodate the year 5 and 6 children. Following this, children usually go to Prince William school in

Oundle Oundle () is a market town and civil parish on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 6,254 at the time of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is north of London and south-wes ...

or another school in the area from year 7 onwards. The local authorities that cover different aspects of civic life in Thrapston are Thrapston Town Council, and

Council.

Notable residents

Matt Ellson Merton Frederick Ellson (10 July 1890 – 1958) was an English footballer who played in the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded ...

, footballer *

Henry de Thrapston Henry de Thrapston, or Henry Trapeston (died c.1333) was an English cleric, judge and Crown official who spent most of his career in Ireland, where he became Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland and Archdeacon of Cork.Ball p.69 He was born a ...

(died c.1333), English-born judge and

Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland The Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland and a member of the Dublin Castle administration under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Kingdom of Ireland. In early times the office was sometimes called ...

John Hindhaugh John Hindhaugh (born 1962) is a sports commentator and broadcaster from Sunderland, England. He resides in Thrapston, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom with his wife Eve Hewitt, the managing director of Radio Show Limited, the production company of ...

, motorsport and media presenter

References

External links

Towns in Northamptonshire Charter fairs North Northamptonshire Civil parishes in Northamptonshire {{Northamptonshire-geo-stub