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| Towcester | |
|---|---|
 St Lawrence's Church and Towcester Town Hall | |
.svg)  Towcester Location withinNorthamptonshire | |
| Population | 11,542 (2021 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SP691481 |
| • London | 57 miles (92 km)SE[2] |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TOWCESTER |
| Postcode district | NN12 |
| Dialling code | 01327 |
| Police | Northamptonshire |
| Fire | Northamptonshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Towcester (/ˈtoʊstər/TOH-stər) is amarket town andcivil parish in theWest Northamptonshire unitary authority area ofNorthamptonshire, England. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative centre of theSouth Northamptonshire district.
Towcester is one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the country. It was theRoman town ofLactodurum, located onWatling Street, today's A5. In Saxon times, this was the frontier between thekingdom of Wessex and theDanelaw. Towcester features inCharles Dickens's novelThe Pickwick Papers as one of Mr Pickwick's stopping places on his tour.The local racecourse has hosted many national horseracing events.
Towcester comes from theOld EnglishTōfeceaster.[3]Tōfe refers to theRiver Tove;[4]Bosworth and Toller compare it to the "Scandinavian proper names"Tófi andTófa.[3] The Old Englishceaster comes from the Latincastra ("camp") and was "often applied to places in Britain which had been Roman encampments."[5] Thus, Towcester means "Camp on the (river)Tove."
Towcester lays claim to being the oldest town in Northamptonshire and possibly, because of the antiquity of recentIron Age finds in the town, to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the country. There is evidence that it was settled by humans since theMesolithic era (middle Stone Age). There is also evidence of Iron Age burials in the area.
InRoman Britain,Watling Street, now the A5 road, was built through the area and a garrison town calledLactodurum established on the site of the present-day town. Two candidate sites for theBattle of Watling Street, fought in 61AD, are located close to the town, these areChurch Stowe which is located4+1⁄3 miles (7.0 km) to the north[6] andPaulerspury which is 3 miles (4.8 km) to the south.[7] A stone female head, that mixesCeltic andRoman styles, was found on Watling Street outside the town and was given to theBritish Museum in 1903.[8]
When the Romansleft in the 5th century, the area was settled bySaxons. In the 9th century, Watling Street became the frontier between the kingdom ofWessex and theDanelaw, and thus Towcester became a frontier town.Edward the Elder fortified Towcester in 917. In the 11th century, theNormans built amotte-and-bailey castle on the site.Bury Mount is the remains of the fortification and is a scheduledancient monument. It was renovated in 2008 with an access ramp and explanatory plaques added.[citation needed]
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, in the heyday of the stagecoach and the mail coach, Watling Street became a major coaching road betweenLondon andHolyhead, and Towcester flourished, becoming a major stopping point. Manycoaching inns and stabling facilities were provided for travellers in Towcester, many of which remain.[citation needed]
The coaching trade came to an abrupt halt in September 1838 when theLondon and Birmingham Railway was opened, which bypassed Towcester and passed throughBlisworth; four miles away but enough to result in Towcester quickly reverting to being a quiet market town. By 1866 however, Towcester was linked to the national rail network by the first of several routes which came together to form theStratford and Midland Junction Railway.[9] Eventually, fromTowcester railway station it was possible to travel four different ways out of the town: to Blisworth (opened May 1866); toBanbury (opened June 1872); toStratford-upon-Avon (opened July 1873); and finallyOlney (for access toBedford, opened December 1892). The latter line however was an early casualty, closing to passengers in March 1893 although it continued to be used by race specials up until the outbreak of theSecond World War. The Banbury line closed to passengers in July 1951 and the rest in April 1952. Goods traffic lingered on until final axing in February 1964 as part of theBeeching cuts. The site of Towcester railway station is now aTesco supermarket.
Towcester might have gained a second station on a branch line of theGreat Central Railway from its main line atBrackley toNorthampton, but this branch was never built.[citation needed]
During theSecond World War, Towcester received many evacuees from London as the Government felt the town was far enough away from any major settlements that could be a target. The town escaped any major aerial attacks but was bombed on two occasions, firstly by a plane that dropped its last six bombs following an attack on nearby Rugby. A few months later a German bomber dropped twelve bombs on the town during a "drop and run" attack.[citation needed]
The motor age brought new life to the town. Although now bypassed by the A43, the A5 trunk traffic still passes directly through the historic market town centre causing traffic jams at some times of the day. The resulting pollution has led to the town centre being designated anair quality management area.[10] An A5 north-south bypass with plans for expansion of the town was being planned by theWest Northamptonshire Development Corporation in 2007.[11] A scheme to build a bypass for the A5 was submitted in 2020 and expected to cost up to £38 million.[12][13] As of 2023 a relief road to the south linking the A5 to the A43 is under construction, and traffic calming measures will be implemented in the town centre while avoiding potential damage to the ancient Roman road.[14][15]
The population was 2,743 at the time of the1961 Census and this had grown to 9,252 by the2011 census – a growth rate of about 3% per year. It has since rapidly expanded and there are plans to expand still further[16][17] with another 3,300 houses equating to an appx 8,250 increase in population. Improvements to the links to the A43 and Watling Street roundabout took place in the first half of 2015, including traffic light controls.
The town is approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) south-west ofNorthampton and about 11 miles (17.7 km) north-west ofMilton Keynes, the nearest main towns. Oxford is about 20 miles (32.2 km) south-west via theA43 road,M40 motorway andA34 road. The A43 now bypasses the town to the north but theA5 road still passes through the town centre. This still carries much traffic in the north–south direction.[16][17] This is expected to change soon with a new A5 to A43 link bypassing the town to the south, expected to be completed by 2025.[14]
Construction of the A43 bypass began on 8 September 1986, which cost £4.5m, built byMay Gurney.[18] The 2.1-mile bypass opened on Tuesday 22 December 1987, five months early.[19]
Northampton railway station is the nearest railway station, being 10 miles (16 km) away from the town. Buses to Northampton, Milton Keynes,Brackley,Potterspury,Deanshanger,Silverstone andBiddlesden operate, but these are infrequent.[20]
There are two tiers of local government covering Towcester, atparish (town) andunitary authority level: Towcester Town Council andWest Northamptonshire Council. The town council is based atTowcester Town Hall on Watling Street, overlooking the town's main square, which was built in 1865.[21][22]
Towcester was anancient parish. When elected parish and district councils were established in 1894 it was given a parish council and included in the TowcesterRural District.[23] Towcester Rural District Council initially met at the workhouse on Brackley Road, but bought the previously privately owned Town Hall in 1935 to serve as its headquarters.[24][25]
The rural district council was abolished in 1974 and replaced with the largerSouth Northamptonshire District Council. The district council chose to base itself in Towcester, initially using the Town Hall as its headquarters. The district council moved to a new building at the junction of Springfields and Brackley Road in 1983, which in turn was replaced by another new building called The Forum on Moat Lane in 2015. South Northamptonshire District Council andNorthamptonshire County Council were both abolished in 2021 and their functions passed to the new West Northamptonshire Council, which has its main offices inNorthampton, but retains The Forum as an area office.[26]
The parish council took over the Town Hall after the district council vacated it in 1983.[27] In 1986 the parish council formally declared the parish to be a town, allowing the council to adopt the name Towcester Town Council.[28]
Since the2010 general election Towcester has been part of theSouth Northamptonshire constituency. Prior to that it was in theDaventry constituency.
Saint Lawrence's C of E Church stands in the middle of the town. It has a 12th-centuryNorman transitional ground plan and foundation, probably laid over aSaxon 10th-century stone building. Its ecclesiastical heritage may well relate back to Roman times as St Lawrence was patron saint of theRoman legions. The building was reconstructed in thePerpendicular style 1480–85 when the church tower was added. The tower contains 12 bells generally accepted by ringers across the country to be one of the finest sets in the Midlands. The bells were moved in 1994 fromTodmorden in Yorkshire. Permission to quarry stone for this restoration fromWhittlewood Forest was granted byEdward IV and later confirmed byRichard III on his way towardsLeicestershire and his death at theBattle of Bosworth Field. The church contains a"Treacle" Bible, a table tomb and cadaver of Archdeacon Sponne, Rector 1422–1448. The Archdeacon started the second oldestgrammar school in Northamptonshire but the oldest one in theUnited Kingdom, which was merged with the oldsecondary modern school in Towcester to produce Sponne School. It is also claimed[29] thatPope Boniface VIII was a rector of the church before his elevation to the position ofpope. The church tower contains a peal of 12 bells and a chime of 9 bells.
Towcester Mill in Chantry Lane was recorded in theDomesday Book of 1086, but the oldest extant part of the building is just over two hundred years old. The mill's working gear was powered by water, and was used to grind corn into flour and to mix animal feed, and is believed to be the only water mill in Northamptonshire with a working turbine.
Just outside the town inSlapton areThe Slapton Wall Paintings, a noted collection of 14th and 15th century wall paintings, in theChurch of St Botolph.
The town has anAir Cadet squadron, 1875 (Towcester) Sqn ATC located near toSponne School and the 1st Towcester scouts and guides group.
The Towcester Museum has exhibits tracing the community's prehistory and history. The town has a wetland park, twopocket parks and a main park, The Recreation Ground, which is known locally as "The Rec".
Local TV coverage is provided byBBC East andITV Anglia from theSandy Heath TV transmitter.BBC South andITV Meridian can also be received from theOxford TV transmitter. The town's local radio stations areBBC Radio Northampton,Heart East,NLive Radio andConnect Radio. Local newspapers that cover the town areNorthampton Herald & Post andNorthampton Chronicle & Echo.
Towcester Racecourse, originally part of theEaston Neston estate, is located on the east side of the town. Many nationalhorse racing events were held there, as well as greyhound racing.
In 2010 the World Hovercraft Championship was held on the racecourse. The town's rugby union club, Towcestrians R.F.C., play in the London & South East Premier League. Towcester's cycling club, the A5 Rangers, was founded in 1948.
Towcester is just 5 miles away from motor racing circuitSilverstone Circuit.
Towcester istwinned withZhydachiv,Lviv Oblast, Ukraine.[30]
On 14 April 2025, during the Towcester Town Council meeting, the Towcester Town Mayor finalised the official town twinning with Zhydachiv, Ukraine[31]
In fiction the "Saracen's Head Inn" in Towcester features inCharles Dickens's novelThe Pickwick Papers as one of Mr Pickwick's stopping places along what is now theA5trunk road.
Briefly mentioned in theBBC television showPeaky Blinders. In the episodeepisode S02E03, thetranscript reads: "Mr Sabini, if you think they're planning to fix Northern races, we'll take no more bets on anything north of Towcester."
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