Finedon
| Finedon | |
| Northamptonshire | |
|---|---|
 Finedon Water Tower | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP9171 |
| Location: | 52°20’2"N, -0°39’35"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 4,309 (2011) |
| Post town: | Wellingborough |
| Postcode: | NN9 |
| Dialling code: | 01933 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | North Northamptonshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Wellingborough |
Finedon is a town in Northamptonshire, with a population at the 2011 census of 4,309.[1]
It is situated four miles to the north-east of Wellingborough at the crossroads of the A6 and A510. Nearby communities include Irthlingborough, Burton Latimer and Great Harrowden.
History
Domesday Book
In 1086 when the Domesday Book was completed, Finedon was a large royal manor, previously held by Queen Edith. At this time the village was known as Tingdene, which originates from the Old English words þing meaning assembly or meeting and Denu meaning valley or vale.[2] Tingdene and the later version, Thingdon, were used until the early nineteenth century until finally Finedon became the commonly accepted version, both in written format as well as in pronunciation.[3]
At the time of the Domesday Book Finedon was one of only four towns listed with a population greater than 50 in Northamptonshire - the others being Northampton, Brackley and Rushton.
The Bell Inn also claims to be listed in the Domesday Book, but the current building does not date back to this period, and there is evidence that the original inn was situated several hundred yards. However, the main building was built around 1598, with the current façade added in 1872.
Finedon Hall
- Main article: Finedon Hall
Finedon Hall is a Grade II listed 17th- or 18th-century country house with later modifications. It is built in the Tudor style to an H-shaped floor plan in two storeys with attics. It is constructed in ironstone ashlar with limestone dressings and a slate roof.[4]
The house has now been converted into apartments.
Finedon Obelisk
The Finedon Obelisk is a monument erected in 1789 to record the blessings of the year by Sir John English Dolben, the fourth and last of the Dolben Baronets and Lord of the Manor of Finedon. The blessings are thought to include the return to sanity of George III. The 23 April 1789 was appointed a day of thanksgiving to commemorate the event, which in Finedon was celebrated with bell ringing, fireworks and the firing of cannon.
The obelisk is located in a small enclosure next to the A6 and A510 roundabout.
Volta Tower
Finedon was formerly home to the Volta Tower, a folly built in 1865 by William Harcourt Isham Mackworth-Dolben of Finedon Hall. It was built to commemorate the death of his eldest son, Lieutenant Commander William Digby Dolben, who drowned off the west coast of Africa on 1 September 1863, aged 24. The building stood for 86 years before collapsing in 1951, killing one of its residents.
Water Tower
The Water Tower was completed in 1904, originally costing £1500 to build, with the whole scheme of public water provision for Finedon costing £13,000. The tower is octagonal in shape and is divided into five interior stages. The exterior of the building is a red, yellow and blue polychrome brick design with a lead and plain-tile roof.
The Water Tower has since been converted into a private residence and in 1973, gained Grade-II listed status.[5] It stands as a local landmark beside the A6 on the southern entrance into Finedon.
Church
The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, is a mid-14th-century church with an aisled and cloistered nave of four bays.
The tower houses a ring of eight bells in the key of D with the tenor weighing just over 21 hundredweight.[6] The church also houses an organ which was probably originally built for St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in 1704.[7] It was installed in 1717, rebuilt in 1872, and restored in 1960,[8] and it retains its tracker action.
Banks Park
Finedon's well-loved park, complete with outdoor tennis courts and a beautifully-landscaped open place is popular among dog walkers and cyclists. There is also a play area for children. Banks Park sits between Burton Road, High Street and Wellingborough Road, Finedon and can be accessed from both High Street and Wellingborough Road.
Pocket Park
From 1939 until 1946 ironstone was extracted from the quarry at Finedon and transported via a railway line to the main line at Wellingborough.
Rather than filling in the railway cutting and quarry and returning it to agricultural land, the people of Finedon campaigned to retain it as an important wildlife area. In 1984, it was designated the first Pocket Park in the country.[9] The heritage of the park as a quarry led to it earning its local name "The Pits".
The quarry area is predominantly grassland and scrub with ponds supporting a diverse range of amphibians. The majority of the railway cutting is woodland containing mainly ash, sycamore and oak. The park is managed by a team of volunteers from the Finedon branch of the Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust to maximise its benefit for the flora and fauna. Scrub in the quarry is cut back to maintain the grassland, whilst large trees and other patches of scrub are left to provide feeding and nesting sites for birds. The ponds are also managed to ensure they do not become completely overhung by trees.
Old coppiced lime trees estimated to be over three hundred years as well as yews of considerable age are to be found alongside the labyrinth of trails that cross the site.
To the south-western side of Finedon Pocket Park is another nature reserve, Finedon Cally Banks,[10] owned and managed by the local Wildlife Trust. The name Cally Banks comes from the process of burning iron ore to remove impurities, leaving a deposit called calcine which provides the poor soil conditions in which wildflowers flourish.
Notable people
- Arthur Henfrey, football player for England between 1891 and 1896.
- Sir William Dolben, 3rd Baronet, MP and campaigner for the abolition of slavery.
- Digby Mackworth Dolben, Poet brought up at Finedon Hall.
- Richard Coles, Parish Priest and Vicar of Finedon Parish since 2011,[11] former pop musician with Bronski Beat and The Communards.
References
Notes
- ↑ Office for National Statistics: Finedon CP: Parish headcounts. Retrieved 15 July 2015
- ↑ English Place Name Society Retrieved 22 March 2012
- ↑ John Bailey, Finedon Otherwise Thingdon, 1975, ISBN 0-9504250-0-1
- ↑ "Finedon Hall, Finedon". British Listed Buildings. http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-233687-finedon-hall-finedon-northamptonshire. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ↑ British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ↑ Finedon Bellringers
- ↑ National Pipe Organ Register, N03520
- ↑ National Pipe Organ Register, N03521
- ↑ Northamptonshire Council Retrieved 15 July 2015
- ↑ Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Retrieved 15 July 2015
- ↑ Daily Telegraph report
Sources
- John Bailey (1987). Finedon Revealed. Finedon: J.L.H. Bailey. ISBN 0-9504250-1-X. OCLC 16078775.
- John Bailey (2004). Look at Finedon. Finedon: J.L.H. Bailey. ISBN 0-9504250-2-8. OCLC 62584735.
- Finedon Historical Society, Finedon Yards
- Audrey Ellis, Memories of Finedon http://www.audrey-ellis.co.uk
- Rosemary Pearson, The Top School
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Finedon) |
- Church of St Mary the Virgin, Finedon online Parish Magazine
- Finedon Web Site Finedon Past & Present
- Finedon local history Society Finedon History
- Finedon Bellringers Information about the Bellringers
- A Pictorial view of Finedon A selection of Photographs of Finedon