Wollaston, Northamptonshire

Wollaston
Northamptonshire
St Mary's, Woolaston
Location
Grid reference:	SP915625
Location:	52°15’11"N, -0°39’40"W
Data
Population:	3,600
Post town:	Wellingborough
Postcode:	NN29
Dialling code:	01933
Local Government
Council:	North Northamptonshire
Parliamentary constituency:	Wellingborough

Wollaston is a village in eastern Northamptonshire. It sits amongst the hills to the east of the Nene valley, on the old Wellingborough to London road. Summer Leys Local Nature reserve is nearby.

The village's name is believed derived from the Old English Wuflafes tun ("Wuflaf's farmstead") after an otherwise unknown farmer or local lord.

In and about the village

Wollaston has a population around 3,600 and stands on a hill around 2 miles from Wellingborough town centre. Wollaston has a primary and a secondary school, local shops, post office, library and public houses.

At the north end of the High Street there is a village museum which displays and curates a record of Wollaston life.

In common with much of Northamptonshire, Wollaston is noted for its shoe industry. Until 2003, the famous Dr Martens boots were made in Wollaston. In 2007, manufacture of the "Vintage" line of Dr. Martens footwear was resumed in the Cobbs Lane Factory in Wollaston.

Wollaston also has the head office of an international chemical company, founded by the Quaker Ernest Bader (1890–1982), which is now a common ownership factory, the Scott Bader Commonwealth, making advanced resins and composite materials.

Churches

• Church of England: St Mary's
• Baptist
• Methodist
• Salvation Army Citadel.

The Church of England parish church was before the Reformation held by the Abbey of Delapré in Northampton.

History

Wollaston was developed as a linear settlement starting at what is now Cobbs Lane moving past Bell End, Rotten Row, St Michaels' Lane and down towards Strixton.

Roman period

Settlement and activity in the area are known to date from at least Roman times. Remains of a large Romano British vineyard of 86 acres are known in Wollaston, and are some of the first such sites confirmed in the United Kingdom. A Roman road passes roughly east-west just south of the modern part of Wollaston; another Roman road passes north-south to the east.

Middle Ages

One of the finest Saxon-style iron helmets was unearthed at Wollaston, in a warrior's grave dating from around 700 AD. The name of Wollaston dates from this period; it is thought the name is from Wulflaf’s Town.

The oldest visible part of Wollaston is known as Beacon Hill, an ancient castle earthwork or burial mound which once belonged to Bury Manor. The mound was once surrounded by a great ditch which dates back to the 12th century. A wall plaque records that this was the site of a Motte & Bailey Norman castle.

In 1260 William de Bray secured a charter from Henry III to hold an annual Michaelmas fair and a weekly market to be held on a Tuesday.

Margery de Wolaston - was elected in 1282 as the Abbess of Delapré Abbey in Northampton; she died circa 1296. The bbey was dissolved at the Reformation, ending its patronage of the parish.

Modern Age

Cottages on Hinkmire

In 1788 Wollaston land was enclosed under an Act of Parliament. At the time David Hennell, a lace dealer from Wollaston wrote "I lament that this field is now agoing to be enclosed. Some that have large quantities of land are set upon it, and pay no regard to the many little ones that may be injured, and I fear many ruined." The enclosure reduced the number of landowners in the village from 108 to just 18.

Wollaston's first school opened in 1842 and was located in a building adjacent to the Cuckoo pub, opposite Bell End. The school was private and was run by a curate, the Reverend J.J. Scott, from his own funds. The school did not come under government control until 1873. The school has moved several times, finally being established on College Street in a building dating from May 1894.

During this period significant industry came to Wollaston in the form of shoe- making and farming. In 1885 one of the shoe factories was established as a workers' co-operative of local cobblers, which survived until the 21st century as Northamptonshire Productive Society and remains a shoe factory as NPS (Shoes) Ltd, making shoes under the George Cox, Tredair, Solovair and NPS brands among others. The Woollaston Vulcanising Co-Operative was another local business.

20th century

Village sign

Shoe-making, and the mechanisation of this work, continued in the early 20th century with a number of nationally-known shoe-making companies establishing themselves in Wollaston and surrounding area.

In 1940 Scott Bader moved manufacturing Wollaston from London; the move became permanent and the company is now an integral part of the local community. The company founders, Ernest Bader and Dora Scott, established the Scott Bader Commonwealth in the 1950s, gifting the whole company to its employees for all time. The company now functions as a co-operative with profits divided between investment in the company, bonus for employees and charitable donations.

Pictures

• 
  Griggs and Co. Offices
• 
  Wollaston Methodist Chapel
• 
  The Wollaston Inn
• 
  Scott Bader chemical works

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Wollaston, Northamptonshire)

• Wollaston's Community Blog
• Wollaston Parish Council
• A pictorial history of Wollaston by Barry J Robinson
• St Mary's Church