30-732: 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 had a population of 8,827 at the 2021 census. The town centre contains many historic buildings around the Market Square and College Street. The town's name means 'High homestead/village'. The Ferrers family are mentioned in connection with
60-529: A bypass around Higham Ferrers and Rushden came later, opening on 14 August 2003, with the old road through both towns becoming the A5028. Higham Ferrers railway station was the terminus of a short (5.25 mile) railway branch line on the Midland Railway from Wellingborough . There was an intermediate station at Rushden . The station closed to passenger services in 1959 and closed completely in 1969 with
90-731: A common open Hall. Each man had his little cubicle with its locker, divided off by a screen from his fellows, and the rest of the Hall formed a common room with a fine open fireplace, itself a relic of even older times. On the South, a sheltered garden was added by taking part of the land of the Vicarage. The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Higham Ferrers. North Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire
120-633: A dominant patron, William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam , which meant it was recognised by the UK Parliament as a rotten borough . Its right to elect members of parliament was removed by the Reform Act 1832 , and its borough council, which had met in the council chamber, was reformed under the Municipal Corporations Act 1883 . A war memorial, in the form of a stone column with a segmentally shaped pediment, which
150-466: A new unitary authority called West Northamptonshire , whilst the second unitary authority North Northamptonshire consists of the former Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, and Wellingborough districts. The council logo depicts Rockingham Castle , the River Welland and a red kite . The red kite is a bird of prey that has become strongly associated with the county of Northamptonshire, and
180-558: A song and grammar master. In later times the college became an inn, and then later a farm. Parts of several buildings survive, including one hall now used for artistic exhibitions. About the year 1422, when planning his college at Higham Ferrers, Archbishop Henry Chichele founded "In a place adjoining the Vicarage and the Churchyard", his Bede House or Hospital to be a dwelling place for 12 men over 50 years old to live "in close company", with one woman to look after them. It consisted of
210-501: Is a municipal building in the Market Square in Higham Ferrers , Northamptonshire , England. The structure, which serves as the offices and meeting place of Higham Ferrers Town Council, is a Grade II listed building . The first town hall was a medieval structure in the Market Square, which incorporated a lock-up for incarcerating petty criminals and an external staircase on the east side providing access to an assembly room on
240-598: Is due in 2025. Elections for a shadow authority were due to be held on Thursday 7 May 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic . These elections were instead held on 6 May 2021 and the Conservatives won a majority of seats. The Council comprises 78 councillors elected across 26 wards. New ward boundaries have been drawn up to come into effect for the 2025 elections, reducing the number of councillors to 67. The council inherited four sets of offices from
270-580: Is one of two local government districts in Northamptonshire , England . Its council is a unitary authority , being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council . It was created in 2021. The council is based in Corby , the district's largest town. Other notable towns are Kettering , Wellingborough , Rushden , Raunds , Desborough , Rothwell , Irthlingborough , Thrapston and Oundle . North Northamptonshire borders
300-733: Is part of the FARMA organisation. Higham Ferrers Town Hall is on the Market Square and was completed in 1809. The Town Council consists of 16 elected Councillors and elects a Mayor and Deputy Mayor at the Annual Meeting of the Council in May of each year. Chichele College was founded by Henry Chichele , the Archbishop of Canterbury , in 1422 as a college for secular canons. The College had provision for 8 priests, 4 clerks, 6 choristers and
330-414: Is particularly commonplace in the north-eastern parts of the county around Corby and Rockingham Forest. North Northamptonshire Council provides both county-level and district-level services. The whole area is also covered by civil parishes , which form a second tier of local government. Since its creation in 2021, the Conservatives have held a majority of the seats on the council: The leader of
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#1732780806368360-653: The Municipal Corporations Act 1882 , the modern Charter of Queen Victoria reorganised the composition of the Corporation on modern lines to conform to the pattern of local government laid down in that Act. This Charter is the only one of the town's charters written in English: the earlier charters were in Latin. The castle is thought to have been built not long after the Norman Conquest in 1066. However towards
390-794: The Peterborough , Rutland , Milton Keynes , Huntingdonshire , Bedford , Harborough , West Northamptonshire and South Kesteven . It has a string of lakes along the Nene Valley Conservation Park , associated heritage railway , the village of Fotheringhay which has tombs of the House of York as well as a towering church supported by flying buttresses. This division has a well-preserved medieval castle in private hands next to Corby – Rockingham Castle – and about 20 other notable country houses , many of which have visitor gardens or days. North Northamptonshire
420-433: The area, both called North Northamptonshire. There is no county council; instead the district council performs county-level functions, making it a unitary authority. North Northamptonshire remains part of the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire for the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty . In March 2018, following financial and cultural mismanagement by the cabinet and officers at Northamptonshire County Council,
450-464: The borough council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged East Northamptonshire District Council was formed in 1974. It subsequently became the meeting place of Higham Ferrers Town Council. Queen Elizabeth II , accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh , visited the town hall and met with civic leaders, in May 1985. Works of art in the town hall include
480-403: The central bay were fenestrated by sash windows on both floors, while the outer bays contained doorways with rectangular fanlights on the ground floor and were blind on the first floor. There was a parapet at roof level. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber on the first floor, which featured a moulded ceiling and a chandelier . Higham Ferrers had a very small electorate and
510-428: The council from its first meeting following its creation in 2021 has been: Russell Roberts, outgoing leader of the old Kettering Borough Council , had served as leader of the shadow authority set up to oversee the transition to the new arrangements. Following the inaugural election in 2021 and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was: The next election
540-476: The end of goods services. Today, the nearest operational railway station is at Wellingborough about four miles away, but there is no bus route connecting Higham Ferrers to Wellingborough station. Higham Ferrers Farmer's Market is held on the last Saturday of each month, except in December when it is moved to the last available day before Christmas. Higham Ferrers Farmer's Market is a Certified Farmer's Market, and
570-466: The end of the 15th century the castle suffered years of neglect. It was finally demolished in 1523 and the stone removed to build Kimbolton Castle . A grass bank and a pond are all that remain of the defensive earthworks and moat. In the garden of the Green Dragon Inn, formerly within the area of the outer ward of the castle, are the remains of a rectangular dove-house. Historically, the town
600-416: The first floor. The assembly room displayed two sets of mid-17th century coats of armour , which were relocated to St Mary's Church when the old town hall was demolished. In the early 19th century, after the old town hall became dilapidated, civic leaders decided to replace it with a new structure in a similar position. The new building was designed in the neoclassical style , built in ashlar stone and
630-810: The predecessor authorities, being the Corby Cube , the Kettering Municipal Offices , Swanspool House in Wellingborough, and the old East Northamptonshire District Council offices on Cedar Drive in Thrapston. The Corby Cube was chosen as the main meeting place. The other buildings serve as area offices. The parish councils for Burton Latimer, Corby, Desborough, Finedon, Higham Ferrers, Irthlingborough, Kettering, Oundle, Raunds, Rothwell, Rushden, Thrapston and Wellingborough have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take
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#1732780806368660-575: The style "town council". In terms of television, the area is served by BBC East and ITV Anglia which broadcast from the Sandy Heath transmitter. The Waltham transmitter can also be received which broadcasts BBC East Midlands and ITV Central programmes. Radio stations for the area are: North Northamptonshire is served by the following local newspapers: Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph and Northampton Chronicle and Echo . Higham Ferrers Town Hall Higham Ferrers Town Hall
690-514: The then Secretary of State for Local Government, Sajid Javid , 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 , and South Northamptonshire were merged to form
720-568: The town in 1166. The hundred is named after Higham Ferrers, but the site of the meeting-place is unknown. The first Charter of 1251 was due to the Lord of the Manor, William de Ferrers, who created the Borough in order to promote a prosperous community at the gates of his castle, where people had begun to settle in numbers and to trade in the ancient market. Henry Chichele (c. 1364 – 12 April 1443)
750-601: The town obtained a confirmation and further extension of civic powers and liberties by the Charter of 1604. Again after the Restoration of Charles II to the throne and the passing of the Corporations Act 1661 the liberties were confirmed and extended. The town was a rotten borough and sent one MP to the unreformed House of Commons until it was stripped of its representation by the Reform Act 1832 . After
780-605: Was at the crossroads of the A45 east–west route from Northampton to Cambridge , and the A6 north–south road from London to Leicester . It was a busy junction as both were long-distance transport corridors. The A45 bypassed the town in the early 1990s with a dual-carriageway, the former route (through the narrow, but beautiful streets of Kimbolton ) becoming the B645. As the A6 carried less traffic,
810-628: Was born in Higham Ferrers. He was Archbishop of Canterbury and founded All Souls College, Oxford . In 1422 Higham Ferrers School was founded. The second Charter was granted in 1556 in the reign of Mary Tudor . For many years the town provided a safe seat in Parliament for a supporter of the Crown nominated by the Duchy of Lancaster , the biggest landowner. When James I came to the throne
840-419: Was completed in 1809. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of five bays facing onto the Market Square. The central bay, which was slightly projected forward, was fenestrated by a sash window on the ground floor and by a Venetian window on the first floor; it was surmounted by a pediment , with a roundel containing the borough coat of arms in the tympanum , and a ball finial . The bays flanking
870-416: Was created on 1 April 2021 by the merger of the four non-metropolitan districts of Corby , East Northamptonshire , Kettering , and Wellingborough . The new council took on the functions of these districts, plus those of the abolished Northamptonshire County Council within the area. The way these changes was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county covering
900-626: Was intended to commemorate the lives of local service personnel who had died in the First World War was designed by Talbot, Brown & Fisher and unveiled outside the town hall on 11 November 1921. During the Second World War , a company of the 8th (Wellingborough District) Battalion of the Northamptonshire Home Guard were based in the building. The building continued to serve as the meeting place of
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