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Northamptonshire Uplands

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The Northamptonshire Uplands are an English National Character Area that lie predominantly in the western half of the district of West Northamptonshire , with a small area of the NCA extending into Cherwell District , Oxfordshire , Harborough District , Leicestershire and Stratford-on-Avon District and the Borough of Rugby , both of which are part of Warwickshire .

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55-426: The NCA runs from the northern border of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire in a south westerly direction towards Banbury , roughly following the border between West Northamptonshire and Warwickshire , until reaching, and extending around 8 km into Oxfordshire . It encompasses nearly all of the former Daventry District , as well as the western half of the former district of South Northamptonshire . Much of

110-548: A cattle market , Western Europe's largest. Situated on Merton Street in Grimsbury , for many decades, cattle and other farm animals were driven there on the hoof from as far as Scotland to be sold to feed the growing population of London and other towns. Since its closure in June 1998, a new housing development has been built on its site which includes Dashwood Primary School. The estate, which lies between Banbury and Hanwell ,

165-494: A Saxon chieftain said to have built a stockade there in the 6th century (or possibly a byname from Old English : bana meaning felon , murderer ), and burgh / burh meaning settlement . In Anglo Saxon it was called Banesburh (dative Banesbyrig ). The name appears as Banesberie in the Domesday Book of 1086. Another known spelling was Banesebury in medieval times. During excavations for

220-490: A White Horse of the nursery rhyme. It stands on the corner of West Bar and South Bar, just yards from the present Banbury Cross. Banbury has a museum in the town centre near Spiceball Park, replacing the old museum near Banbury Cross. It is accessible over a bridge from the Castle Quay Shopping Centre or via Spiceball Park Road. Admission to the museum is free. The town's tourist information centre

275-545: A basin in which Daventry sits. The southern section of the Uplands comprises the area west of the Cherwell Valley and the areas immediately surrounding Banbury . The area contains two major towns: Daventry and Banbury , as well as several other important settlements including Long Buckby , Weedon Bec , Brixworth , Crick and Woodford Halse . There are several major transport corridors which pass through

330-514: A bridle path to the west and south of the town), its primary use being transport of salt; and Banbury Lane, which began near Northampton and is closely followed by the modern 22-mile-long (35 km) road. It continued through what is now Banbury's High Street and towards the Fosse Way at Stow-on-the-Wold . Banbury's medieval prosperity was based on wool . Banbury Castle was built from 1135 by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln , and survived into

385-466: A children's play area and a skateboard park. Across the road from the main park there is the sports centre, which includes a swimming pool, courts, café and gym facilities. The sports centre began to be re-developed in late 2009, for a new centre and café, which was completed by mid 2010. M45 Motorway The M45 is a motorway in Northamptonshire and Warwickshire , England and

440-573: A considerable portion of the county's water storage capacity. The Central Uplands form the bulk of the NCA and begin at the southwestern edge of the Watford Gap . They continue to the Cherwell Valley , around Banbury , which forms the border with Oxfordshire , where the land flattens. The Central Uplands are most extreme along the A361 Corridor between Daventry and Banbury , as well as

495-675: A fraction of its previous traffic. A limited-access junction (Eastbound exit and Westbound entry) was added in September 1991, around two-thirds of the way along from the M1, south of Dunchurch , the main southern suburban village (to Rugby) nearby. Apart from this, the motorway is very much in its 'as-built' condition and unlike its feeder motorway, the M1 its land use has not expanded, in a county that has three motorways running east–west almost wholly across it, Warwickshire . The choice of routes means that logistics operations are an important part of

550-599: A local inn, the Reindeer Inn as it was then known (today's Ye Olde Reine Deer Inn). The town was pro-Parliamentarian, but the castle was manned by a Royalist garrison who supported King Charles I . In 1645 during the Civil War, Parliamentary troops were billeted in nearby Hanwell for nine weeks and villagers petitioned the Warwickshire Committee of Accounts to pay for feeding them. The castle

605-711: A private park in 1890 and opened in 1910, along with the adjacent bowling green . The land south of The New Foscote Hospital in Calthorpe and Easington Farm were mostly open farmland until the early 1960s as shown by the Ordnance Survey maps of 1964, 1955 and 1947. It had only a few farmsteads, the odd house, an allotment field (now under the Sainsbury's store), the Municipal Borough of Banbury council's small reservoir just south of Easington Farm and

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660-597: A water spring lay to the south of it. The Ruscote estate, which now has a notable South Asian community, was expanded in the 1950s because of the growth of the town due to the London overspill and further grew in the mid-1960s. British Railways closed Merton Street railway station and the Buckingham to Banbury line to passenger traffic at the end of 1960. Merton Street goods depot continued to handle livestock traffic for Banbury's cattle market until 1966, when this too

715-525: Is 52 feet 6 inches (16 m) high, and topped by a gilt cross. Towns with crosses in England before the reformation were places of Christian pilgrimage. The English nursery rhyme " Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross ", in its several forms, may refer to one of the crosses destroyed by Puritans in 1600. In April 2005, Princess Anne unveiled a large bronze statue depicting the Fine Lady upon

770-623: Is 7.9 miles (12.7 km) long. It runs between junction 17 of the M1 motorway south east of Rugby and a junction with the A45 road southwest of Rugby. It has one of the lowest traffic volumes of the United Kingdom motorway system. Built in 1959 when the M1 (as part of a link from London to Birmingham ) went as far as Junction 18, the M45 was designed to dissipate some of the motorway traffic before

825-566: Is a mixture of clay like soil ( till ) and sand and rock ( alluvium ), which made early agricultural efforts difficult and restricted drainage to the rivers and streams in the region. The area is mainly characterised by its fairly low, rolling hills that are often rounded. The Watford Gap and Cherwell Valley split the area into the North, Central and South uplands. The North Uplands begin roughly around Long Buckby and are at their most prominent around Cold Ashby , Naseby and Guilsborough . To

880-419: Is home to the world's largest coffee-processing facility ( Jacobs Douwe Egberts ), built in 1964. The town is famed for Banbury cakes , a spiced sweet pastry. Banbury is located 64 miles (103 km) north-west of London , 37 miles (60 km) south-east of Birmingham , 27 miles (43 km) south-east of Coventry and 22 miles (35 km) north-west of Oxford . The name Banbury may derive from "Banna",

935-538: Is in the Cherwell Valley with many hills in and around the town. Apart from the town centre, much of Banbury is on a slope and each entry into the town is downhill. Estates such as Bretch Hill and Hardwick are built on top of a hill and much of the town can be seen from both. Other notable hills include the suburban, Crouch Hill and the more central Pinn Hill, and Strawberry Hill on the outskirts of Easington. Mine Hill and Rye Hill lie, along with many others, to

990-662: Is located in the museum entrance in the Castle Quay Shopping Centre. Tooley's Boatyard was built in 1778 and is a historic site with a nearly 250-year-old blacksmiths' shop and narrow boat dry dock. Spiceball Park is the largest park in Banbury. It is east of the Oxford Canal , mainly west of the River Cherwell , north of Castle Quay and south of Hennef Way. It includes three large fields,

1045-480: Is now used as an entrance to a shopping centre. The Northern Aluminium Co. Ltd. or Alcan Industries Ltd. pig and rolled aluminium factory was opened in 1931 on land acquired in 1929 on the east of the Southam road, in the then hamlet of Hardwick. The various Alcan facilities on the 53-acre site closed between 2006 and 2007. The factory was demolished between 2008 and 2009. The laboratory was also closed in 2004 and

1100-404: Is now used as offices for numerous companies. Another major employer is Jacobs Douwe Egberts , which produces instant coffee . The facility moved to Banbury from Birmingham in 1965. In the central area were built many large shops, a bus station, and a large car park north of Castle Street. In 1969 proposals for the redevelopment of the central area were in hand, leading to the creation of

1155-457: Is priced for sale and is a tabloid. The Banbury Cake was formerly a free newspaper: its print edition ceased publication in 2017 and its website subsequently also closed. Regional TV news is provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian . Television signals received from the Oxford TV transmitter, although some parts of the town get a better TV signal from the local relay transmitter which

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1210-591: Is served by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central . Local radio stations are BBC Radio Oxford , Heart South , and Capital Mid-Counties . Banbury Music Radio was a local Internet radio station . At one time Banbury had many crosses (the High Cross, the Bread Cross and the White Cross), but these were destroyed by Puritans in 1600. Banbury remained without a cross for more than 250 years until

1265-653: The Bishop of Lincoln 's demesne lands, and a fourth which was leased to Robert son of Waukelin by the Bishop. Among Banbury's four Medieval mills was probably a forerunner of Banbury Mill, first referred to by this name in 1695. In the year 1279, Laurence of Hardwick was also paying 3 marks (equivalent to 40 shillings) in annual rent to the Bishop for a mill in the then Hardwick hamlet. The forerunners of Butchers Row were probably long standing butchers' stalls which were known to be in situ by 1438. The old Victorian Corn Exchange

1320-632: The Civil War , when it was besieged. Due to its proximity to Oxford , the King's capital, Banbury was at one stage a Royalist town, but the inhabitants were known to be strongly Puritan . Banbury played an important part in the English Civil War as a base of operations for Oliver Cromwell , who is reputed to have planned the Battle of Edge Hill in the back room (which can still be visited) of

1375-580: The Local Government Act 1972 it became part of the traditionally Conservative-ruled Cherwell District Council , an unparished area with Charter Trustees . A civil parish with a town council was set up in 2000. The post of the mayor of Banbury was created in 1607. The first mayor was Thomas Webb. A number of roads are named after former mayors of the town, including Mascord Road, Mold Crescent and Fairfax Close. Another former mayor, Angela Billingham , went into national politics. Banbury

1430-485: The River Cherwell in Oxfordshire , South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire and southern parts of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire which are predominantly rural. Banbury's main industries are motorsport, car components, electrical goods, plastics, food processing and printing. Banbury

1485-517: The Ruscote ward of Banbury, is a large food and coffee producing factory. It was built in 1964 and has gone through a number of ownership changes since. It is still sometimes known by its previous names of Bird's , Kraft and General Foods or GF. Banbury was once home to Western Europe's largest cattle market, on Merton Street in Grimsbury. The market was a key feature of Victorian life in

1540-533: The West Midlands . As such it has close cultural links with neighbouring Midlands towns such as Stratford-upon-Avon , Leamington Spa , and Warwick . In 1998 and 2007, Banbury was subject to heavy flooding due to its location by the River Cherwell. Heavy clay and Ironstone deposits surround Banbury. The Domesday Book in 1086 listed three mills, with a total fiscal value of 45 shillings , on

1595-623: The 1994 and 1995 F1 World Championships was based on the Wildmere Industrial Estate. The Marussia F1 team had its manufacturing and production facility sited on Thorpe Way Industrial Estate using the building formerly owned by Ascari Cars , a luxury sports car manufacturer. Both Simtek and Marussia F1 had been brought to Banbury by Nick Wirth who owned the Simtek team and was the former Technical Director at Marussia. After Marussia F1 went into administration in 2014, their base

1650-598: The Castle shopping centre in 1977 (the centre was later combined into the Castle Quay centre). The 1977 plans to build a multi-storey car park on what is now the open air car park behind Matalan and Poundland were scrapped in 1978 and another one was built to the rear of the Castle Shopping Centre in 1978. The former Hunt Edmunds brewery premises became Crest Hotels headquarters, but closed in

1705-467: The Centre of Banbury Studies was published in the 1870s or 1880s and it asserted that the term originated in the 1830s but no source is given for that assertion. In the 1850s magazine articles used "Banburyshire" or the hyphenated term "Banbury-shire". The Banburyshire Natural History Society was formed in 1881. In the 20th century a number of books used the term "Banburyshire" in their titles, dating from

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1760-457: The M1 terminated. Its equivalent at the southern end of the M1 is the former M10 , which was downgraded on 1 May 2009 to become part of the A414 . As the signposted route to Birmingham, accompanied by a boom in private motor ownership in the 1960s, the M45 (and its effective continuation, the final 30 miles (48 km) or so along the predominantly dual carriageway A45), formed a key leg of one of

1815-824: The Northwest, the uplands are interrupted by the Vale of Rugby, a flat, yet undulating area formed by the floodplain of the River Avon . To the Northeast, the uplands see the Brampton Valley give way to a more open landscape in the form of the Brampton Floodplain. Several Valleys can be found in this area, and they have been frequently used as sources of water storage, with Hollowell Reservoir , Ravensthorpe Reservoir , and Pitsford Reservoir making up

1870-411: The River Cherwell. On the opposite bank they built Grimsbury , which was formerly part of Northamptonshire . Another district, Neithrop , is one of the oldest areas in Banbury, having first been recorded as a hamlet in the 13th century. Both Grimsbury and Neithrop were formally incorporated into the borough of Banbury in 1889. Banbury stands at the junction of two ancient roads: Salt Way (used as

1925-654: The UK's lowest unemployment rates, as of April 2016 it stood at 0.7%. Once Poland joined the European Union in 2004, a number of Banbury-based employment agencies began advertising for staff in major Polish newspapers. In 2006 one estimate placed between 5,000 and 6,000 Poles in the town. With the influx of the largely Roman Catholic Poles, one local church was offering a Mass said partially in Polish and specialist Polish food shops had opened. Jacobs Douwe Egberts , in

1980-756: The area immediately surrounding Daventry, Likely due to the amount of water sources in the area, with the Cherwell , Leam and Nene Rivers' sources lying in this area. The Nene Valley , situated immediately to the South of Daventry lies between Newnham Hill and Bunkers and Church Hills in Badby . Further West, the Leam Valley sees Catesby Viaduct and Tunnel cross the Valley between Staverton and Hellidon Hills. These sets of Hills, alongside Borough Hill form

2035-531: The area lies on a mixed strata from the Jurassic Period when Limestone was deposited in the north of the area, with the east and the south of the district capping off the Limestone deposits with ironstone-rich sandstone. Over time the weathering of these minerals by a previously formed ocean has given many of the rocks in the area a wide variety of distinctive colours. Above the solid geology there

2090-691: The area. The M1 and M40 motorways pass through the uplands and link major population centres in England. The UK's shortest motorway, the M45 also passes through the Uplands. The A5 , A14 both pass through the area. The longest three digit A road in the UK, the A361 also passes through the uplands. Other important A roads in the area include the A428 , the A422 and the A425 . The West Coast Mainline passes through

2145-487: The border of Banburyshire's area. There was a plan in the late 2000s to expand the Bretch Hill estate westwards into local farmland, but this has now been suspended due to the credit crunch and local hostility to the plan, including the southern expansion towards Bodicote . The Hanwell Fields Estate was built in the north between 2001 and 2009. It was intended to provide affordable social housing to

2200-560: The busiest roads in Britain. In 1972, the opening of the M6 parallel to the north provided a much faster route through to the West Midlands from London. Most traffic diverted to this route, and since January 1991 additional West Midlands traffic, whether to the south of that region, or from the south side of London has often used the M40 motorway parallel to the south, leaving the route with only

2255-517: The construction of an office building in Hennef Way in 2002, the remains of a British Iron Age settlement with circular buildings dating back to 200 BC were found. The site contained around 150 pieces of pottery and stone. Later there was a Roman villa at nearby Wykham Park. The area was settled by the Saxons around the late 5th century. In about 556 Banbury was the scene of a battle between

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2310-468: The current Banbury Cross was erected in 1859 at the centre of the town to commemorate the marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal (eldest child of Queen Victoria ) to Prince Frederick of Prussia . The current Banbury Cross is a stone, spire-shaped monument decorated in Gothic form . Statues of Queen Victoria, Edward VII and George V were added in 1914 to commemorate the coronation of George V. The cross

2365-673: The early 1960s. The county of Oxfordshire has two main commercial centres, the city of Oxford itself that serves most of the south of the county, and Banbury that serves the north (such as Adderbury , Cropredy , Deddington , Wroxton , Great Bourton , and Bloxham ) plus parts of the neighbouring counties of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire . The villages of King's Sutton and Middleton Cheney , and possibly also Aynho , Fenny Compton , Charlton , and Croughton could be considered part of Banburyshire, as well as Upper and Lower Brailes . The settlements of Bicester , Hinton-in-the-Hedges , Chipping Norton , and Hook Norton are on

2420-631: The late 1970s and was abandoned in the late 1980s, while the Crown Hotel and the Foremost Tyres/Excel Exhausts shops found new owners after they closed in 1976 due to falling sales. Hella , a vehicle electronics firm, closed its factory on the Southam Road in the mid-2000s. The ironmonger , Hoods, opened in the mid-1960s and closed in 2007, with the shop becoming part of the then enlarged Marks and Spencer . Owing to

2475-523: The local Anglo-Saxons of Cynric and Ceawlin , and the local Romano-British . It was a local centre for Anglo-Saxon settlement by the mid-6th century. Banbury developed in the Anglo-Saxon period under Danish influence, starting in the late 6th century. It was assessed at 50 hides in the Domesday survey and was then held by the Bishop of Lincoln . The Saxons built Banbury on the west bank of

2530-483: The northeast, southeast and west of Banbury. Banbury is located at the bank of the River Cherwell which sweeps through the town, going just east of the town centre with Grimsbury being the only estate east of the river. Banbury is at the northern extreme of the UK's South East England region, less than two miles (3 km) from the boundary with the East Midlands , and three miles (5 km) from that with

2585-518: The surrounding area's notable links with world motorsport , the town is home to many well known organisations within the industry. Prodrive , one of the world's largest motorsport and automotive technology specialists, is based in the town as are a host of race teams involved in competition across many different disciplines and countries. Within Formula One , two teams have had their base of operations in Banbury. The Simtek team which competed in

2640-587: The town and county. It was formally closed in June 1998, after being abandoned several years earlier and was replaced with a new housing development and Dashwood Primary School. Banbury railway station is served by three train operating companies: The town's bus routes are operated primarily by Stagecoach in Oxfordshire both within the town and linking it with Brackley , Chipping Norton , Oxford and places further afield including Daventry , Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon . Hennef Way ( A422 )

2695-529: The uplands via the northwestern half of the Northampton Loop , reconnecting just to the northwest of DIRFT in the Vale of Rugby. Its only station in the boundaries of the NCA is Long Buckby . The Chiltern Main Line also passes through Banbury in the southern uplands. There are two stations in this area, Banbury and King's Sutton . Banbury Banbury is an historic market town on

2750-551: The west and north of Banbury, and more upmarket housing in the Hanwell fields area. In January 1554 Banbury was granted a royal charter that established the town as a borough to be governed by the aldermen of the town. The same charter created the position of High Steward of Banbury . Banbury was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Reform Act 1835 . It retained a borough council until 1974, when under

2805-447: Was built on the grounds of Hanwell Farm during 2005 and 2006. Banburyshire is an informal area centred on Banbury, claimed to include parts of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire as well as north Oxfordshire . Use of the term dates from the early to mid 19th century. It was common in the 19th century for market towns in England to describe their hinterland by tacking "shire" onto the town's name. "Stones Map of Banburyshire" held by

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2860-460: Was demolished after the war. The opening of the Oxford Canal from Hawkesbury Junction to Banbury on 30 March 1778 gave the town a cheap and reliable supply of Warwickshire coal. In 1787 the Oxford Canal was extended southwards, finally opening to Oxford on 1 January 1790. The canal's main boat yard was the original outlay of today's Tooley's Boatyard . People's Park was set up as

2915-658: Was discontinued and the railway dismantled. In March 1962 Sir John Betjeman celebrated the line from Culworth Junction in his poem Great Central Railway, Sheffield Victoria to Banbury . British Railways closed this line too in 1966. The main railway station, previously called Banbury General but now called simply Banbury , is now served by trains running from London Paddington via Reading and Oxford once daily, from London Marylebone via High Wycombe and Bicester onwards to Birmingham and Kidderminster and by CrossCountry Trains from Bournemouth and Reading to Birmingham , Manchester and Newcastle . Banbury used to have

2970-547: Was purchased by the United States–based Haas F1 Team to service their cars during the European races. Until 2017, when the team went into administration and subsequently folded, Manor Racing (the successor to Marussia) was based in the town. Arden Motorsport , a British multi-formula motorsports team (founded by Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner ), is also based in the town. Banbury has one of

3025-404: Was upgraded to a dual carriageway , easing traffic on the heavily congested road and providing north Banbury and the town centre with higher-capacity links to the M40 motorway . The Oxford Canal is a popular place for pleasure trips and tourism. The canal's main boatyard is now the listed site Tooley's Boatyard . The Banbury Guardian is published weekly on Thursdays by Johnston Press ,

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