Northampton

**Northampton** () is a big market town and a local government district of the East Midlands part of the United Kingdom.  The district has a population of 200,100 people.

Northampton has a major entertainment centre called the **Derngate**.

## Twin towns

- Marburg in Germany
- Poitiers in France

## Notable residents

- Modern

- Steve Flint, aged 19, represented Northamptonshire at the 1980 Inter-Counties Championships One Mile, winning in a time of 3 minutes 58 seconds, making him one of only four teenage sub-four minute milers in the UK.

- Composer William Alwyn (1905-1985) was born in the town.
- Composer Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) was born in Northampton.
- Judy Carne, born Joyce Botterill on April 27, 1939 in the town, is an actress who may be best remembered for her introducing the phrase "Sock it to me!" while a regular on Laugh-In.
- Comedian Alan Carr attended what is now Weston Favell School. His father Graham Carr managed the Town's football club at the time.
- Scientist Francis Crick, born in the town in 1916, along with James D. Watson discovered the structure of DNA, and went on to win a Nobel Prize. In December 2005, a public sculpture called _Discovery_ by Lucy Glendinning was erected in Abington Street as a memorial to Crick http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/northamptonshire/4522024.stm.
- Journalist and broadcaster Andrew Collins is from Northampton and wrote about growing up in the town in his memoir _Where Did It All Go Right?_.
- Actress Joan Hickson, famous for playing Miss Marple, comes from Kingsthorpe.
- _Birds of a Feather_ actress Lesley Joseph grew up in the town.
- Actor Robert Llewellyn (Kryten from _Red Dwarf_) was also born in the town, and lived at 47 Booth Rise until the age of 13 (source: Anglian TV's _Celebrity Going Home: Robert Llewellyn_ (2004))
- Writer Alan Moore, creator of _V for Vendetta_, _Watchmen_, and _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_, is a lifelong resident of Northampton. His novel _Voice of the Fire_ is a fictionalized history of the town.
- BBC radio presenter Anna Murby comes from the county.
- Nanette Newman, actress and author, was born in Northampton.
- Des O'Connor lived in Northampton, worked at Church's for some years and played for the Cobblers (Northampton Town Football Club).
- Myrea Pettit, renowned fantasy artist of fairies, flowers and butterflies learned her craft in Northamptonshire.
- Jo Whiley, the BBC Radio 1 DJ was born in the town in 1965.
- The late Delia Derbyshire, who was behind the original version of the _Doctor Who_ theme tune, spent her final years in the town.
- Blue Peter's Peter Purves lived in the nearby village of Cogenhoe.
- Composer Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986) was born in the town.
- Professional wrestler Norman Smiley was born in the town.
- Nearby is Althorp, the country estate of Earl Spencer where Diana, Princess of Wales is buried. Charles Spencer, the current and 9th Earl Spencer (b. 1964) is her brother.
- Television presenter Michael Underwood lives in the town.
- Marc Warren, who plays Danny Blue in the BBC's Hustle series, was born in Kingsthorpe.
- Stuart Pearson Wright, award winning artist was born in Northampton in 1975.
- Lorna Fitzgerald, who plays Abi Branning in Eastenders lives in Hunsbury
- Issim Ullah, acclaimed late Bangladeshi businessman, landlord and soldier lived in Spencer.

- Historical
- Elizabeth Bowen, 20th century Anglo-Irish writer, lived here after her marriage.
- Charles Bradlaugh, the famous radical MP, was a member for the town.
- Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)- a puritan poet later based in Massachusetts.
- Alban Butler (1710-1773) - the author of _Lives of the Saints_
- John Clare, the poet, was sectioned in the local madhouse, where he remained until his death in 1864.
- Errol Flynn acted in the Northampton Repertory Theatre between 1933 and 1935.
- Jerome K. Jerome, author of _Three Men in a Boat_ and other works, died in Northampton in 1927.
- Spencer Perceval was a local MP and Prime Minister. He was shot in the House of Commons by assassin John Bellingham in 1812.
- Victorian cricketer and pioneer missionary Charles ("C.T.") Studd who played in the first Ashes test, was born at Spratton.

- Musical
- Bauhaus (band)
- The Departure
- Mark Griffiths, bass player with Shadows, Cliff Richard, David Essex, Matthews Southern Comfort
- Faye Tozer, singer from pop group Steps

- Other
- Northampton was used as the town location for _Keeping Up Appearances_ between 1990-1995.

## Other websites

- Northampton Borough Council
- Northamptonshire County Council
- The University of Northampton website
- Northampton with Vision

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Borough of Northampton
- **type**: Town & Borough
- **image skyline**: Northampton Guildhall01.JPG
- **image caption**: Northampton Guildhall, built in 1864
- **blank emblem type**: Coat of Arms of the City Council
- **image map**: Northampton UK locator map.svg
- **map caption**: Northampton
- **mapsize**: frameless
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Sovereign state
- **subdivision name**: United Kingdom
- **subdivision type1**: Constituent country
- **subdivision name1**: England
- **subdivision type2**: Regions of England, Region
- **subdivision name2**: East Midlands
- **subdivision type3**: Ceremonial counties of England, Ceremonial county
- **subdivision name3**: Northamptonshire
- **seat type**: Admin. HQ
- **seat**: Northampton
- **government type**: Northampton Borough Council
Mayor of the Borough and Chair 2011–2012
Cllr Jamie Lane
- **leader title**: Local government in England#Councillors and mayors, Leadership:
- **leader name**: Leader & Cabinet
Cllr David Palethorpe
- **leader title1**: Executive:
- **leader name1**: Conservative
- **leader title2**: MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2010, MPs:
- **leader name2**: Brian Binley,
Michael Ellis (British politician), Michael Ellis
- **established title**: Founded
- **area rank**: List of English districts by area, Ranked 262nd
- **area total km2**: 80.76
- **population rank**: List of English districts by population, Ranked
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Northamptonian
- **timezone**: Greenwich Mean Time
- **utc offset**: +0
- **timezone dst**: British Summer Time
- **utc offset dst**: +1
- **postal code type**: Postcode
- **postal code**: NN postcode area, NN1-NN6
- **blank name**: ISO 3166-2:GB, ISO 3166-2
- **blank1 name**: ONS coding system, ONS code
- **blank1 info**: 34UF
- **blank2 name**: British national grid reference system, OS grid reference
- **blank3 name**: Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS 3
- **blank4 name**: Ethnicity
- **blank4 info**: 86.1% White
6.4% S.Asian
3.9% Black British
2.1% Mixed Race
 2.3% Chinese or other
- **website**: [http://www.northampton.gov.uk/ northampton.gov.uk]