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.

## References 
## Other websites 
* Northampton Borough Council
* Northamptonshire County Council
* The University of Northampton website
* Northampton with Vision