East Hunsbury is a large residential area in the south of the town of

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, England, from the town centre and from junction 15 of the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which lat ...

. For administrative purposes it is part of the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

West Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire is a unitary authority area covering part of the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, created in 2021. By far the largest settlement in West Northamptonshire is the county town of Northampton. Its other signif ...

. It is part of the

Hunsbury West Hunsbury is a large housing estate in the south of the town of Northampton, from the town centre, from the M1 motorway, junction 15A and from junction 15. The motorway can be seen and heard as most of the area is elevated and the wind's ...

residential area, which also includes

West Hunsbury West Hunsbury is a large housing estate in the south of the town of Northampton, from the town centre, from the M1 motorway, junction 15A and from junction 15. The motorway can be seen and heard as most of the area is elevated and the wind's ...

on the west side of

Towcester Towcester ( ) is an affluent market town in Northamptonshire, England. It currently lies in West Northamptonshire but was the former administrative headquarters of the South Northamptonshire district council. Towcester is one of the oldest ...

Road. Shelfleys is the original name for the area of

currently referred to as West Hunsbury. The name of West Hunsbury still appears on maps for the district as Shelfleys. Merefield is the corresponding name for East Hunsbury, together with the name "Blackymore" for the eastern part of East Hunsbury. All three names are still on local direction signs in Northampton, although older references are no longer in use by the local people living there. The areas developed in the 1980s and 1990s as part of the expansion of Northampton. The Northampton loop of the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

railway running between Northampton and

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...

runs under East and West Hunsbury via the Hunsbury Hill Tunnel emerging near Hill Farm Rise which follows the original course of Towcester Road prior to the 1980s. Ventilation shafts are visible in the housing estate in Yeoman Meadow. East Hunsbury was awarded ‘Best Large Village’ in 2019 by NorthantsAcr

Industry before Housing Development

Until the 1890s the East Hunsbury was agricultural land. From 1897 an iron ore quarry to the west expanded into the area south and east of Hunsbury and from 1912 to the area on each side of the cutting at the south end of the railway tunnel.and on the east side of the original course of Towcester Road. The ore was taken to the Hunsbury Ironworks which was by the

River Nene The River Nene ( or : see below) is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in Northamptonshire.OS Explorer Map sheet 223, Northampton & Market Harborough, Brixworth & Pitsford Water. The river is about long, about of w ...

south of

Duston Duston is a suburb of Northampton and a civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. History Archaeological remains found in the area suggest that Duston has roots in Prehistoric and Roman settlements. However, development in the area h ...

for smelting. The ore was taken by a 3 ft 8 inch gauge tramway which was horse worked until 1912 when steam locomotives were introduced. Quarrying ceased in 1921. Little was done to landscape the area and the quarries were clearly visible in 1966. There were proposals to begin quarrying again in the 1920s, in 1937 and again in 1952 but nothing came of these. Much of the quarried area has been built on.

Demographics

The 2001 census shows a population of 9,058 of which 4,561 were male and 4,497 female, in 3,616 households.

Community

There are two smaller retail parks, one at Blackymore with a

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

Express, takeaway Fish and Chip shop, Florists, Chemist, Hair Salon, a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, "The Collingtree", Community Centre and an Estate Agent. At the other in Merefield, adjacent to the Mereway

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

, there is a large

'Extra' supermarket open 24 hours, except Sunday, 10:00 to 16:00. It has a

Costa Coffee Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Dunstable, England. Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. ...

, Virgin Holidays and a petrol station. Also on the same site is a

Subway restaurant Subway is an American multinational fast food restaurant franchise that specializes in submarine sandwiches (subs), wraps, salads and drinks. Subway was founded by 17-year-old Fred DeLuca and financed by Peter Buck in 1965 as Pete's Super ...

, estate agent 'O'Riordan Bond', 'Woodies' the restaurant, a card shop and a hair dressers. There is also the Danes Camp Leisure centre and swimming pool .

Collingtree Park Collingtree Park is a district in the Borough of Northampton in the East Midlands of England. Location Collingtree Park is located at the extreme south of the urban area, due north of the village of Collingtree, which itself is in the Northampt ...

Golf Course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

is in Windingbrooke Lane and accessible from Rowtree Road. East Hunsbury is also home to the Grangewood Park Residents Club, a leisure complex converted from grade II listed farm buildings for the exclusive use of 265 homeowners on the Grangewood Estate (located within 'Merefield' – see above) and their invited guests. The leisure complex includes two licensed bar areas, tennis & squash courts.

Schools

There are two primary schools in the area: East Hunsbury Primary School and Simon de Senlis Primary School, which was rebuilt in 2006-8, having previously been a Lower School. The re-build was part of the Northampton PFI, the government's Private Funding Initiative, with the partner companies involved being Babcock & Brown Properties, Amey and

Galliford Try Galliford Try plc is a British construction company based in Leicester, England. It was created through a merger in 2000 of two businesses: Try Group, founded in 1908 in London, and Galliford, founded in 1916. Formerly involved in house-build ...

. The area is in the catchment of Abbeyfield School, formerly Mereway Upper School and later Community College, located on the north side of Mere Way dual carriageway. It now has excellent facilities and is continuing to improve. Many children of secondary age also use Campion School in Bugbrooke and

Caroline Chisholm School Caroline Chisholm School is a mixed all-through school with academy status, in Wootton, south Northampton, England. It is named after Caroline Chisholm, a 19th-century social reformer. The principal is David James. The school was built in ...

Wootton, Northamptonshire Wootton is a former village about south of Northampton town centre that is now part of Northampton. Wootton is separated from Hardingstone by the Newport Pagnell Road the B526, formerly part of the A50 road. Part of Wootton is alongside the ...

Governance

The area now has its own Parish Council. Until 2015 it was part of Wooton parish. East Hunsbury Parish Council was formed on 1 April 2015. This was part of a Community Governance Review. Following local government changes in 2021 the area is governed by

council. Prior to that the area was part of East Hunsbury Ward of Northampton Borough Council, electing two members, both

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

. However, note that the area of

and

Collingtree Collingtree is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England. It is part of the Northampton built-up area. Location and context The village is about from Northampton town centre, close to the ...

village, although adjacent to East Hunsbury were in the Nene Valley ward for both county and borough elections. The area was part of East Hunsbury divisions of

Northamptonshire County Council Northamptonshire County Council was the county council that governed the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire in England. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888, recreated in 1974 by the Local Government Act 19 ...

, electing one member, a

. The area of Collingtree Park and Collingtree village, although adjacent to East Hunsbury, was in the Nene Valley ward.

New developments

A major urban extension of 2,000 houses, of which ''

ca. CA or ca may refer to: Businesses and organizations Companies * Air China (IATA airline code CA) * CA Technologies, a U.S. software company * Cayman Airways, a Cayman Islands airline * Channel America, a defunct U.S. television network * Classi ...

''35% would be

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...

was proposed by

Bovis Homes Vistry Group, formerly Bovis Homes Group, is a British house-building company based in Kings Hill, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Vistry Group was the result of a 2019 m ...

in July 2008 at Collingtree Park with all access from Windingbrook Lane, off Rowtree Road. In January 2015 the proposed 1,000 homes were rejected by local residents and borough councillors.

References

{{Northampton, state=collapsed Areas of Northampton Civil parishes in Northamptonshire