Eastcote is a small village in the

West Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, and was created in 2021. It contains the county town of Northampton, as wel ...

unitary authority area of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, England. It is about south-west of

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

along Banbury Lane. It is close to the

A5 road A5 Road may refer to: ;Africa * A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan * A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Bulawayo ;Americas * Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada * County Route A5 (California) or Bowm ...

, the Roman Road known as

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

, about north-west of

Towcester Towcester ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative centre of the South Northamptonshire district. Towcester is on ...

. Prior to the opening in the 1959 of the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

and the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...

a little later, the A5 was the main route by road from London to north Wales and north-west England.

Governance

The village is grouped with several other small villages into the parish council of the nearby larger village of Pattishall. It is governed by

. Prior to local government changes in 2021 it the District Council was South Northamptonshire District Council where the village was part of Blakesley and Cote

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. This is a two-member ward currently both

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

History

Eastcote House
stood in 60 acres and was owned by a Mr Gresham. The house was demolished around the middle of the 20th century.Northamptonshire Chronicle & Echo, '' "Dark Years of PoW Camp" '', Published 2014_02_06 Just before the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the house was sold as a retirement home to the National Sailor's and Firemen's Union of England as a retirement home. The Union decided that they would help German seaman and prepared an internment camp initially housing 50 men. However, the leader of the union was greatly upset by the fact that, after he had left the concert room where he had informed the internees about the sinking of the Lusitania on 7 May 1915 and the loss of fellow merchant navy sailors, they had started to sing German songs. The next morning the leader of the union held a meeting with the War Office resulting in the camp being handed over to the British Government and subsequently surrounded by barbed wire. Most of the internees were transferred out of the camp by July 1916. The camp became a POW camp expanding to about 4500 men by 1919 and was complete with a new water supply, sewage system, hospital, theatre and workshop. The village of Pattishall did not have electricity until the 1930s. After the war the property was sold by the union. There were periodic escapes: seven men escaped in 1917 but all were caught.

References

External links

South Northants District CouncilNorthamptonshire County Council
{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District