St. James End, also known as St. James, colloquially as Jimmy's End, and historically as St James's End, is a district west of the town centre in
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. The area developed from the mid to late 19th century particularly with the expansion of the shoe manufacturing and engineering industries, and also the extension of the railway from London in June 1882.
History
Northampton Abbey
The area is named after
St James' Abbey which was founded in the town 1104–05 by
William Peverel
William Peverel († 28. January 1114), Latinised to Gulielmus Piperellus), was a Norman knight granted lands in England following the Norman Conquest.
Origins
Little is known of the origin of the William Peverel the Elder. Of his immediate f ...
as an
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
monastery dedicated to St James and which was built in the area of the modern development.
The abbey was located in the Abbots Way area, off the south side of Weedon Road in the town (see map). The former Express Lift factory, which included the
lift-testing tower, was redeveloped for housing in 1999–2000. The site was known to occupy part of the precinct of the abbey. Excavations were carried out to determine the location and remains of any parts of the abbey. The abbey and a cemetery were located. The main buildings were preserved beneath the new housing development. The cemetery of c.300 burials was excavated during winter 2000–2001. The bones were analysed to determine the health and burial practices in the late medieval population of Northampton.
294 burials were uncovered in well ordered rows, with many wooden coffins, graves lined with old ceramic roof-tiles, stone-lined graves and a single stone coffin suggesting the occupants of relatively high status.
Use of the cemetery later was less orderly. Burials were in simple, shallow graves with just a shroud. On the south side was a stone-built building with two mortuary chapels. One had a stone-lined tomb, and a fragment of life-sized sculptured leg, with chain mail and a stirrup strap from a broken effigy. This may have happened at the dissolution of the abbey in 1538. A highly decorated grave slab and the remains of two skeletons had been unearthed in 1970.
Analysis of the burials shows a large number of elderly people many having suffered from trauma such as leg fractures, fused and/or deformed leg joints and advanced spine degeneration. Many of these may have died in the abbey infirmary and further analysis is being undertaken.
First World War
On 19 October 1917 at 10.45 pm German
Zeppelins
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
dropped bombs near
Burghley Park then passed over Northampton dropping nine
incendiary bombs
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...
over Kingsthorpe, Dallington and Far Cotton. Another fell on the roof of 46 Parkwood Street on St. James probably aiming for the Station. The house was occupied by Mr. Henry Gammons, a railway bricklayer, who was away at the time. His wife, Mrs. Eliza Gammons, and twin daughters Gladys and Lily, aged 13, were in bed. The bomb passed through the house to the bedroom, killing the mother instantly and set fire to the room. Both mother and daughters were killed.
Governance
The St James neighbourhood grew up in the parts of the parishes of
Dallington and
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 ha ...
adjacent to the city. In 1895 two new parishes, Dallington St James and Dunston St James, were carved out to cover the built-up areas of the parishes, and together they were administered by the new St James Northampton
urban district
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
. This district only survived until 1900, since when St James' End has been administered as part of the town. The parishes survived until 1913.
St James' End is now in the St James Ward of
Northampton Borough Council
Northampton Borough Council was the borough council and non-metropolitan district responsible for local government in the large town of Northampton in England. In 2021 the council was abolished and succeeded by West Northamptonshire Council; a uni ...
, currently held by the
Labour Party. St James End has been part of the Sixfields division 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 ...
since the 2013 county council elections, when it was held by the
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
party. The division covers the Northampton town areas of Briar Hill, Camp Hill, part of
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 ...
, Hunsbury Hill, Swan Valley, Hunsbury Meadows, Upton and St James. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 5,465.
Notable buildings
St James today is most notable for the presence of the
National Lift Tower in Weedon Road, formerly the Express Lift Tower and nicknamed the 'Northampton Lighthouse'. The building is a
lift-testing tower built by the Express Lift Company which closed in 1990. The building was officially opened by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
on 12 November 1982.
The Parish Church of St James in St James' Road was built in 1868–71 by R. Wheeler of
Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...
, Kent, with additional work in 1900 and the tower in 1920. The brick is exposed inside and enriched with black bricks.
The Doddridge Centre in St James Road was built in 1895 as the Doddridge Memorial Chapel in memory of
Philip Doddridge
Philip Doddridge D.D. (26 June 1702 – 26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist (specifically, Congregationalist) minister, educator, and hymnwriter.
Early life
Philip Doddridge was born in London the last of the twenty children of D ...
(1702–1751), an English
Nonconformist
Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to:
Culture and society
* Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior
*Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity
** ...
. It provides facilities and support to community and voluntary groups with 30 groups based in the building and another 40 using it as a meeting point for a variety of activities. The chapel where Doddridge served from 1729–51 is in Doddridge Street on the east side of the river. It dates from 1695 and is now a
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers.
Origins and history
The United Reformed Church resulte ...
. The interior has galleries, box pews and a memorial to Doddridge.
St James is home to the
Northampton Saints Rugby Football Club at Franklin's Gardens stadium on the south-west side of lower Weedon Road. The club was established in 1880 under the original title of Northampton St James by Rev Samuel Wathen Wigg, a clergyman and curate of St James' Church. The
Sixfields Stadium
Sixfields Stadium is a 7,798-capacity all-seater sports stadium in the Sixfields area on the west side of Northampton, England. It has been the home ground of Northampton Town Football Club following their move from the County Ground in Octo ...
used by
Northampton Town Football Club (known as "The Cobblers") at the top end of Weedon road in the area known as
Sixfields
Sixfields is an area of Northampton, Northamptonshire, England about west of the town centre along the A4500 St James Road and Weedon Road towards M1 junction 16 about further west. It is close to the Duston, Upton and St James areas o ...
currently playing in
League Division Two. The Sixfields area also has a large
Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales.
Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...
supermarket,
Boots
A boot is a type of footwear.
Boot or Boots may also refer to:
Businesses
* Boot Inn, Chester, Cheshire, England
* Boots (company), a high-street pharmacy chain and manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom
* The Boot, Cromer Stre ...
,
M&S Simply Food,
Wickes
Wickes is a home improvement retailer and garden centre, based in the United Kingdom with more than 230 stores throughout the country. Its main business is the sale of supplies and materials, for homeowners and the building trade. It is listed ...
,
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
, several restaurants, a multi-screen cinema, and several other retail outlets.
The
First Northampton
First Northampton was a bus company in Northampton. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup and part of the First Midlands division. It ceased operating on 14 September 2013.[Luton Airport Parkway railway station
Luton Airport Parkway railway station is on the Midland Main Line in England, serving south Luton and Luton Airport in Bedfordshire. It is situated in Park Town, Luton, and is down the line from London St Pancras between to the south and to ...]
–
Luton Airport
London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...
service. It was then transferred to
First Essex
First Essex is a bus company operating services in the county of Essex. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
History
First Essex arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses. First Essex was originally part of the Eas ...
's
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...
depot. This left the large depot empty. It had been opened in 1904 as the main depot for electric trams and then in the 1920s for motorbuses. Between then and 1939 it was extended considerably, but in 2013 the last service bus left and the depot was made redundant. In 2014 the site was acquired for expansion by
Church's Shoes which has a factory next door. As of November 2022 the depot site remains unused and enclosed by Church's-branded hoarding.
Industry
Former works
The Express Lift factory closed in 1990 having been a major employer (see notable buildings).
Mettoy
Mettoy (an abbreviation of "Metal Toy") was a British manufacturing company founded in 1933 by German émigré Philip Ullmann, who was later joined by South African-born German Arthur Katz who had previously worked for Ullmann at his toy company T ...
had a large site, originally used as a boot factory, at the corner of Spencer Bridge Road and Harlestone Road, NN5 7AE, now occupied by
Aldi
Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
and
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
supermarkets.
[Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map of Northampton South 1901]
Current establishments
On St James Road between Sharman Road and Spencer Street is the factory of
Church's
Church's is a high-end footwear manufacturer that was founded in 1873, by Thomas Church, in Northampton, England. In 1999 the company came under the control of Italian luxury fashion house Prada in a US$170 million deal.
History
Between the ...
the
up-market footwear manufacturer founded in 1873 by Thomas Church. The company is now owned by
Prada
Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...
. As at November 2022 plans to expand the factory into a part of the redundant bus depot next door remain unrealised. ( The depot site remains enclosed by Church's branded hoarding but untouched since 2014 ). The front entrance to the building has images of a Native American (see gallery). This reflects the previous ownership by the company Padmore and Barnes; they produced footwear using a
moccasin
A moccasin is a shoe, made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole (made with leather that has not been "worked") and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional panel o ...
construction, and a Native American was their emblem; they produced some 6,000 pairs of moccasins in the first half of the 20th century. A statue stood at the top of the front of the building but was removed when the works closed.
The large and thriving St James Industrial Estate along St James Mill Road near West Bridge is host to a large number of business and industrial establishments including the headquarters of
Cosworth Engineering
Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for auto racing, automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream Automotiv ...
.
There are three public houses in St James: The Thomas Á Becket and the Foundrymans Arms in St James Road and The Sevens in Weedon Road. There is also a
working men's club
Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...
in Weedon Road. A fourth pub, The Castle, in St James Park Road, was converted to rented flats and a shop - marking the end of the building's use as a public house. More recently, Jimmy's Sports Bar opened on the Harlestone Road which includes a rooftop bar.
Traffic issues
Both St James Road and Spencer Bridge Road feed into Weedon Road and are the main exits to 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 ...
at junction 16. All these roads are busy
24/7
In commerce and industry, 24/7 or 24-7 service (usually pronounced "twenty-four seven") is service that is available at any time and usually, every day. An alternate orthography for the numerical part includes 24×7 (usually pronounced "twenty ...
with heavy traffic, fumes and noise from vehicles. A recent report for Northampton Borough Council states: '' "Existing conditions within the study area show poor air quality, with concentrations of nitrogen dioxide exceeding the annual mean objective along Weedon Road and St James’ Road near to the development site. An AQMA (
Air quality management area) has been declared for this area" ''.
1998 floods
The part of St James in St James Road and the lower parts of Harlestone Road and Weedon Road are low lying and in the flood plain of 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 ...
and its tributaries. In April 1998, many residents of both St James had to leave their homes and seek temporary accommodation elsewhere, after part of the area, along with
Far Cotton
Far Cotton is a district in the civil parish of Far Cotton and Delapre, in the town of Northampton, in the county of Northamptonshire, England and many years ago a village in its own right. The population is included in the Delapre and Briar Hil ...
and
Cotton End
Cotton End is a small village and civil parish on the outskirts of Bedford. It became its own parish as of 1 April 2019, having previously been part of the parish of Eastcotts. Ordnance Survey maps from the 1880s show its name as 'Cardington Cot ...
, suffered flooding, when the
River Nene broke its banks after torrential rain. Flooding occurred on
Good Friday
Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
, 10 April 1998. Since then river banks have been raised and flood mitigation lakes created west of the town (see gallery).
Area maps and views
2014 map
There is no exact de-lineation of the St James area – the red outline on the modern map shown below gives the area generally regarded as St James. This differs from official designations of Borough Council Wards and County Council Divisions which often include additional areas used to even up the numbers of voters. The northern area comprises what are known as the 'Scottish streets' after their street names. On the west side, off Weedon Road, is the Lift Tower estate and several side roads up the hill to Sixfields. In the south is the large and thriving
St James Industrial Estate along St James Mill Road. Part of the St James area extends east of the railway into St James retail park with a large
B&Q store,
Toys R Us
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include Toy block, toy blocks, Board game, board games, and Doll, dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed sp ...
,
Curry's,
PC World
''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication.
It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tech ...
,
Dunelm,
Next
Next may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare
* ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage
* '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film
Lit ...
and several other outlets plus
Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
and
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
restaurants.
The eastern part of St James lies just west of a tributary of the River Nene and the railway station and was the first part of the area to be developed for housing and industrial use in the mid and late 19th century as can be seen from the 1899 map. This area extends to Spencer Bridge Road in the north beyond which is the area of the town known as Spencer, after the Spencer family of
Althorp
Althorp (popularly pronounced ) is a Grade I listed stately home and estate in the civil parish of Althorp, in West Northamptonshire, England of about . By road it is about northwest of the county town of Northampton and about northwest of c ...
, about 5 miles north, however the area includes the houses nearest to Harlestone Road including St James Church of England Primary School. This is the only school in the St James area and has nearly 500 pupils aged 3 to 11. The school was rated 'good' at the last
OFSTED
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
inspection.
St James School Northampton, OFSTED Inspection 2011, Accessed 2014_01_17
/ref>
Part of the area south-west of St James Road appear on the 1899 map such as Abbey Street, Almad Street, Lincoln Road and Spencer Street. Other areas further up Weedon Road have terraced houses on the 1899 map but have been cleared for three blocks of council flats close to Franklin's Gardens
Franklin's Gardens (currently known for sponsorship purposes as cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens) is a purpose-built rugby stadium in Northampton, England. It is the home stadium of Northampton Saints. The stadium holds 15,249 people. The fou ...
stadium.
1899 map
The eastern part of St James was the first area to be developed for housing and industrial use in the mid and late 19th century as this map shows. There are three shoe factories shown, a tannery
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
, saw mills and a cycle works. The railway arrived from London, Euston in 1881 on a loop line from the main line north of the village of Roade
Roade is a village in Northamptonshire, England. Currently in West Northamptonshire, before local government changes in 2021 it was represented by South Northamptonshire District Council, falling within the two-member Blisworth and Roade ward. ...
, although a connection to Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire.
Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the admi ...
and further north was in place earlier. The large goods area at the station reflects the main method of goods transit at the time. What is now Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
is shown on the map as a recreation ground. The park was opened in 1898 on land donated by Earl Spencer of Althorp
Althorp (popularly pronounced ) is a Grade I listed stately home and estate in the civil parish of Althorp, in West Northamptonshire, England of about . By road it is about northwest of the county town of Northampton and about northwest of c ...
. At that time it was half the present size. Further land was acquired from the Earl in 1910 and 1911. As of August 2021 it has a children's play area, a changing rooms building used by visiting football teams, static outdoor exercise equipment and a multipurpose enclosed sports pitch ( remodelled from previous tennis courts ). The former bowling green was removed c.2000.
Gallery
See also
*List of monastic houses in Northamptonshire
The following is a list of the monastic houses in Northamptonshire, England.
See also
* List of monastic houses in England
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monastic houses in Northamptonshire
Medieval sites in England
Houses ...
* 1998 Easter Floods
References
External links
Far Cotton History Group
*
{{Northampton, state=collapsed
Areas of Northampton