Welford is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, on the
River Avon border between
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
and
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
. At the
2011 census, the population was 1,043.
Location
It is on the main
A5199 road
The A5199 road is the direct road from Northampton to Leicester in England. It was formerly part of the A50 trunk road that ran from Bedfordshire to Lancashire. For most of its length it is known as the Welford Road, except for small stretch ...
connecting
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; ...
and
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
and, being halfway between the two, was an important
stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
stop. The A5199 is known as the 'Welford Road' for much of its length. It is close to the junction of the two major motor routes in England - 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 ...
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 and the western end of the A14 at t ...
- and is 1½ miles north of Junction 1 of the
A14, which connects that junction with the east of England.
History
The village's name means 'ford with a spring/stream'.
In medieval times its
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...
Abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The conce ...
moved to
Sulby some two miles to the east and Welford lost its market charter which was sold to
West Haddon
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...
. There is clear evidence that Welford shrank considerably during the medieval period and it is notable that three of its neighbouring
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
es —
Elkington,
Stanford-on-Avon and Sulby — are almost entirely depopulated.
In 2016, a new housing estate was built called Miller's Lock. While the builders were digging up the foundations, they found the remains of an
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
roundhouse.
A silver cup dating from the sixteenth century that was found in the village is in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
The history of the parish has been the subject of two books:
*Welford: Portrait of a Northamptonshire Village"
*Welford: The Legacy 1856 to 1980
Notable buildings
The Historic England website contains a total of 38 entries for listed buildings in the parish of Welford. These are all Grade II, apart from St Mary's Church, which is Grade II*. They include:
*
St Mary's Church, Church Lane
*The Talbot, High Street
*Manor House, West Street
*
Welford Congregational Church
Welford Congregational Church is a Congregational church built in 1793 in the village of Welford, Northamptonshire. It is a Grade II listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on ...
, West End
Facilities
It is served by a short arm from the
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter st ...
and has two
marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
s. The
Jurassic Way
The Jurassic Way is a designated and signed long-distance footpath that connects the Oxfordshire town of Banbury with the Lincolnshire town of Stamford in England. It largely follows an ancient ridgeway traversing Britain; most of its route i ...
long distance footpath
A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...
passes through the village on a southwest–northeast axis; although it officially makes its way through the fields to the east of the village, many walkers prefer to walk along the High Street to make use of the village's facilities.
Welford has a village shop and
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
, a hairdresser, a primary school, a garage, a coffee & gift shop and one
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 ...
, although technically this is in the neighbouring parish of Husbands Bosworth.
The primary school is called WSSES and also accepts children from the surrounding parishes of Sibberroft and Sulby.. Its website is https://www.wsses.com
Other amenities include a village hall, a sports field that is home to Welford Victoria F.C., a youth centre and a
pocket park. There is also a spinney which is near the park and was a gravel quarry in the 19th century. To the North East of the village lie
Welford Reservoir
Welford Reservoir is in the English county of Northamptonshire.
Welford Reservoir is the lower of a pair of reservoirs owned by the Canal & River Trust - the other being Sulby Reservoir - that provide water to the summit level of the Grand Unio ...
and
Sulby Reservoir.
A painted wood carving of Postman Pat and his black and white cat, Jess stands at the junction of High Street and West Street. It was crowd funded by villagers and installed in 2019 after the previous statues, which stood in the same spot for 25 years, rotted away.
It is now administered as part of
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 ...
. Previously it was in
Daventry District
The Daventry District was from 1974 to 2021 a local government district in western Northamptonshire, England. The district was named after its main town of Daventry where the council was based.
The district was created on 1 April 1974, under the ...
(1974-2021) having earlier been part of
Oxendon Rural District
Oxendon was a rural district in Northamptonshire, England from 1894 to 1935.
It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from the part of the Market Harborough rural sanitary district which was in Northamptonshire (the rest going on to fo ...
(1894–1935) followed by
Brixworth Rural District
The Brixworth Rural District was a rural district in Northamptonshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after and administered from the village of Brixworth.
It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 from the Brixworth rural sanita ...
(1935–74).
References
External links
The Official Welford Victoria Football Club WebsiteThe village website*
{{authority control
Villages in Northamptonshire
Civil parishes in Northamptonshire
West Northamptonshire District