Duston
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Duston is a suburb 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; ...
and a
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
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 ...
, England.


History

Archaeological remains found in the area suggest that Duston has roots in Prehistoric and Roman settlements. However, development in the area has meant that it is now difficult to find further remains. Duston has been a settlement since at least Roman times, and grew as a village in Anglo-Saxon times. In the Domesday Book, The name "Duston" derives from Old English words meaning either farmstead on a mound or farmstead with dusty soil. Duston was recorded as a farming community. St Luke's Church was built in the 12th century and has many medieval features. The old village was built up around this and has gradually moved westwards along Main Road. From 1876 to 1995 Duston was home to
St Crispin's Hospital St Crispin's Hospital was a large psychiatric facility on the outskirts of Duston village in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. It was established Northampton Mental Hospital in 1876 and closed in 1995. The site has since been redeveloped ...
, a county-owned and subsequently NHS mental hospital. During the First World War it was turned into Duston War Hospital for convalescent soldiers. Since the 1950s, the historical village has been engulfed by the expansion of Northampton. Most development in Duston has been residential, but the original village still contains many of its old buildings within its nucleus and is now a conservation area. The civil parish population was 15,498 at the 2011 census. A major housing development, Dallington Grange, is planned to extend Duston northwards towards
Harlestone Harlestone is a small village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The village had a recorded population of 445 in the 2011 census. The village is divided into two smaller settlements: Upper Harlestone and Lower Harlestone, which ...
. The development will include a new secondary school, two new primary schools, and 3,000 homes.


Industrial history

Iron ore was first quarried in the district in 1854 and 1855 to the east of the village on land leased from
Viscount Palmerston Viscount Palmerston was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 12 March 1723 for Henry Temple, who subsequently represented East Grinstead, Bossiney and Weobley in the British House of Commons. He was made Baron Temple, of Mount T ...
and from Duston Church (St Luke's.) At that time the ore was quarried mostly to the south of the Northampton to Daventry road, but also on the other side. The quarry was connected by railway to the Northampton branch of the canal, close to Duston Mill where the ore trucks were emptied into canal boats for transport to an ironworks elsewhere. The trucks descended when full by gravity and when emptied were hauled back to the quarry by horses. The quarry was re-opened in 1859 and the railway was extended under the road as the quarry was extended on that side. Steam locomotives were used on the railway from 1861 onwards. Quarrying finished on the south side of the road in 1905 and on the north side of the road in 1908. There was also a limestone quarry to the north side of Bants Lane which closed by 1901. It was connected to the railway by a narrow gauge tramway. Limestone trucks were emptied into standard gauge trucks in the iron ore quarry. A branch of the railway connected with a claypit and brickworks and an iron foundry in the St James district of Northampton. By 1883 the sidings next to the canal were closed and the line extended across the canal to sidings on the Northampton to Blisworth railway, close to the Hunsbury Ironworks. The iron ore quarry site is now built on, being the site of an industrial and retail estate. Most of the course of the railway southwards was obliterated when the area was dug for gravel in the 1960s and by the construction of the
Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
football ground in the 1990s. The bridge over the canal (altered) is still there. A quarry face still remains close to Duston Road. Part of the limestone quarry was incorporated into the British Timken site in 1941, when a "
shadow factory A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two- dimensional silhouette, ...
" was built in 1941 on a green-field site in Main Road, Duston, to produce roller bearings for the war effort. At its peak over 4,000 people were employed in the factory, and the company was a major employer in Duston until the site's closure. In 2002 the works were closed and the site cleared for housing with production moving to
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
."British Timken to axe 950 jobs"
BBC News 26 April 2001, accessed 1 January 2012 The building was demolished a few years later, but the iron gates at the entrance to the works were preserved and still stand on Main Road.


Present economy

Besides shops and a pub in the village area Duston benefits from its proximity to the Sixfields Leisure retail park, which includes a
Cineworld Cineworld Group plc is a British cinema operator headquartered in London, England. It is the world's second-largest cinema chain (after AMC Theatres), with 9,518 screens across 790 sites in 10 countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Irela ...
cinema and 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 ...
- home to the Northampton Town Football Club ("the Cobblers") - a
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 and several restaurants and pubs.
Blacks Leisure Group Blacks Outdoor Retail Ltd. is a British retailer, headquartered in Bury, Greater Manchester, England which owns the British outdoor retailers Blacks, Millets and Ultimate Outdoors. Blacks is the largest outdoor retailer in the UK with stores ...
(owner of Blacks and Millets) is based on an industrial estate on Mansard Close. On the north-eastern side of the area lies the Lodge Farm industrial estate, where major employers include builders merchants Travis Perkins, XPO Logistics, and a Debenhams distribution centre.


Education

There are a mixture of both secondary and primary schools in Duston. In addition to the secondary school, there are five primary schools located within the Duston boundary. Duston Eldean Primary School lies between the northern section of Main Road and Firsview Drive. Millway Primary School is situated in the south-eastern end of the parish on Millway near to the Sixfields retail park and Stadium. Hopping Hill Primary School is another community primary school, situated on Pendle Road close to the Duston Library and Limehurst Square shopping precinct. Chiltern Primary School is positioned on the north-east of the area on Chiltern Way. The St Luke's CEVA Primary School, while connected to the St Luke's church on Main Road, is actually located outside of Duston and instead in the neighbouring St Crispin area. There is one all-through school in the civil parish,
The Duston School The Duston School is a mixed all-through school and sixth form located in Duston in the English county of Northamptonshire. History Previously known as Duston Upper School, it educated children aged 13 to 18. Due to school reorganisation in No ...
, located towards the south-western end on Berrywood Road. Formerly named Duston Upper School prior to the abolition of middle schools in Northamptonshire, the school is co-educational and serves a teaching school for student teachers. In addition to its 4-16 provision, the Duston School also contains a small
sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...
centre offering
A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
s, BTECs and other vocational courses. Outside of the parish, there are a number of nearby schools parents may send their children to in Northampton and the villages.. The fee paying Quinton House School is located nearby in the Upton area, directly south of Duston.


Gallery


Geography


References


External links


Village website
{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire Areas of Northampton Civil parishes in Northamptonshire