Harpole is a village west 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, along the A4500 road (formerly the A45) about east 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 ...

junction 16. The village's name means "filthy pool".

Governance

Harpole is in the unitary authority area 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 signific ...

. Prior to local government reform in 2021 it was in the district council area of

South Northamptonshire South Northamptonshire was, from 1974 to 2021, a district in Northamptonshire, England. Its council was based in the town of Towcester, first established as a settlement in Roman Britain. The population of the Local Authority District Council in ...

where it was part of Harpole and Grange ward, together with the parishes of Milton Malsor,

Kislingbury Kislingbury is a village in Northamptonshire, England, about west of Northampton town centre, and close to junctions 15A and 16 of the M1 motorway. The villages name origin is uncertain. 'At the gravelly-place fortification' or perhaps, 'at th ...

Rothersthorpe Rothersthorpe is a small village of medieval origin, in West Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 500 in the 2001 Census, reducing to 472 at the 2011 census. It is from the town of Northampton. Governance The village is currentl ...

and Gayton. It was also in the area 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 ...

and is in the Parliamentary Constituency of

Daventry Daventry ( , historically ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority in Northamptonshire, England, close to the border with Warwickshire. At the 2021 Census Daventry had a population of 28,123, making ...

. The MP is currently

Chris Heaton-Harris Christopher Heaton-Harris (born 28 November 1967) is an English politician who has served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 6 September 2022. Early life and education Born on 28 November 1967, Heaton-Harris attended the Tiffin ...

(

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 in ...

Geography and history

The M1 London to

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

junctions 16 and 15a are west and south of Harpole respectively. It is north of London and southeast of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

. A Roman mosaic floor uncovered in 1846-48 identifies the site of a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...

north of the village. In April 2022 archaeologists found an Anglo-Saxon woman's grave, the

Harpole bed burial The Harpole Treasure is a collection of Anglo-Saxon artefacts excavated at a bed burial discovered in spring 2022 in Harpole, Northamptonshire, England. It includes a necklace described as "the most ornate of its kind ever found". The Anglo-Saxo ...

, at a site in Harpole being developed for housing by Vistry. The discovery was announced in December 2022 and described as "the most significant early medieval female burial ever discovered in Britain".

Demographics

2001 census data shows 1,547 people resident in the Parish Council area consisting of 755 males and 792 females (the 2009 estimated population is 1,557), in 636 households, of which 82.6% were owner occupied or being purchased with a mortgage.

Facilities

It hosts two public houses:The Live and Let Live, located on Larkhall Lane; and the Turnpike or Beefeater, located at the Harpole Turn from the A4500 road (former

A45 road A45 or A-45 may refer to: * A45 Infantry Support Tank, the chassis of which was developed into the Conqueror tank * A45 Records, a German record label notably producing the band Real McCoy * Article 45 Concern Group, a political party in Hong Ko ...

Village events

Harpole hosts a

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesle ...

weekend in September, during which thousands of visitors enjoy the views of the historic village.Harpole Scarecrows
/ref> There is also an event in December where Santa drives around the village, as in, following him.

Harpole bed burial

An early Christian Anglo-Saxon era burial site of a woman of high social standing was found in Harpole in spring 2022.

References

External links

Harpole Parish Council Website
{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District Civil parishes in Northamptonshire