Silverstone 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 authorit ...

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 ...

, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10,

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 ...

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

and Banbury. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,176. The A43 now bypasses to the south-east of the village. The village's name probably means, 'farm/settlement of Saewulf/Sigewulf'. The Silverstone Circuit, the current home of the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Cha ...

, is located nearby; it straddles the Northamptonshire and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

border. The village is listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as ''Silvestone'' and ''Selvestone''.

Parish church

Silverstone had a chapel by AD 1200. In about 1780 the medieval building was replaced by a Georgian one, which was enlarged by the addition of a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

in 1841 and a north

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, pa ...

and

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

in 1852. The entire church was demolished in the 1880s and replaced by the present

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

of Saint Michael, which is a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

building designed by

James Piers St Aubyn James Piers St Aubyn (6 April 1815 – 8 May 1895), often referred to as J P St Aubyn, was an English architect of the Victorian era, known for his church architecture and confident restorations. Early life St Aubyn was born at Powick Vicarag ...

and completed in 1884.Pevsner & Cherry, 1973, page 404 On the north side of the parish churchyard are the remains of medieval fish ponds.

Facilities

The village has 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 wa ...

: the White Horse Inn. About south of the village is the Silverstone Circuit, a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

bomber base and now the traditional home of the

, a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

race that attracts more than 300,000 visitors each year.

Silverstone University Technical College Silverstone University Technical College (or Silverstone UTC) is a university technical college (UTC) that opened at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England in September 2013. The UTC specialises in High Performance Engineering and B ...

opened at the circuit in September 2013. Adjacent to Silverstone Circuit is Silverstone Park, a business park operated by MEPC plc, with a focus on engineering and high-tech activities. The site is home to over 80 organisations, including

Envision Virgin Racing The Envision Racing Formula E Team is a British motor racing team based at Silverstone Park and majority-owned by Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Envision Energy that competes in Formula E. Currently, the two drivers are Nick Cassidy and S� ...

David Brown Automotive David Brown Automotive is a British manufacturer of limited edition automobiles in Silverstone, England, belonging to British businessman David Brown. The company began in Coventry in 2013 and moved to a new 18,000 sq ft dedicated build facil ...

, Delta Motorsport, Ducati UK Ltd, National College for Motorsport, Danecca Limited and Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence. It also features the UK's only dedicated sub-contract inspection

metrology Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to standardise units in Fran ...

facility, managed by Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, a technical partner to Red Bull Formula 1. Silverstone is also the base of the Formula One constructor

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated wi ...

, which was formerly known as

Racing Point Racing Point F1 Team, which competed as BWT Racing Point F1 Team and commonly known as Racing Point, was a British motor racing team and constructor that Racing Point UK entered into the Formula One World Championship. The team was based in ...

Force India Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 20 ...

, and Jordan Grand Prix. In the Middle Ages, the village trade was primarily in timber from the surrounding

Whittlewood forest Whittlewood Forest is a former medieval hunting forest east of Silverstone in Northamptonshire in England. It is managed by the Forestry England. There are tracts of ancient woodland within it and old ditches can be found at the edges of seve ...

through the use of coppicing. Linnell Brothers still operate a woodyard to this day.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire Civil parishes in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District

Parish church

Facilities

References

Further reading

External links