Ecton
Encyclopedia
Ecton is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Wellingborough
Wellingborough (borough)
Wellingborough is a Non-metropolitan district and borough in Northamptonshire, England. It is named after Wellingborough, its main town, but also includes surrounding rural areas....

 in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

, England. The village is just east of Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

, just off the A4500 road. It was one of the first villages in Northamptonshire to be given conservation status. The toponym
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...

 is derived from the Old English words Ecca and tun, meaning "Ecca's farm/settlement.

Demographics

The 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

 recorded 439 people living in the village: 214 male, 222 female, in 207 households with average age 45.56 years.

American links

Ecton is a place of pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...

 for many Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...

's ancestors lived here for over 300 years, many generations of them being the village blacksmiths, on a site where now stands the Three Horseshoes Inn. There are still headstones for members of the Franklin family in the village churchyard; inside the church there is a bronze plaque, provided by a group of American visitors in 1910, which has a quotation from one of Benjamin Franklin’s speeches.

Transport

Ecton is served by the A4500 which runs east-west past the top of the village. The road connects Ecton to Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

 and Wellingborough
Wellingborough
Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...

, as well as a number of other villages. To the south of the village is the A45. There are no public transport services that run through the village itself, although Stagecoach United Counties
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...

 provide regular bus services that stop on the A4500. Bus services run from early morning to late evening with a reduced service on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Religion

The Church of England parish church
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 the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...

 of Saint Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...

 is just off the High Street. It dates from the 13th century. Graves of the Sotherby family and the Franklin family are in the churchyard. The church is in the Diocese of Peterborough.

Two former chapels, one off the High Street and the other in West Street, have been converted to residential properties.

From about 1687 to 1703 Henry Bagley ran a bell foundry
Bellfounding
Bellfounding is the casting of bells in a foundry for use in churches, clocks, and public buildings. A practitioner of the craft is called a bellmaker or bellfounder. The process in Europe dates to the 4th or 5th century. In early times, when a town produced a bell it was a momentous occasion in...

 in Ecton. Bagley is buried in the parish churchyard. The Bagley family also ran a bell-foundry in Chacombe.

Public houses

Ecton has two public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

s: The World's End which was refurbished and extended in 2006, and The Three Horseshoes, also recently refurbished in April 2011. The World's End is at the edge of the village on the A4500, and The Three Horseshoes is in the centre of the village. The Three Horseshoes offers traditional pub games including skittles, darts and cribbage
Cribbage
Cribbage, or crib, is a card game traditionally for two players, but commonly played with three, four or more, that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points...

.

Shops

Ecton no longer has any shops. In the past the village had a post office and numerous shops but the last post office and shop closed in 1989. The village has also been home to many different trades, including a baker, blacksmith, tailor and a bell foundry. There are many self employed people operating in the village offering services such as hair dressing, building, odd job persons.

School

The village primary school educates children up to the age of 11 from the village and surrounding area.

Recreation

The village has a playing field which is adjacent to The Worlds End Pub and The Shrine which has swings, a roundabout, slide and climbing equipment for young children. The village cricket club plays on a pitch located behind the village club. The pitch used to be located in a field off the A4500 until the mid-1990s when it re-located to its current location.

See also

  • Northampton
    Northampton
    Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

  • Wellingborough
    Wellingborough
    Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...

  • Earls Barton
    Earls Barton
    Earls Barton is a village and civil parish in eastern Northamptonshire, notable for its Saxon church and shoe-making heritage.The village was the inspiration for the film Kinky Boots and part of the film was shot here...

  • Sywell
    Sywell
    Sywell is a small village in Northamptonshire, England. The village is governed by The Borough Council of Wellingborough. The name Sywell is thought to mean seven wells.-Facilities:The facilities found in the village include:...

  • Overstone
    Overstone, Northamptonshire
    Overstone is a civil parish and small village in the Daventry district of the county of Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 650 people....

  • Mears Ashby
    Mears Ashby
    Mears Ashby is a village in the English county of Northamptonshire between the county town of Northampton and Wellingborough and is in the West ward of borough council of Wellingborough area which also includes Sywell.-Demographics:...

  • Cogenhoe
    Cogenhoe
    Cogenhoe is a village in South Northamptonshire, England. The civil parish of Cogenhoe and Whiston had a population at the 2001 census of 1,439 ....

  • Whiston
    Whiston, Northamptonshire
    Whiston is a village in the English county of Northamptonshire four miles due east of the county town of Northampton. It is in the civil parish of Cogenhoe and Whiston.-External links:*...

  • Wilby
    Wilby, Northamptonshire
    Wilby is a linear village and civil parish in Northamptonshire. It is directly south-west of the town of Wellingborough on the former trunk road, the A4500, to the county town of Northampton...

  • Great Doddington
    Great Doddington
    Great Doddington is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom, close to Wellingborough and just off the A45. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 1,061 people....


External links

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