Кеттеринг: История и современность английского города

Town in England
the town in England

Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England, 67 mile (108 km) north of London and 15 mile (24 km) north east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ketter's people (or kinsfolk)". At the 2021 census Kettering had a population of 63,150. There is a growing commuter population as it is on the Midland Main Line railway, with East Midlands Railway services direct to London St Pancras International taking about an hour.

Kettering means "the place (or territory) of Ketter's people (or kinsfolk)". About 500 BC the Iron Age was introduced into the area by a continental people in the form of the Hallstatt culture, and over the next century a series of hillforts were constructed, the closest to Kettering being at nearby Irthlingborough.

Like most of what later became Northamptonshire, from early in the 1st century BC the Kettering area became part of the territory of the Catuvellauni, a Belgic tribe, the Northamptonshire area forming their most northerly possession. Along with the Forest of Dean and the Weald of Kent and Sussex, this area of Northamptonshire "was one of the three great centres of iron working in Roman Britain". Pottery kilns have also been unearthed at nearby Barton Seagrave and Boughton.

Excavations in the early 20th century either side of Stamford road (A43), near the site of the former Prime Cut factory (now the Warren public house), revealed an extensive early Saxon burial site, consisting of at least a hundred cremation urns dating to the 5th century AD. This suggests that it may have been among the earliest Anglo Saxon penetrations into the interior of what later became England. The prefix Wic of the nearby village of Weekley may also signify Anglo Saxon activities in the area; Greenall reports that it could be "an indication of foederati, Anglo Saxon mercenaries brought in to boost the defences of the Empire." The Mercians converted to Christianity in 654 with the death of the pagan king Penda. From about 889 the Kettering area, along with much of Northamptonshire (and at one point almost all of England except for Athelney marsh in Somerset), was conquered by the Danes and became part of the Danelaw, with the ancient trackway of Watling Street serving as the border, until being recaptured by the English under the Wessex king Edward the Elder, son of Alfred the Great, in 917. Northamptonshire was conquered again in 940, this time by the Vikings of York, who devastated the area, only for the county to be retaken by the English in 942. It is unlikely, however, that Kettering itself existed as a village earlier than the 10th century (the county of Northampton itself is not referenced in documents before 1011). Before this time the Kettering area was most likely populated by a thin scattering of family farmsteads. The nearby stately home of Boughton House, sometimes described as the 'English Versailles', has for centuries been the seat of the Dukes of Buccleuch, major landowners in Kettering and most of the surrounding villages; along with the Watsons of Rockingham Castle, the two families were joint lords of the manor of Kettering. Kettering is dominated by the crocketed spire of about of the Parish church of SS Peter and Paul. Little is known of the origins of the church, its first known priest becoming rector in 1219–20. The chancel is in the Early Decorated style of about 1300, the main fabric of the building being mostly Perpendicular, having been rebuilt in the mid 15th century (its tower and spire being remarkably similar to the tower and spire of St Peter's Oundle). Whether the current building replaced an earlier church on the site is unknown. The charter for Kettering's market was granted to the Bishop of Peterborough by Henry III in 1227. causing a brief uprising known as the Midland Revolt, which involved several nearby villages. Protesting at land enclosures at Newton and Pytchley by local landlords the Treshams, on 8 June a pitched battle took place between Levellers – many from Kettering, Corby and particularly Weldon, – and local gentry and their servants (local militias having refused the call to arms). Approximately 40–50 local men are said to have been killed and the ringleaders hanged, drawn and quartered. The Newton rebellion represents one of the last times that the English peasantry and the gentry were in open conflict. By the 17th century the town was a centre for woollen cloth.

There are two tiers of local government covering Kettering, at parish (town) and unitary authority level: Kettering Town Council and North Northamptonshire Council. The town council has its offices at 10 Headlands and holds its meetings at various venues. North Northamptonshire Council has its main offices in Corby but retains the former Kettering Borough Council headquarters at the Municipal Offices on Bowling Green Road as an area office.

Kettering was an ancient parish. Until 1872 the parish was governed by its vestry. In 1872 the parish was made a local government district, governed by a local board. The board subsequently held its meetings at the Town Hall, which was the main assembly room at the Corn Exchange in the Market Place, which had been built by a private company in 1853 to the designs of Edmund Francis Law. Such local government districts were reconstituted as urban districts in 1894. In 1904 the council moved its meeting place to Stamford Road School (now the William Knibb Centre). Kettering Urban District was enlarged in 1935 to take in Barton Seagrave. The urban district was elevated to become a municipal borough in 1938, allowing the council to appoint a mayor. The council relocated in 1966 to the Municipal Offices in Bowling Green Road, which had previously been Kettering Grammar School, having been completed in 1913 to the designs of John Alfred Gotch, in the Neoclassical style. The municipal borough of Kettering was abolished in 1974 to become part of a larger non metropolitan district called the Borough of Kettering, which also covered Burton Latimer, Desborough, Rothwell and several parishes from the former Kettering Rural District. Kettering itself became an unparished area. Barton Seagrave was re established as a separate parish in 2002. The borough of Kettering was abolished in 2021 to become part of the unitary authority of North Northamptonshire, which also took over county level functions from the abolished Northamptonshire County Council. Concurrent with these changes, the unparished area of Kettering became a civil parish which also gained some land from Cranford and Barton Seagrave, which enabled it to establish a new town council. The new Kettering Town Council inherited the mayoralty from the former borough council.

Kettering is represented in parliament by a constituency of the same name, which is currently (as of June 2017) represented by Conservative MP Philip Hollobone, who gained the then marginal constituency from former Labour MP Phil Sawford in the 2005 general election.

Kettering's economy was built on the boot and shoe industry. With the arrival of railways in the 19th century, industries such as engineering and clothing grew up. The clothing manufacturer Aquascutum built its first factory there in 1909. Kettering's economy is now based on service and distribution industries due to its central location and transport links. Kettering's unemployment rate is amongst the lowest in the UK and has over 80% of its adults in full time employment. It is home to a wide range of companies including Aryzta, Weetabix, Pegasus Software, RCI Europe, Timsons Ltd and Morrisons Distribution as well as Wicksteed Park, the United Kingdom's second oldest theme park, which now plays host to one and a quarter million visitors every season. It has a very large free playground area, which was built by Wicksteed Playscapes, who are based in Kettering; the company is the world's oldest known playground producer. Kettering General Hospital provides Acute and Accident & Emergency department services for north Northamptonshire including Corby and Wellingborough. With its new £20 million campus, 16,000 students and 800 staff, Tresham College of Further and Higher Education is a significant employer in the region. The former police station and social club on London Road has been closed down and as of 2020 the site is for sale. Northamptonshire Police have an enquiry desk situated within the Kettering Municipal Offices. Kettering Business Park, a recent and current commercial property development undertaken by Buccleuch Property is situated on the A43/A6003, on the north side of Kettering. Many office buildings are being built as part of the project as well as a leisure sector with a new hotel. Many large distribution warehouses have been constructed in the area, creating thousands of jobs for the local economy. Kettering's Heritage Quarter houses the Manor House Museum and the Alfred East Gallery. The magnificent Boughton House, Queen Eleanor cross and the 1597 Triangular Lodge are local landmarks within the borough. Sir Thomas Tresham was a devout Catholic who was imprisoned for his beliefs. When he was released he built Triangular Lodge to defy his prosecutors and secretly declare his faith. The British sitcom Peep Show has various scenes located in Kettering owing to the head office of JLB, the company which employs lead character Mark Corrigan, being located there.

In March 2007, a project was revealed to refurbish and bring new leisure and shopping to the town centre, including water features, public art, sculptures, street furniture, trees, plants and an innovative pavement lighting scheme.

Primary Schools in Kettering include St Peter's School, an independent school, Park Road School, St Thomas More Catholic School, St Edward’s Catholic Primary School, St Andrew's Church of England School, Hawthorn School, Greenfields Primary, St Mary's, Millbrook Junior School and a number of others associated with Secondary Academies. A new Church of England primary school, Hayfield Cross, is opening in September 2015. Kettering has four secondary schools, each with the ability to take on pupils after the age of 16 to allow pupils to complete their A Levels and BTEC Diplomas. The four secondary schools located in the town are Bishop Stopford School, Kettering Science Academy, Kettering Buccleuch Academy and Southfield School for Girls. Both the Kettering Science Academy and Kettering Buccleuch Academy have become academies in recent years and both academies are joined to separate primary schools to allow for an easier transition from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3. Latimer Arts College is also in the area and is located in the nearby village of Barton Seagrave. The school also has a sixth form facility, but no primary schools are specifically linked to them. Kettering is also home to one of Tresham College of Further and Higher Education's three campuses. Tresham allows full and part time students over the age of 16 to study a range of vocational courses such as Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy, ICT, Hospitality and Catering and Motor Vehicle Technology. Tresham College also offers Access to Higher Education courses and undergraduate courses in association with the University of Bedfordshire and University of Northampton.

The multi purpose sports and business facility at the Kettering Conference Centre provides both a leisure centre, health club, children's activity and conference centre all in one venue. It is also the home to Volleyball England's National Volleyball Centre.

Kettering Town is the town's football club, who as of the 2021–22 season play in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football. Kettering Town played their home matches at Rockingham Road in the town until 2011. Following spells at Nene Park in Irthlingborough and Steel Park in Corby, the team currently plays at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer.

Kettering is home to Kettering Rugby Football Club (KRFC), located in Waverley Road on the eastern side of the town. After a period of playing under Uppingham Public School Rules the club formally adopted RFU rules in 1875 and quickly became a significant participant in both the local community and the fast developing Rugby scene in the East Midlands. In the early days games were played on a number of sites including farmers' fields and council owned grounds. It was during this period, prior to adopting a home of their own, that the club developed its high profile in the town.

A short lived greyhound racing track was opened on 4 July 1930 and raced on Friday evenings. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the National Greyhound Racing Club) and was known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks. It is not known how long the track traded.

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia. Television signals are received from the Sandy Heath TV transmitter. The town’s local radio stations are BBC Radio Northampton on 103.6 FM, Heart East on 96.6 FM and Smooth East Midlands (formerly Connect FM) on 107.4 FM. Kettering is served by the following local newspapers: Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph and Northampton Chronicle and Echo.

The A14 skirts the west and south of the town, links the town with the A45 dual carriageway, M1 and M6 motorways. The A6003 links Kettering to Corby. The A43 links Kettering with Corby and the county town of Northampton and the A509 (Kettering/Wellingborough Road) links Kettering with Wellingborough.

Rail services operated by East Midlands Railway depart every 30 minutes from Kettering to London St Pancras, with an average journey time of 59 minutes. St Pancras also provides an interchange with the Eurostar service to France and Belgium. Kettering is linked to Corby, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield to the north and Wellingborough, Bedford and Luton to the south. With its good rail links, a large and growing commuter population takes advantage of Kettering's position on the Midland Main Line railway.

Five large UK airports are within 2 hours' drive of the town, these being Heathrow, Luton, East Midlands, Birmingham and Stansted. Luton can be reached directly by train, while East Midlands and Stansted can be reached by one change at Leicester. Sywell Aerodrome, located 6 mile (10 km) south west of Kettering, caters for private flying, flight training and corporate flights.

Kettering experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification) which is similar to most of the British Isles.

Kettering's nearest towns are Desborough, Burton Latimer and Rothwell, with the larger towns of Corby and Wellingborough.