Corby

Corby is an industrial town and a local government district located 8 miles north of Kettering in Northamptonshire, England. The district as a whole had a population of 53,174 at the 2001 Census; the town on its own accounted for about 48,000 of this figure.

1 History
2 Local government
3 Politics
4 Elections
5 Society and culture
6 Transport
7 Employment and education
8 Regeneration and redevelopment
9 Trivia
10 References
11 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

Mesolithic and Neolithic artefacts have been found in the area surrounding Corby and human remains dating to the Bronze age were found in 1970 at Cowthick^[1]. The first evidence of permanent settlement comes from the 8th century when Danish invaders arrived and the settlement became known as "Kori's by" – Kori's settlement. The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Corbei". Corby's emblem, the raven, derives from an alternative meaning of this word.

Corby was granted the right to hold two annual fairs and a market by Henry III in 1226. In 1568 Corby was granted a charter by Elizabeth I that exempted local landowners from certain taxes and gave all men the right to refuse to serve in the local militia^[2]. A popular legend is that the Queen was hunting in Rockingham Forest when she fell from her horse. Upon being rescued by villagers from Corby she granted the charter in gratitude for her rescue. Another popular explanation is that it was granted as a favour to her lover Sir Christopher Hatton.

The Corby Pole Fair is an event that has taken place every 20 years since 1862 in celebration of the charter.

[edit] From Rural Village to Industrial Town

The local area has been worked for iron ore since Roman times. An ironstone industry developed in the 19th century with the coming of the railways and the discovery of extensive ironstone beds. By 1910 an ironstone works had been established. In 1931 Corby was a small village with a population of around 1,500. It grew rapidly into a reasonably-sized industrial town, when the owners of the ironstone works, the Scottish steel firm Stewarts and Lloyds, decided to build a large integrated ironstone and steel works on the site. The start of construction in 1934 drew workers from all over the country including many workers from the depressed West of Scotland and Irish labourers. The first steel was produced in October 1935 and for decades afterwards the steel works dominated the town. By 1939 the population had grown to around 12,000, at which time Corby was thought to be the largest "village" in the country, but it was at that point that Corby was redesignated an urban district (see the Local Government section below).

[edit] The 1940s and 1950s

During World War II the Corby steel works were expected to be a target for German bombers but in the event there were only a few bombs dropped by solitary planes and there were no casualties^[3]. The only known remaining scars from German attacks can be found in the form of bullet holes visible on the front fascia of the old post office in Corby Village (now known as the La Poste wine bar). Nobody really knows the exact circumstances under which the attack occurred, but a local apocryphal tale tells of a lone pilot making his way back to Germany after a successful raid on Coventry who spotted some lights so decided to finish off his already depleted stock of bullets. Sadly, the authenticity of this romanticised tale can neither be verified or denied, but it is certainly the most popular theory amongst locals. The Corby steel works made a notable contribution to the war effort by manufacturing the steel tubes used in Operation Pluto to supply fuel to Allied forces on the European continent. By 1950 the population of the town stood at 18,000. In that year Corby was designated a new town and the town underwent its second wave of expansion, mainly from Scotland, which resulted in a car-friendly layout with many areas of open space and woodland.

[edit] The Decline of the Steel Industry

In 1967 the British steel industry was nationalised and the Corby steel works came under the control of British Steel. From the mid-1970s the loss-making British Steel pursued a strategy of concentrating steel making in five areas: South Wales, South Yorkshire, Scunthorpe, Teeside and Scotland. This policy continued following the Conservative victory in the 1979 General Election and the early 1980s saw the loss of 11,000 jobs leading to an unemployment rate of over 30%^[4]. Hope was brought to the depressed town by a plan to build a US-style theme park and resort called Wonder World. Wonder World promised a massive development over a decade or more starting in early 1983. It gradually became apparent that the project was never going to start, leading to it being dubbed "Wonder World, Wonder When?" by locals. The Wonder World site has since been sold and the Priors Hall housing development is due to commence on the site in 2006. The employment situation has improved and unemployment is now at the national average, but the depression of the 1980s is still remembered with bitterness by many locals. In 2003, plans were announced for a much-needed regeneration of Corby. Many large companies such as Argos are creating jobs through their new distribution centres.

[edit] Local government

As mentioned above, prior to the 1930s Corby was not an especially large village. A Corby urban district was created in 1939 from the parish of Corby. This expanded various times, most recently in 1974 when the existing Corby urban district was abolished and replaced with a new local government district which covered both the area of the old urban district along with the parishes of Cottingham, East Carlton, Gretton, Middleton, Rockingham, Stanion and Weldon, Northamptonshire. ^[5] The district obtained borough status in 1993.

[edit] Politics

The current Member of Parliament for Corby is Phil Hope MP (Labour). The Corby constituency contains parts of traditionally Conservative East Northamptonshire that balance the traditionally Labour town of Corby leading to a marginal constituency that has gone to the party forming the national government in every general election since the creation of the constituency in 1979. In the 2005 General Election, Labour won Corby by a majority of just over 1,000. Corby Borough Council has been dominated by the Labour party for many decades and local politics is often concerned with competing factions and personalities within the Labour Party. In 2005 the council had 18 Labour representatives, 9 Conservatives and 2 Liberal Democrats. The town remains a labour stronghold because of its former steel industry and working class background whilst the rest of the county has a largely agricultural heritage and remains conservative which is also why the town remains very diverse from the rest of the county.

[edit] Elections

[edit] Society and culture

Scottish migration, and the migration to Corby of Irish from both parts of Ireland, has created a unique population in the borough, evidenced most clearly in the 'Corby accent', referred to as 'Corbyite', which is often described as sounding somewhere between Glaswegian, Liverpudlian and any number of Irish accents. The link with Scotland and Ireland is an enduring feature of the area: according to the 2001 Census, there were 10,064 Scottish-born in the Corby Urban Area - 18.9 per cent of the population. A further 1.3 per cent was born in Northern Ireland. It has been estimated that two thirds of the population are Scottish or of Scottish descent^[6].

The Scottish heritage is cherished by many inhabitants -- there are Scottish social and sporting clubs and there are many fervent supporters of the Celtic and Rangers football clubs (indeed, Corby is home to the largest Glasgow Rangers Supporters' Club outside of Glasgow itself). Many shops sell Scottish foods and a supermarket even introduced Gaelic signs^[7] to their Corby store (but they have since removed them). An annual Highland Gathering featuring traditional Scottish music and dancing is held in the town.

According to the 2001 Census only 1.7% of the population is non-White and the average age of the population (37.2) is slightly lower than the average for England and Wales (38.6). In the UK Government's 'indices of multiple deprivation' Corby ranks within the 25% most deprived areas in England and some areas of the town are within the 5% most deprived areas^[8]. Rates of violent crime and thefts of motor vehicles are significantly higher than the average for England and Wales. Rates of other offences are close to the average^[9].

[edit] Transport

The town is located along the A43, A427, A6003 and is six miles from the A14. Corby lies within one hour's drive of four international airports: Birmingham, Luton, Stansted and Nottingham East Midlands.

Corby is served by the Corby Star bus service and there are direct bus and coach services to Northampton, Milton Keynes, Peterborough and Glasgow. Plans for building a new bus station for Corby are being considered by the council following the closure of the old bus station in August 2002.

The nearest railway station is Kettering, seven miles south of Corby. It is on the Midland Main Line between London and Nottingham. Corby once had a station of its own, on the Midland Railway's "alternative route" between London and Nottingham, bypassing the present main line via Market Harborough, Leicester and Loughborough and passing through Corby, Oakham and Melton Mowbray instead. However, Corby station closed in April 1966 and much of the line lost its remaining passenger services in May 1967 (the Oakham to Melton Mowbray section remains open to passengers as part of the Peterborough to Leicester line). Nevertheless, the section through Corby is still open for freight (it passes through the 1,920 yard Corby Tunnel just north of the town, and further north still it crosses the colossal 82-arch Harringworth Viaduct).

In April 1987 a passenger service was reintroduced but it was only a shuttle train between Corby and Kettering, usually operated using a single dmu carriage. This became irregular and unreliable; the then Corby District Council, who were funding the service, decided enough was enough and withdrew the service in June 1990. Some time later a plan was put forward to include the Kettering-Corby section in an ambitious-sounding cross-country service from Swindon to Peterborough, but this came to nothing. Reintroduction of a reliable passenger rail service has been called for ever since, but a recent government statement suggested it may not materialise for seven years at least. There are grounds for more optimism though: see the Regeneration and Redevelopment section below.

It has been claimed that Corby is the largest town in England without a passenger rail service, now that Cannock and Mansfield have reopened. However, the towns of Gosport in Hampshire (population 78,000), Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire (population 74,000), and Washington, Tyne and Wear (population 55,000), also claim this dubious honour. However these towns form part of larger conurbations, so Corby vies with Rossendale for the title of largest separate urban area without a station.

[edit] Employment and education

Since the 1980s the unemployment rate has returned to a level close to the national average (2.7% in October 2005)^[10]. Employment is biased towards Manufacturing (36.8% compared to a regional average of 18.5%) and against in public administration, health and education (10.0% compared to the regional average of 25.9%)^[11]. Much of industry is concentrated in purpose-built industrial estates on the outskirts of the town.

According to the 2001 Census the proportion of the working age population with degree-level qualifications (8.5%) is the lowest of all areas in England and Wales. 39.3% have no GCSE-equivalent qualifications at all^[12].

The Corby campus of Tresham Institute of Further and Higher Education provides a range of vocational courses for post-16 students and adult learners. The nearest universities are the University of Northampton, 37 km (23 miles) to the south and both Leicester and De Montfort universities in Leicester, 40 km (25 miles) to the west.

Lodge Park Technology College on Shetland Way

Brooke Weston City Technology College ("the CTC"), one of only 15 CTCs in England, opened in 1990. Brooke Weston CTC has consistently achieved examination results in the top 5% of English state schools.

Since 1990 several of Corby's other secondary schools have fared less well with a series of poor examination results and critical inspection reports leading to mergers and closures, the most recent being the closure of Our Lady and Pope John School in 2005. Currently there are four secondary schools in Corby: Brooke Weston CTC, Lodge Park Technology College, Corby Community College and The Kingswood School. Corby Community College has a special unit for children with severe special educational needs. All four schools have Sixth Forms for post-16 students. As part of the regeneration programme it is planned to close Corby Community College and open an academy situated on one of the new developments. It is also planned to change Brooke Weston to an Academy^[13]. Corby has 17 primary schools of which two are Church of England schools, three are Roman Catholic and one for children with severe behavioural and emotional difficulties.

[edit] Regeneration and redevelopment

Corby Borough Council is currently working with Urban Regeneration Company North Northants Development Company (NNDC) (formerly Catalyst Corby), the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA), the Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM), English Partnerships and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to regenerate the whole town. The population of the town is expected to double in the next 30 years, to well over 100,000, through large new residential developments such as Priors Hall and Oakley Vale.

A new extension to the main shopping centre, to be called Willow Place, is currently under construction and is expected to be complete by October 2007. Town centre owners Land Securities are also looking to redevelop the rest of the town centre once the first phase is completed, replacing much of the 1950s-1970s built environment which could be argued to be aesthetically unappealing. In addition, there are plans to develop a new Olympic-sized swimming pool and Civic Hub in the town centre within the next three years.

Stephen Fry is currently doing the voiceover work for a campaign running in London to entice people to move to Corby. The campaign is centred around advertisements in newspapers, on the London Underground and on local radio.

Corby does not currently have a passenger rail service, although the land has been acquired for a station and a line already runs through the town. Midland Mainline, the train operating company (TOC), currently runs bus services from Kettering, providing a half-hourly shuttle to Corby Town Centre. This has proved to be successful and Midland Mainline are conducting a feasibility study to see if a passenger rail service to Corby would be viable.

Their rail franchise is up for renewal in 2007 and so various figureheads from Corby Council, NNDC and the Local MP have been lobbying ministers to ensure the new franchise includes a Corby passenger service, which is seen as key to the regeneration of the town as a whole. The rail link, if given outline approval this year, is expected to provide service for passengers from Corby to London St Pancras direct. A petition with some 10,000 sigatures was recently handed into Whitehall as part of the public campaign to show support for the new service. If however, Corby is not included in the new franchise, it may be another seven years before it will get a passenger service.

[edit] Trivia

Corby crater on Mars is named after the town of Corby.
Corby was voted the 9th worst town in Britain in a 2004 online poll^[14].
Corby annually hosts the world's most southerly Highland Gathering. To promote the event in the 1970s the town hosted the World Porridge Eating Championships.
Corby has strong ties to Sir Matt Busby whose sisters lived in the town for many years. A lounge was named in his honour in Lodge Park sport centre, which he opened in 1974.
Ex-footballer Eddie McGoldrick comes from Corby and managed Corby Town F.C. for a short period.
Heavy metal band, Raging Speedhorn, were formed in Corby.
Uprising Rock n Roll band, The Idlers, were formed in Corby.
TV Presenter Johnny Vaughan was a life-guard at the local swimming baths whilst attending the nearby Uppingham Public School.
The novel 'The Pig' by Andrew Cowan is set in the town, although not named.
Novelist John Burnside set 'Living Nowhere' in Corby, where he lived in the 60s and 70s. It features in his memoir 'A Lie About My Father' as well.
Mark Lawrenson and John Robertson both ended their footballing careers with brief spells with Corby Town F.C.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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Categories: Local government in Northamptonshire | New towns | Shire districts | Towns in Northamptonshire | Iron and Steel mills