Ecton

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Ecton
Ecton (Northamptonshire)
Ecton

Ecton shown within Northamptonshire
Population 439 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference SP827637
District Wellingborough
Shire county Northamptonshire
Region East Midlands
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town NORTHAMPTON
Postcode district NN6
Dialling code 01604
Police Northamptonshire
Fire Northamptonshire
Ambulance East Midlands
European Parliament East Midlands
UK Parliament Wellingborough
List of places: UK • England • Northamptonshire

Coordinates: 52°15′55″N 0°47′14″W / 52.265283, -0.7873

For the hamlet of Ecton in the Staffordshire Peak District, see Ecton, Staffordshire.

Ecton is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is in the Borough of Wellingborough and according to the 2001 census had a population of 439. The village is just east of Northampton just off the A4500. It was one of the first villages in Northamptonshire to be given conservation status.

Ecton is a place of pilgrimage for many Americans. Benjamin Franklin'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.[1]

Contents

[edit] Transport

Ecton is served by the A4500 which runs east-west past the top of the village. The road connects Ecton to Northampton and Wellingborough, 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 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. [2]

[edit] Religion

The Church
The Church
The Shrine
The Shrine

Dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, the parish church of Ecton lies just off the High Street. Graves of the Sotherby family and the Franklin family can be seen in the churchyard. The church is in the diocese of Peterborough. (Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England, Northamptonshire, 1961)
Two former chapels, one located off the High Street and the other located in West Street, have been converted to residential properties.

[edit] Pubs

Ecton is served by two public houses: The World's End which has recently been refurbished and extended, and The Three Horseshoes. The World's End is located at the entrance to 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.[3]

[edit] 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.

[edit] Village School

The village school provides an education for children up to the age of 11 from the village and surrounding area.[4]

[edit] 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. There is no lighting in the park which has made it a popular place for older children and young adults to 'hang out' after dark. There is a cricket team that play on a pitch located behind the village club. The pitch used to be located in a field off the A4500 until the mid 1990's when it re-located to its current location.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Janet Benge, Geoff Benge (2005). Benjamin Franklin: Live Wire. YWAM Publishing. ISBN 1932096140. 
  2. ^ Source: Bus timetable for X4/X46, http://www.stagecoachbus.com/uploads/NNX46Sept2007cropped.pdf
  3. ^ Ecton Village Website, http://www.ectonvillage.co.uk/threehorseshoes.html
  4. ^ Ecton Village School Prospectus, Page 3. http://www.brandham.co.uk/ecton/prospectus%20docs/Prospectus.pdf, from the website http://www.ecton-village-school.co.uk/

[edit] External links

There is a website about the village at http://www.ectonvillage.co.uk and a discussion forum at http://www.villageforum.co.uk/ecton.

The village school website can be found at http://www.ecton-village-school.co.uk.