Irchester

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Irchester
latitude= 52.2783
longitude= -0.6555
population= 5,000
shire_district= Wellingborough
shire_county = Northamptonshire
region= East Midlands
constituency_westminster= Wellingborough
post_town= WELLINGBOROUGH
postcode_district = NN29
postcode_area= NN
dial_code= 01933
os_grid_reference= SP8967
london_distance= 70.4m

Irchester is now the largest village in Northamptonshire, England. It is located about 2 miles south-east of Wellingborough and 2 miles west of Rushden. It is also equidistant from London (105 km - 65 miles - to the south) and Birmingham (105 km to the west). Included within the civil parish of Irchester are the hamlets of Little Irchester and Knuston.

History

Over the years, the village has 'migrated' from its original location upon the River Nene. Finds at the original site have shown traces of a Roman settlement upon a pre-invasion site. In the Middle Ages the village was known as Ernecestre, which by the time of the death of the Middle English tongue had become Archester. Irchester Parish Historical Society publish a number of books about the history of the village.

Transport and Communications

;RoadsThe nearest motorway is the M1 - junction 15 is approximately 13 miles away.;AirThe nearest airfield is Sywell Airport, located 10 miles to the northwest. The nearest passenger airport is Luton Airport, 30 miles to the south.;RailThe nearest railway station is at Wellingborough, approximately 2 miles from the village. The X46 bus service stops at Midland Road in Wellingborough about half a mile from the railway station. Places served by direct East Midlands Trains trains include London, Luton, Bedford, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield. Irchester itself once had a railway station located to the east of the village and some have argued that it should be reopened. [http://www.brta.org.uk/html/achievements.html] ;BusesThe main bus service serving the village is the X46/46 operated by Stagecoach. It connects the village with Wellingborough, Rushden, Northampton, Earls Barton, Higham Ferrers and Raunds. It operates seven days a week - there are fewer buses on Sundays.

Education

A playgroup, called ABC, meets at the village hall in School Road. Irchester Primary School, also located nearby in School Lane, has around 330 pupils with an age range of 4 to 11. The nearest secondary school is in the nearby village of Wollaston.

Facilities

The village has a health centre, a pharmacy, library [http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/Leisure/Libraries/Public/irchlib.htm] and a post office. Shops include a small Co-op supermarket, a gift shop called This and That and an estate agent. There are two pubs and a fish and chip shop, Chinese and Indian takeaway. There are no banks in the village, but a number of banking facilities are available at the post office and a cash dispenser can be found at the Co-op.

Recreation

The village has a large country park which is managed by Northamptonshire County Council. This was created by opencast ironstone quarries which were allowed to revert to a wilder landscape after they were worked out some decades after the war. The removal of the ironstone and some of the limestones that overlaid it have lowered the landscape within the circuit of the working face by several metres, though this is not particularly apparent except near the vehicle entrance. Within the park there is a highly unusual "ridge and furrow" topography with several metres relief. This as a consequence of the movement patterns of the machines that stripped the overburden to expose the ironstone. The park offers immature woodlands (planted circa 1965) and grassy meadows with trails around the park. A children's play area, visitor centre and shop are also available at the park. Access is possible for disabled people, though many of the woodland paths are not exactly wheel-chair friendly. Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum is part way along one of the trails in the country park. It features a selection of working steam and diesel locomotives, in total over 40 items of rolling stock. A 250-metre long demonstration track can also be seen at the museum.

Irchester Players

The Irchester Players are an amateur dramatic society which has members from a wide age range. They put on a variety of performances including shows, musicals and pantomimes, which are performed at 'Parsons Hall' in the village.

port

;Football:"Main article: Irchester United F.C."

The local football team, Irchester United, known as 'The Romans', currently play in the United Counties League Division One. The ground is located in Alfred Street.;BowlsIrchester Bowls Club, also known as 'The Romans', situated on the High Street, participates in several bowling events throughout the year. The club has a county standard class "A" Green.;CricketIrchester Cricket Club play at Alfred Street and participate in the Northamptonshire Cricket League - the first XI in Division 4 and the second XI in Division 11.The first team captain is Nathan McDonald, the second XI are captained by Jonny Grove.The club website can be found at www.irchester.play-cricket.com

Famous people from Irchester

*Phil Neal - former Northampton town and Liverpool football player was born in Irchester.
*Giovanni di Stefano - Italian-born lawyer - moved to Irchester when he was six.

ee also

Irchester railway station

External links

* [http://www.irchester.play-cricket.com Irchester Cricket Club's website]

* [http://www.ingrt.freeuk.com/ Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum]

* [http://www.irchesterbowls.co.uk/ Irchester Bowls Club]

* [http://irchester.org/ Irchester Parish Historical Society]

* [http://www.roman-britain.org/places/irchester.htm Irchester entry on Roman Britain website]

* [http://www.irchester-players.com/ Homepage of the Irchester Players]

* [http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=8035 Irchester's entry on Vision of Britain website]

* [http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/Leisure/Countryside/irchester.htm Northamptonshire County Council Irchester Country Park page]