Dingley, Northamptonshire

Coordinates: 52°28′43″N 0°51′54″W / 52.4787°N 0.8650°W / 52.4787; -0.8650

Dingley
Dingley  Dingley shown within Northamptonshire
Population	209
OS grid reference	SP7787
District	Kettering
Shire county	Northamptonshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Market Harborough
Postcode district	LE16
Dialling code	01858
Police	Northamptonshire
Fire	Northamptonshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Kettering
List of places: UK • England • Northamptonshire

Dingley is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England, located along the A427, about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the nearest town, Market Harborough. It is also close to the A6 and near the border with Leicestershire. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 209 people.^[1]

Governance

Dingley is part of Kettering borough.

Dingley Hall

The main feature of the village is Dingley Hall^[2] which has had many famous owners over the centuries such as the victorious First World War Admiral David Beatty. The Hall fell into disrepair in the 1960s and was gutted in 1972. In 1978, it was bought by the architect Kit Martin who converted the Hall into 10 separate residences.

A house has stood on this site from medieval times when it was a Preceptory for the Knights' Hospitallers. It is first recorded as Dinglei, meaning "the woodland clearing marked by valleys". At the dissolution of the monasteries it was sold to Edward Griffin.

During the late 1550s the house was extensively rebuilt leaving only the tower and porch. Further additions were made in the 1680s and the porch - which is dated 1558 - was re-sited during these alterations. In 1781-2 the west wing was demolished, but it remained a large rambling house.

The Hall continued as a family home until 1936. During World War II it was used as a nursing home. Although the estate was sold in 1958, the house was left to deteriorate until it was rescued in 1976. It has now been divided into seven houses and three flats. Nothing is left of the original interiors.

Although Dingley Hall is a private property, it hosts musical events throughout the year called 'Music at Dingley'^[3] with concerts in the Norman church or in the Porch House.

Village

A small village grew up as part of the Dingley Hall estate; there are two distinctive rows of attractive workers' cottages on the A427 half a mile into the village beyond Dingley Hall gatehouse. Point to point racing takes place between Easter and summer and draws a crowd averaging 10,000 at each meeting.

References

1. ^ Office for National Statistics: Dingley CP: Parish headcounts. Retrieved 9 November 2009
2. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1961). The Buildings of England – Northamptonshire. London and New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 185–7. ISBN 978-0-300-09632-3. 
3. ^ Music at Dingley

External links

Media related to Dingley, Northamptonshire at Wikimedia Commons