Higham Ferrers

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 52.3057
longitude= -0.5844
official_name= Higham Ferrers
population = 6,086
shire_district= East Northamptonshire
shire_county = Northamptonshire
region= East Midlands
constituency_westminster= Wellingborough
post_town= WELLINGBOROUGH|postcode_district = NN10
postcode_area= NN |dial_code= 01933
os_grid_reference= SP9668

Higham Ferrers is a market town in east Northamptonshire, England, adjacent to (and forming a single urban area with) Rushden to the south. The de Ferrers family were former Lords of the Manor. The town was one of the rotten boroughs and sent one MP to the unreformed House of Commons until it was stripped of its representation by the Reform Act 1832.

Higham Ferrers is also the birthplace of Henry Chichele.

The town is unusual in the UK if not Europe in having been a centre of short-run footwear production along with its neighours of Rushden and Northampton. This trade was much reduced in the 1980s-2000s by a high exchange rate, but specialised firms and individual trades people remain in the area.

Transport

Higham Ferrers was the terminus of a short railway branch line on the Midland Railway from Wellingborough. There was an intermediate station at Rushden. Nowadays, the nearest operational railway station is at Wellingborough about four miles away, but there is no bus route connecting Higham Ferrers to Wellingborough Station. Historically, the town was at the crossroads of the A45 east-west route from Northampton to Cambridge, and the A6 north-south road from London to Leicester. It was a busy junction as both were long-distance transport corridors. The A45 bypassed the town in the early 1990s with a dual-carriageway, and the former route (through the narrow, but beautiful streets of Kimbolton) is now the B645, and the A5028 towards Wellingborough. As the A6 carried less traffic, a bypass came later and opened on August 14th, 2003 for Rushden as well.

=Sports=

There is a bowls club in Higham Ferrers. Rushden and Higham United Football Club, the successors to Higham Town and Rushden Rangers, are members of the Eagle Bitter United Counties League.

Education

The [http://www.theferrers.northants.sch.uk Ferrers School] is on "Queensway". The [http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/Leisure/Libraries/Public/highlib.htm library] is on "Midland Road".

External links

* [http://www.connect2northamptonshire.com/portal/server.pt?space=CommunityPage&control=SetCommunity&CommunityID=10916 Town council]
* [http://www.stmaryhighamferrers.org Parish church]
* [http://www.cranberrycottage.co.uk/higham.htm photos of higham]
* [http://www.highamcricket.com Cricket club]
* [http://www.higham-ferrers.info Higham main info source]