Kettering is a market town in the north of Northamptonshire.
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| Kettering town centre |
| Information |
| County: |
Northamptonshire |
| District: |
North Northamptonshire |
| Population: |
63,675 (2011 census) |
The area around Kettering has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age. The name Kettering is derived from the Old English for the place Ketter's people lived. A Roman town existed in the North of modern day Kettering. Fifth century Saxon urns have been found which indicates Kettering was one of the earliest places the Saxons lived in England's interior. The first mention of the village at Kettering dates from a royal charter from 956CE.
In the Domesday Book the manor of Kettering was listed as belonging to the Abbey at Peterborough. Henry III granted Kettering a market charter in 1227. Kettering became a centre of woollen cloth and later the shoe and boot industries. The town grew in the 19th century. The shoe industry was a major employer in the town though has shrunk with the departure of major manufacturers in the late 20th century.
Kettering's parish church of St Peter and St Paul dates from the 13th century though it's fine spire dates from a later century. Kettering railway station was opened in 1857 and is now part of the Midland Main Line. Although most of the shoe industry has left Kettering, the town has a number of other industries and businesses, as well as commuters to elsewhere including London, and has one of the highest employment rates in the country.
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| Main square |
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| Royal Hotel |
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| St Peter & St Paul |
