Collingtree
Encyclopedia
Collingtree is a village within the Borough of Northampton and a civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

, England.

Location and context

The village is about 3 miles (5 km) from Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

 town centre, close to the A45
A45 road
The A45 is a major road in England. It runs east from Birmingham past the National Exhibition Centre and the M42, then bypasses Coventry and Rugby, where it briefly merges with the M45 until it continues to Daventry...

 trunk road
Trunk road
A trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road—usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports, and other things.—which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic...

 which heads east to Wellingborough
Wellingborough
Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...

 and Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...

. The busy A45 also connects to junction 15 of the M1
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...

 London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 to Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 Motorway by way of a flyover which eliminated a dangerous crossing of the main road. The motorway is adjacent to the south-west side of the village and a road bridge connects Collingtree to the adjacent village of Milton Malsor
Milton Malsor
Milton Malsor is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England. It is south of Northampton, south-east of Birmingham, and north of central London; junction 15 of the M1 motorway is east by road...

. Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...

 is about 64 miles (103 km) south and it is about 64 miles (103 km) south-east of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

.

Wootton
Wootton, Northamptonshire
Wootton, Northamptonshire is a village about south of Northampton town centre and now part of the Northampton Borough Council area.The village is separated from Hardingstone by the Newport Pagnell Road the B526, formerly part of the A50 road...

 Brook flows in a small valley through a golf course on the northern side towards West Hunsbury
Hunsbury
West Hunsbury is a large housing estate in the south of the town of Northampton, from the town centre, from the M1 motorway, junction 15A and from junction 15. The motorway can be seen and heard as most of the area is elevated and the wind's prevailing direction is westerly. It is part of the...

 where it joins the River Nene
River Nene
The River Nene is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in the county of Northamptonshire. The tidal river forms the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk for about . It is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom, and is navigable for from Northampton to The...

 before the river enters Northampton.

Demographics

A church publication in 1999 stated that there were 154 parishioners in 1801, and 234 in 1851. The census returns for 1881 note only 240 inhabitants. The 2001 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

. showed there were 1,655 people living in the village, 806 male, 849 female, in 651 dwellings. This includes the area of Collingtree Park
Collingtree Park
Collingtree Park is a district in the Borough of Northampton in the East Midlands of England.-Location:Collingtree Park is located at the extreme south of the urban area, due north of the village of Collingtree, which itself is in the Northampton borough...

 around Collingtree Golf Course north of the village which was formerly the site of Collingtree Grange.

History

In the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 the settlement is referred to as Collingtrev or Colentreu, Colen being Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...

 for place and trev possibly meaning 'tree' or trough
Trough
Trough may refer to:* Trough , the lowest turning point of a business cycle* Trough or manger, a container for animal feed* Watering trough, a receptacle of drinking water for domestic and non-domestic livestock...

. Others think that Colen is a version of St Columba to whom the village church was dedicated in 1170. In the 15th century the village is referred to as Colyngtrowgh and in the 17th century as Collingtrough. The trough is certainly the basis for the name of the main road, Watering Lane, from the A45 up to the crossroads at the centre of the village. Cattle and steam engines collected water from the spring here. In 2006 its site was revealed when undergrowth was cleared back from the side of the road and the Parish Council decided to make a feature of it. A more likely explanation for the name is in a 2008 document from the borough council dealing with conservation. This mentions that: "Collingtree probably had Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...

 origins" and that its name is thought to be derived from "Cola's tree", after an Anglo-Saxon leader's name and a notable tree, possibly a boundary tree.

The centre of Collingtree was designated a Conservation Area
Conservation Area (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, the term Conservation Area nearly always applies to an area considered worthy of preservation or enhancement because of its special architectural or historic interest, "the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance," as required by the Planning ...

 in 1978. In 2008, the borough council asked for comments on a draft Re-appraisal and Management Plan for the Conservation Area. The proposed changes to the area are to expand the work to preserve the history and character of the village. The historic 17th to 19th century buildings, the 10 listed buildings, the layout of boundary walls and the use of local stone, combine to create a distinctive location with a strong sense of place, worthy of protection and enhancement. The Management Plan outlines how to protect the historic character and actively manage the area, including preserving the existing character through to the control of advertisements and the monitoring of change.

The oldest houses are 17th century of which four of these are listed all in the High Street. No.43 is Grade II* listed. Another five listed buildings, in the High Street and Barn Corner are 18th century. The form of the village is largely unchanged since about 1800 or earlier.

Governance

The village has its own Parish Council. It was incorporated into the Northampton Borough Council area in the boundary changes of 1974 but in spite of this still retains its distinct village nature. The village is, together with Collingtree Park, part of the two-member Nene Valley ward on the borough council, both Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 held. On the county council, the village is part of the division of the same name, with a single member, also Conservative.

Facilities

The busy M1 motorway runs alongside the village to the south west and can be seen and heard. The village has a Primary School; Church, St Columba (Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

); pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

, (The Wooden Walls of Old England) in the High Street; Collingtree Tennis Club and Hilton Hotel and sports club in Watering Lane near the junction with the A45. Until 2009, the church was grouped with Courteenhall
Courteenhall
Courteenhall is a village south of the county town of Northampton, in the shire county of Northamptonshire, England, and about north of London. The village is located in a cul-de-sac.-Governance:...

 and Milton Malsor
Milton Malsor
Milton Malsor is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England. It is south of Northampton, south-east of Birmingham, and north of central London; junction 15 of the M1 motorway is east by road...

 in the Three Parishes Group. Collingtree Park
Collingtree Park
Collingtree Park is a district in the Borough of Northampton in the East Midlands of England.-Location:Collingtree Park is located at the extreme south of the urban area, due north of the village of Collingtree, which itself is in the Northampton borough...

 Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 Club, with adjacent large modern houses, is just north of the village in the grounds of the demolished Grange, but access to this if from Windingbrook Lane and Rowtree Road in East Hunsbury, just off the A45. The designated secondary school is Roade
Roade
Roade is a village in Northamptonshire, England and in the area of the South Northamptonshire District Council where it is in the two-member Blisworth and Roade ward.-Location:...

 Community Sports College.

Development

A major urban extension of 2,000 houses, of which ca.35% would be affordable was proposed by Bovis Homes in July 2008 at the adjacent Collingtree Park
Collingtree Park
Collingtree Park is a district in the Borough of Northampton in the East Midlands of England.-Location:Collingtree Park is located at the extreme south of the urban area, due north of the village of Collingtree, which itself is in the Northampton borough...

.

People

  • Jill Knight, Baroness Knight of Collingtree (born: 9 July 1923) former Conservative MP for Edgbaston from 1966–97, is a village resident.
  • John George Sears
    John George Sears
    John George Sears was a shoe manufacturer and the founder of Sears plc, which was one of the United Kingdom's largest retail businesses.-Career:...

     (1870–1916) was a shoe manufacturer and the founder of Sears plc
    Sears plc
    Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The Company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it was acquired by Sir Philip Green in 1999.-History:...

    , which was one of the UK's largest retail businesses. He lived in Collingtree Grange. He is buried in St Columba's churchyard.
  • William Wood
    William Wood (botanist)
    William Wood was an English Unitarian minister and botanist who was involved in efforts to remedy the political and educational disabilities of Nonconformists under the Test Acts.-Life:...

     the Botanist was born in the village in 1745.
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