Potterspury

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Potterspury
Potterspury is located in Northamptonshire
Potterspury
Potterspury
Location within Northamptonshire
Population1,453 
OS grid referenceSP7543
• London61 miles (98 km)
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTowcester
Postcode districtNN12
Dialling code01908
PoliceNorthamptonshire
FireNorthamptonshire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Northamptonshire
52°05′09″N 0°53′52″W / 52.0858°N 0.8977°W / 52.0858; -0.8977Coordinates: 52°05′09″N 0°53′52″W / 52.0858°N 0.8977°W / 52.0858; -0.8977
Narrow entrance to the High Street, Potterspury from the A5

Potterspury is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire. The nearest main town is Milton Keynes, the centre of which is about 7 miles south-east. At the time of the 2011 census, the parish's population (including Furtho) was 1,453 people.[1]

The villages name originally meant, simply, 'pear-tree'. The later incorporation of 'potters' signifies the apparently ancient and important potteries here.[2]

Geography[]

Potterspury is on the A5 road, formerly the Roman road of Watling Street, and is located between Towcester six miles to the north and Stony Stratford a mile to the south. The village sits at the edge of Whittlewood Forest, an extensive area of ancient woodland to the west that was part of the original estate of the Duke of Grafton. Much of the ancient woodland is designated an SSSI for protection from development. Parts of the estate are open to the public in the Spring, but there is a notable absence of footpaths and bridleways within the estate itself.

Nearby villages include Wicken, Deanshanger, Grafton Regis, Alderton and Yardley Gobion. Stony Stratford and Towcester offer the nearest substantial shopping areas.

Landmarks[]

The parish church is dedicated to St Nicholas, and there has been a church on the site since at least 1087, originally granted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby to Bernard the Scribe.[3] The Queen's Oak which stood nearby until 1997 was reputed to be the site of the first meeting between Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.[4]

Facilities[]

There is a small shop with post office on the High Street near the church, and a Village Hall at the end of the High Street. The village has two pubs and a sports bar, The Talbot on the A5 and The Cock on the High Street and there is a sports and social club at the bottom of Meadow View, where Potterspury FC play their home games[clarification needed]. There is now a spa called Cloud 9 Located on Poundfield road just off the A5 and Potterspury House Restaurant has been added to the same location[clarification needed].

Education[]

Potterspury Lodge school frontage

Educational provision in the village includes the specialist education needs school Potterspury Lodge School, which helps children with learning difficulties, and John Hellins Primary School. The latter has about 115 children, aged 4–11. Most leavers go on to Elizabeth Woodville School, formerly Kingsbrook School, in Deanshanger, as their secondary school. John Hellins was a mathematician and astronomer who, as parish priest at Potterspury, founded and taught in the village school.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ "Office for National Statistics: Potterspury (Parish) : Usual Resident Population, 2011". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Key to English Place-names".
  3. ^ Michael Jones, ‛Ferrers, Robert de, first Earl Ferrers (d. 1139)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 (accessed 28 October 2007).
  4. ^ The Arboricultural Association Journal. Arboricultural Association. 1965. p. 233.
  5. ^ "John Hellins Primary School - Inspection Report"[permanent dead link], Ofsted, 1 March 2007.

External links[]

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