Towcester
| Towcester | |
|---|---|
 Old Town Hall |
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 Towcester
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| Towcester shown within Northamptonshire | |
| Population | 9,252 (2011 Census) 8,856 (2001 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SP691481 |
| • London | 65 miles (105 km) |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Towcester |
| Postcode district | NN12 |
| Dialling code | 01327 |
| Police | Northamptonshire |
| Fire | Northamptonshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Towcester (/ˈtoʊstər/ TOE-stər), the Roman town of Lactodorum, is an affluent market town in south Northamptonshire, England.
Towcester comes from the Old English Tófe-ceaster.Tófe refers to the River Tove;Bosworth and Toller compare it to the "Scandinavian proper names" Tófi and Tófa. The Old English ceaster comes from the Latin castra ("camp") and was "often applied to places in Britain which had been Roman encampments." Thus, Towcester means "Camp on the (river) Tove."
The town is about 8 miles (12.9 km) south-west of Northampton and about 10 miles (16.1 km) north-west of Milton Keynes, the nearest main towns. Oxford is about 30 miles (48.3 km) south-west via the A43 road, M40 motorway and A34 road. The A43 now bypasses the town to the north but the A5 road still passes through the town centre. This still carries much traffic in the north-south direction which may be bypassed to the west with the possibility of expansion of the town.
The population was 2,743 at the time of the 1961 Census and this had grown to 8,856 by the 2001 census – a growth rate of about 3% per year. It has since rapidly expanded and there are plans to expand still further with another 3,300 houses equating to an appx 8,250 increase in population. With normal growth this could see the total population rise to around 20,000 people by 2020 (based on the current multiplier of 2.5 persons per average household). The expansion will include an A5 north-south bypass west of the town. Improvements to the links to the A43 and Watling Street roundabout took place in the first half of 2015 and including traffic light controls.
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Wikipedia