East Carlton | |
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East Carlton Hall |
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East Carlton shown within Northamptonshire | |
Population | 259 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SP8289 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Market Harborough |
Postcode district | LE16 |
Dialling code | 01536 |
Police | Northamptonshire |
Fire | Northamptonshire |
Ambulance | East Midlands |
EU Parliament | East Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
East Carlton is a village and civil parish in the county of Northamptonshire, on the southern ridge overlooking the Welland valley to the north and covers 1,645 acres (666 ha) on a long strip of land. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the town of Corby and is administered as part of the Corby Borough. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 270, reducing to 259 at the 2011 census. East Carlton is one of the Thankful Villages that suffered no fatalities during World War I. Although in Northamptonshire, the village is in the Leicestershire LE16 postcode area.
It is thought that Carlton was first occupied by the Danes. In the Domesday Book of 1087, the village of Carlton is referred to as Carlintone. A number of families owned land and estates throughout the centuries, including the Hotots, De Kirkeby and the Palmers. Until 1660, the settlement of Carlton was divided into two manors, East Hall and West Hall. East Hall is thought to have stood where the present hall stands. There is no trace of the West Hall, its stone may have been used as building material for later structures.
In 1776/1778 Sir John Palmer, 5th Baronet, commissioned John Johnson, a Leicester architect to design a new hall. It was built on the foundations of the previous hall and was enlarged by Sir John Henry Palmer, 7th Baronet, in 1817, after which it was leased to a variety of notable tenants. It was further rebuilt in 1870 by the architect Edmund Francis Law, with red brick and ironstone in the style of a French château and replaced a Palladian house of 1778. It is said that the stone wall which surrounds the south and east of the parkland was the re-used stone of the old Hall.The hall is now referred to as East Carlton Hall, and is a Grade II listed building with extensive grounds overlooking the Welland Valley.
In the early 20th century large deposits of iron ore were found in the area. Stewarts and Lloyds Ltd, a steel manufacturers from Glasgow set up a steel works in Corby, at the time just a small village, and purchased the Hall and the park of 102 acres (41 ha) from Sir Geoffrey Palmer for £5,000. By 1936 the hall was converted into a hostel for unmarried bachelor staff. As the steele works expanded the directors began a house building programme to accommodate future employees. Part of the grounds of the hall were used to build housing for senior staff and 59 houses were built during 1934 and 1935, making up a large part of East Carlton as it is known today. The original village is situated west of the hall grounds.