Northampton | |
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Town, borough and non-metropolitan district | |
From top left: Skyline of Northampton town centre from Delapre Park; All Saints' Church; Northampton Guildhall; the National Lift Tower; Delapré Abbey; Abington Park; Market Square.
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Northampton shown within Northamptonshire |
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Coordinates: 52°13′49″N 0°53′38″W / 52.2303748°N 0.8937527°WCoordinates: 52°13′49″N 0°53′38″W / 52.2303748°N 0.8937527°W | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | East Midlands |
Ceremonial county | Northamptonshire |
Admin HQ | Northampton Guildhall |
Town charter | 1189 |
Incorporated | 1835 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district administered by two-tier structure of government |
• Governing body |
Northampton Borough Council Northamptonshire County Council |
• Leader |
Borough Council Mary Markham (Con) County Council Heather Smith (Con) |
• Mayor | Christopher Malpas (Con) |
• MPs |
Michael Ellis (Con) Andrea Leadsom (Con) David Mackintosh (Con) |
Area | |
• Total | 31.19 sq mi (80.77 km2) |
Elevation | 180 ft (55 m) |
Population (mid-2015 est.) | |
• Total | 222,500 (Ranked 73rd) |
• Density | 7,130/sq mi (2,754/km2) |
• Ethnicity | 84.5% White 6.4% South Asian 5.1% Black 3.2% Mixed Race 0.3% Arab 0.5% Other |
Demonym(s) | Northamptonian |
Time zone | GMT (UTC0) |
• Summer (DST) | BST (UTC+1) |
Postcode area | NN1—NN7 |
Area code(s) | 01604 |
ISO 3166-2 | GB-NTH |
ONS code | 34UF (ONS) E07000154 (GSS) |
NUTS 3 | UKF24 |
Website | northampton.gov.uk |
Northampton ethnicity demographics from the 2011 census | |
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Ethnicity | Population |
White (British, Irish, Other) |
179,238 |
Asian (Bangladeshi, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Other) |
13,751 |
Black (African, Caribbean, Other) |
10,741 |
Mixed (White & Asian, White & Black African, White & Black Caribbean, Other) |
6,849 |
Arab | 543 |
Other | 947 |
Northampton i/nɔːrθˈæmptən/ is the county town of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands of England. It lies on the River Nene, about 67 miles (108 km) north-west of London and 50 miles (80 km) south-east of Birmingham. One of the largest towns in the UK, Northampton had a population of 212,100 in the 2011 census.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. During the Middle Ages, the town rose to national significance with the establishment of Northampton Castle, which was an occasional royal residence and regularly hosted the Parliament of England. Medieval Northampton had many churches, monasteries and the University of Northampton, which were all enclosed by the town walls. It was granted its first town charter by King Richard I in 1189 and its first mayor was appointed by King John in 1215. The town is also the site of two medieval battles; the Battle of Northampton (1264) and the second in 1460.