Potterspury

Potterspury
Potterspury
 Potterspury shown within Northamptonshire
Population 1,453 
OS grid referenceSP7543
   – London  61 miles (98 km) 
DistrictSouth Northamptonshire
Shire countyNorthamptonshire
RegionEast Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Towcester
Postcode district NN12
Dialling code 01908
Police Northamptonshire
Fire Northamptonshire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
UK ParliamentSouth Northamptonshire
List of places
UK
England
Northamptonshire

Coordinates: 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 town and civil parish in the district of South 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]

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.[2]

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, The Talbot (now closed) on the A5 and The Cock on the High Street. There is a sports and social club at the bottom of Meadow View, where Potterspury FC are the village football club.

Education

Potterspury Lodge school frontage

Educational provision in the village includes the all-boys' 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.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Office for National Statistics: Potterspury (Parish) : Usual Resident Population, 2011". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  2. ↑ Michael Jones, ‛Ferrers, Robert de, first Earl Ferrers (d. 1139)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 (accessed 28 October 2007).
  3. ↑ "John Hellins Primary School - Inspection Report", Ofsted, 1 March 2007.
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