Welcome to Kettering

Kettering is located on the River Isle, in the county of Northamptonshire, approximately 72 miles north of London and 14 miles north-east of Northampton.

The town has a population of around 49,500. The Borough of Kettering has four main towns (Burton Latimer, Desborough, Kettering and Rothwell) and 22 villages, ranging from large communities such as Broughton and Geddington to tiny hamlets such as Pipewell and Newton.

Set amidst attractive rural countryside in the north of the county, it is a busy industrial and market town primarily renowned for its manufacture of footwear. It has a long and interesting history and possesses some notable architecture including the church of St.Peter and St.Paul whose 171ft high spire dominates the skyline.

Kettering evolved from rural origins as one of the manors of the great Abbey of Peterborough. It received its market charter from Henry III in 1227 It grew into a market town and, on a main route from London to the Midlands, drew extra trade from serving wayfarers. After the Reformation, which severed its long ties with Peterborough, Kettering became a notable centre of Puritanism and from the time of Charles II was one of those Midland towns where Nonconformity survived, and then came to flourish. The rivalries of Church and Dissent played a major role in its 19th-century life. An early centre of industrialisation, Kettering was first noted for its wool-combing and worsted-weaving and then, as they declined, struggled along with silk production. Its best known industry was the manufacture of boots and shoes; and from the mid-19th century until the Great War this generated rapid urban growth, still reflected in the appearance of the town. However, since the 1960s, in the face of cheap foreign imports, footwear production has declined to the point where there is now only one firm left. Contemporary Kettering increasingly depends on providing services and shopping.

Historically the town's economy was based upon shoe manufacturing. Today its economy is based on service and distribution industries and, with its "Heart of England" position, is a base for many commuters. The country's oldest theme park, Wicksteed Park, attracts over a million visitors each year to the town.

The name Kettering probably derives from the Old English person's name 'Cytra' and 'ingas', meaning 'the settlement of the family or followers of Cytra'. In 956 it was recorded as Cytringan, and in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Cateringe.