Introduction
As far as I am aware there has never been a history compiled on Rectory Farm, an estate on the eastern side of Northampton, which appeared in the 1970's as part of Northampton Development Corporations plan to create housing and communities for the London overspill, so this is an attempt to do just that.
In the beginning...
The earliest evidence of a community living here was the discovery of some shards of Roman pottery found by a local resident in 1974 thought to be from a drinking vessel dating back 2000 years. Also in 1975 when work began on the Great Billing Way road, west of Rectory Farm, soil removal revealed a ditch containing more Roman pottery and a quernstone and coin believed to date from the 3rd and 4th centuries. The pottery was donated to Northampton Museum and Art Gallery.
The earliest mention of Rectory Farm I can trace through my research appears in the form of an advert which appeared in local newspaper Northampton Mercury 23rd August 1879.
In the beginning...
The earliest evidence of a community living here was the discovery of some shards of Roman pottery found by a local resident in 1974 thought to be from a drinking vessel dating back 2000 years. Also in 1975 when work began on the Great Billing Way road, west of Rectory Farm, soil removal revealed a ditch containing more Roman pottery and a quernstone and coin believed to date from the 3rd and 4th centuries. The pottery was donated to Northampton Museum and Art Gallery.
The earliest mention of Rectory Farm I can trace through my research appears in the form of an advert which appeared in local newspaper Northampton Mercury 23rd August 1879.
As the advert clearly shows, Rectory Farm was in the parish of Great Billing but later an Ordnance Survey map of 1886 shows it being called Vicarage Farm. A similar map dated 1901 shows the name reverted back to Rectory Farm but unfortunately evidence cannot be found as to the exact date this may have occured. It is after this original farm the estate was named.