Editing Long Buckby

{{Short description|Village in Northamptonshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country =                England
|official_name=           Long Buckby
|coordinates = {{coord|52.303|-1.081|display=inline,title}}
|civil_parish=            Long Buckby
|static_image_name=  Long Buckby Market Place 10.21.jpg
|static_image_caption= Long Buckby Market Place
|static_image_width =       280px
| population = 4,511
| population_ref = (2021 census)
|unitary_england=          [[West Northamptonshire]]
|lieutenancy_england=            [[Northamptonshire]]
|region=                  East Midlands
|constituency_westminster= [[Daventry (UK Parliament constituency)|Daventry]]
|post_town=                NORTHAMPTON
|postcode_district =       NN6
|postcode_area=            NN
|dial_code=                01327
|os_grid_reference=        SP628673
}}
'''Long Buckby''' is a large village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in [[West Northamptonshire]], England. In the [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 census]] the parish of Long Buckby, which includes the hamlet of '''Long Buckby Wharf''', was recorded as having a population of 4,511.<ref>{{cite web |title=LONG BUCKBY Parish in East Midlands |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastmidlands/admin/daventry/E04010516__long_buckby/ |publisher=City Population |access-date=25 January 2021}}</ref>

Long Buckby is a hill top village, located around {{convert|4.5|mile|km}} north-east of the town of [[Daventry]], and roughly midway between [[Northampton]] and [[Rugby, Warwickshire|Rugby]], with each being around {{convert|9|mile|km}} to the south-east and north-west respectively. The west of the parish has the [[A5 road (Great Britain)|A5 road]], [[Grand Union Canal]], [[West Coast Main Line]] railway and [[M1 motorway]] all passing through the [[Watford Gap]], with [[Watford, Northamptonshire]] being the next village to the north.

Just south of the village is  [[Long Buckby railway station]] on the [[Northampton Loop]] corollary of the [[West Coast Main Line]].

== History ==
The origin of the name of the village is uncertain. 'Bukki's farm/settlement' or 'Bucca's farm/settlement'. Alternatively, 'billy-[[goat]] farm/settlement'.<ref>{{cite web|author=University of Nottingham - Institute of Name Studies School of English |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Northamptonshire/Long%20Buckby |title=Key to English Place-names |publisher=Kepn.nottingham.ac.uk |date= |accessdate=2022-08-01}}</ref>

Long Buckby has a history going back approximately 1,000 years to the [[Vikings]]<ref name="longbuckby.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.longbuckby.net/index.asp?pageid=671194|title=A Very Brief Village History|website=longbuckby.net}}</ref> when all of northern, central and eastern England came under the [[Danelaw]]. The village was recorded in [[Domesday Book]] as ''Buchebei''<ref>{{cite web |title=The Domesday Book Online |url=http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/northamptonshire2.html#longbuckby |access-date=25 January 2021}}</ref> and its prefix was first recorded in the [[Elizabethan era]] in reference to the length of the village.<ref name="NVB">{{cite book |title=The Northamptonshire Village Book |date=1989 |publisher=NFWI and Countryside Books |isbn=1-85306-055-0 |pages=113–114}}</ref>

Near the centre of the village are the remaining earthworks of a medieval [[castle]], which was probably built by the lords of the [[Manorialism|manor]], the [[Earl of Winchester|de Quincy family]], in the [[12th century]]. The castle was likely an earth and timber construction, built by 1150 AD and occupied until some time after 1200 AD.<ref>{{cite web |title=Long Buckby Castle Northamptonshire |url=http://www.robertsewell.ca/longbuckby.html |publisher=robertsewell.ca |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref> The surviving earthworks, known locally as The Mounts, consist of an oval ring surrounded by a ditch.<ref name="NVB"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Long Buckby ringwork and bailey A Scheduled Monument in Long Buckby, Northamptonshire |url=https://ancientmonuments.uk/111230-long-buckby-ringwork-and-bailey-long-buckby#.YBHlFpsYDIU |publisher=ancientmonuments.uk |access-date=27 January 2021}}</ref>

The tower of the parish [[St Lawrence's Church, Long Buckby|church of St Lawrence]] dates to the 12th century, with the rest of the building added later.<ref name="NVB"/>

Long Buckby was once a thriving industrial village: In the 17th century a [[wool]]len industry was established and Long Buckby became a centre of weaving and woolcombing. After 1800 this went into decline and was replaced by a thriving [[shoemaking]] industry. This was enhanced by the arrival of the [[Grand Union Canal]] in the early 19th century, upon which Long Buckby had a busy wharf. The shoemaking industry went into gradual decline in the 20th century and had died out by 2000.<ref name="longbuckby.net"/>

Since the 1960s the construction of the nearby [[M1 motorway]] has spurred expansion of the village from around 2,500 inhabitants to more 4,000 and has caused the nature of the village to change into a residential and commuter village.<ref name="longbuckby.net"/>

[[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformity]] was a strong tradition in the village, with a chapel of the [[United Reform Church]] built here in 1707.  The present building was built in 1771.<ref name="NVB"/>

The small hamlet of Long Buckby Wharf is separate from the main village but within the parish. It is located alongside the [[Grand Union Canal]] and was once a thriving community with its own post office, church and village hall.<ref name="NVB"/>

The village offers a wide range of amenities and services, including a doctor's surgery, two dentists, four churches, two schools, a public library, a veterinary surgery, a boarding cattery, a post office, a community centre, Long Buckby Mill Park Nature Reserve and Cotton End Park. There are three pubs in the village (The Pigeon, Old King's Head & a micro-pub Badger's Arms). A fourth pub, The Admiral Rodney, is closed and now a hair salon and rented flats. Local shops include two grocery stores, a butcher’s, several hairdressers, a card and gift shop, a chemist and a wide range of restaurants and take-aways.

The English comedian [[Stanley Unwin (comedian)|Stanley Unwin]] moved to Long Buckby in 1940<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.teletronic.co.uk/stanleyunwin.htm |title=Stanley Urwin |website=Teletronic.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303103039/http://www.teletronic.co.uk/stanleyunwin.htm |archive-date=3 March 2009 }}</ref> when he got a job with the [[BBC]] at the nearby [[Borough Hill]] transmitting station. He lived there until his death in 2002.

[[Long Buckby railway station]] was opened in 1881 on the [[Northampton Loop Line]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Quick |first1=Michael |title=Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain |url=https://rchs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Railway-Passenger-Stations-ver.-5.03.pdf |publisher=Railway and Canal Historical Society |access-date=10 November 2021 |page=289}}</ref> Until the mid-1960s Long Buckby boasted its own goods-marshalling yard, which played a very significant role in the once thriving village economy, providing for the import of fuel and consumables for local business and residents as well as delivering the mail and packages to the village post office and newspapers to the village newsagents. Local agricultural produce and to a lesser extent livestock were exported from the facility.

Long Buckby railway station, as the nearest stop to [[Althorp]], was the final stop on the rail journey by the then [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Prince of Wales]], his two sons and others following the [[funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales]] and as such it was seen on television across the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Funeral of Princess Diana: Royal Family arrives at Long Buckby Station |url=https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/video/funeral-of-princess-diana-royal-family-arrives-at-long-news-footage/1287275054 |publisher=Getty Images |access-date=23 September 2021}}</ref>

==Notable buildings and monument==
[[File:Long Buckby Church - geograph.org.uk - 725676.jpg|thumb|St Lawrence's Church]]
[[File:Long Buckby Castle (1) 10.21.jpg|thumb|The remaining earthworks of Long Buckby Castle, known locally as The Mounts]]
The Historic England website contains details of 37 listed buildings in the parish of Long Buckby.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historic England – The List|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/|access-date=2015-10-01}}</ref> All of them are Grade II apart from the following, which are Grade II*.
*[[St Lawrence's Church, Long Buckby|St Lawrence's Church]], Church Street
*Holly House, 22 High Street<ref>{{NHLE|num=1077036|desc=Holly House|access-date=2015-10-01}}</ref>

There is also one [[scheduled monument]] in the parish:
*Long Buckby Castle, ringwork and bailey<ref>{{NHLE|num=1013015|desc=Long Buckby ringwork and bailey|access-date=2015-10-01}}</ref>

== Transport ==
[[File:Long Buckby Wharf sign.JPG|thumb|Sign outside Long Buckby Wharf]]
The [[A5 road (Great Britain)|A5 road]] and [[M1 motorway]] run a short distance to the west of Long Buckby. The nearest motorway junctions on the M1 are numbers 16 and 18. In addition, the [[A428 road|A428 trunk road]] runs a short distance to the east of Long Buckby.

[[Long Buckby railway station]] is served by [[West Midlands Trains]]. It lies on the [[Northampton Loop]] of the [[West Coast Main Line]] running between [[Birmingham New Street railway station|Birmingham New Street]] and [[Euston railway station|London Euston]].

Regular local bus services connect Long Buckby to the nearby towns of Northampton, Rugby and Daventry.

== Schools ==
Long Buckby has two schools, Long Buckby Infants School for reception, Year 1 and Year 2, and Long Buckby Junior School which takes pupils from Year 3 to Year 6, leading up to the [[Key Stage 2]] [[National Curriculum assessment|tests]].

The village is within the catchment area of [[Guilsborough School]], a secondary school which takes local pupils on to [[Key Stage 3]] (Year 7 to Year 9), followed by [[Key Stage 4]] for Years 10 and 11. Guilsborough School also offers a [[Sixth Form]] centre for students wishing to take AS and A2 courses.

== Sport ==
[[Long Buckby A.F.C.]] plays at Station Road. They are members of the [[United Counties Football League|United Counties League]] First Division. The club's highest achievement was reaching the 2nd round of the [[FA Vase]] in 1985–86. The club's most successful players include [[Gary Mills (footballer, born 1961)|Gary Mills]], Darren Harman, Alex McKenzie, [[Dan Holman]] and Richard Ryan. The football club on the same site as the rugby union club has its own clubhouse and a second pitch which the reserves and Sunday League sides use.

Long Buckby Rugby Football Club was founded in 1875 fielding three senior sides, a colts team and other junior teams. All are given coaching by qualified rugby coaches. Club training nights include week nights. Youth rugby is on Sundays. The club has a licensed clubhouse. The club's colours are green. Its emblem is a castle with an archway with a cross above.

===Tennis tournament===
The Long Buckby Tennis Tournament is an event which started in 1907, and is played annually in mid-July on the sports ground. It is a doubles tournament with each team playing all the others in their section.<ref>{{cite web |title=Get in swing for Wimbledon with Long Buckby Tennis Tournament | date=28 May 2021 |url=https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/education/get-in-swing-for-wimbledon-with-long-buckby-tennis-tournament-3253532?itm_source=parsely-api |publisher=Northampton Chronicle |access-date=23 September 2021}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[Maclaren]], the pushchair manufacturer founded by [[Owen Finlay Maclaren]], was based in the village until 2000 when the company went into receivership and manufacturing went to China.

==Notable residents==
{{Further|Category:People from Long Buckby}}
*[[William Wadsworth (patriarch)|William Wadsworth]] (1594–1675), likely born in Long Buckby, emigrated to America and became a founder of [[Hartford, Connecticut]].
*The comedian and inventor of Unwinese, [[Stanley Unwin (comedian)|Stanley Unwin]] (1911–2002), lived in the village for many years and is buried in the local churchyard.
*[[Marcia Williams]] (1932-2019), [[Political Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|political secretary]] and head of political office to, UK [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] prime minister [[Harold Wilson]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Long Buckby}}
*{{Official website|http://www.longbuckby.net}}
*[http://www.longbuckbyinfantschool.org.uk Long Buckby Infant School website]
*[http://www.longbuckbyjunior.co.uk Long Buckby Junior School website]
*[http://www.guilsboroughschool.com Guilsborough School]
*[http://www.lbrfc.co.uk Long Buckby Rugby Football Club]

{{Daventry District}}
{{Northamptonshire}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Northamptonshire]]
[[Category:Castles in Northamptonshire]]
[[Category:West Northamptonshire District]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Northamptonshire]]