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Newport Pagnell
The High Street, Newport Pagnell - geograph.org.uk - 368877.jpg
High Street
Newport Pagnell is located in Buckinghamshire
Newport Pagnell
Newport Pagnell
Population 15,118 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference SP873437
Civil parish
  • Newport Pagnell
Unitary authority
  • Borough of Milton Keynes
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town NEWPORT PAGNELL
Postcode district MK16
Dialling code 01908
Police Thames Valley
Fire Buckinghamshire
Ambulance South Central
EU Parliament South East England
UK Parliament
  • Milton Keynes North
List of places
UK
England
Buckinghamshire
52°05′13″N 0°43′19″W / 52.087°N 0.722°W / 52.087; -0.722

Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area.

It is separated from the rest of the urban area by the M1 motorway, on which Newport Pagnell Services, the second service station to be opened in the United Kingdom, is located.

The town is more widely known for having the only remaining vellum manufacturer in the United Kingdom, and being the original home of the exclusive sports car manufacturer Aston Martin.

History

The town was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Neuport, Old English for "New Market Town", but by that time the old Anglo-Saxon town was dominated by the Norman invaders. The suffix "Pagnell" came later when the manor passed into the hands of the Pagnell (Paynel) family. It was the principal town of the Three Hundreds of Newport, a district that had almost the same boundary as the modern Borough.

At one time, Newport Pagnell was one of the largest towns in the County of Buckinghamshire (the assizes of the County were occasionally held there) though today, despite its own substantial expansion, it has been completely dwarfed by the growth of Milton Keynes. There were also at one time two hospitals in Newport Pagnell and six fairs were held for the townsfolk throughout the year.

Newport Pagnell became the headquarters of Newport Pagnell Rural District under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1897, Newport Pagnell became the sole civil parish comprising the newly created Newport Pagnell Urban District.

For a hundred years (1867 to 1967), Newport Pagnell was served by Newport Pagnell railway station the terminus on Wolverton to Newport Pagnell branch line.

Modern times

Tickford Bridge, over the River Ouzel (or Lovat), was built in 1810 and is the only iron bridge in Britain that still carries main road traffic. There is a plaque near the footbridge at the side that gives details of its history and construction placed there by Newport Pagnell Historical Society.

Between 1817 and 1864, the town was linked to the Grand Junction Canal at Great Linford via the Newport Pagnell Canal.

From 1954, until recently, Tickford Street in the town was the home to the prestigious sports car manufacturer Aston Martin. The Newport Pagnell factory was considered outdated and a new production facility was built near Gaydon, in Warwickshire. There is still a service facility in Newport Pagnell, but the factory on the north side of Tickford St has since been demolished apart from the engine shop, board room and offices that are listed buildings. The land behind these has been purchased by Tesco and the supermarket giant had planned to build an outlet on the site, preserving the original remaining buildings for use by the townspeople. In 2012 the service facility was completely modernised and now also houses a bespoke sales department.

The town is also home to the only remaining vellum manufacturer in the United Kingdom, William Cowley, located at Parchment Works, 97 Caldecote Street.

The modern civil parish of Newport Pagnell stops at the M1, but the ecclesiastical parish extends to include Broughton and Caldecote. The parish church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul.

StpeterStpaul
The Parish Church

Population and growth

Although Newport Pagnell is outside the designated area of Milton Keynes, its growth has been at a similar level to that of the constituent towns of the latter; the two now join at the M1 and there is little distinction between them. The Office for National Statistics regards Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes Urban Area. Its population in 1971 was 6,000: by 2001 it had reached 15,020. The Borough Council projects that the population will remain broadly stable at this level. However, in its comments on the expansion plans for Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire County Council challenges this assumption, calling for any further expansion to be to the east of the M1 rather than south across the border into Aylesbury Vale.

The people of Newport Pagnell are known as Pagnellions.

Sport and leisure

Newport Pagnell has a Non-League football team Newport Pagnell Town F.C., nicknamed the Swans, who play at The Pavilion on Willen Road. An ITF Taekwon-Do club, Kicks Taekwon-Do Academy, trains at Cedars Primary School, Bury Street, and a swimming pool. Between 1959-1960 it was the headquarters of the Aston Martin F1 team.

Newport Pagnell Lawn Bowls

Bowls has been played in Newport Pagnell for over 400 years as maps of the Town dating from the mid 17 Century show a public House called “The Bowling Green”. The Newport Pagnell Bowling Club was founded in 1905 and the club used the Bowling Green behind the George pub in Tickford Street (currently The Magic Wok 2019). The game was developing locally due to the Railways, with clubs at Wolverton existing already and Olney forming in 1906. After the Great War, the Club purchased a plot of land known as “The Bully” and the Club remains at this site in Castle Meadow to the current day.

Notable people

  • Francis Annesley, 1st Viscount Valentia, was born in Newport Pagnell.
  • Nigel Benson, the author, was born in Newport Pagnell.
  • Steve Brooker, footballer, was born in Newport Pagnell.
  • Henry Bull (1843–1905), cricketer, was born at Newport Pagnell.
  • William Bull (1738–1814) (born Irthlingborough) was minister to the Independent Church, now United Reformed Church.
  • Letitia Dean went to Cedars School in the town.
  • Kelly George, actor and star of BBC children's television series Grange Hill, lived and was educated in the town.
  • Richard Hopkins, the television producer, was born in Newport Pagnell.
  • Lawrence Humphrey, (or Laurence Humfrey) DD (1527? – 1 February 1590) English theologian, President of Magdalen College, Oxford, and Dean successively of Gloucester and Winchester.
  • Richard Meredith, author, lives in Newport Pagnell.
  • Gordon Moakes, bassist of Indie band Bloc Party, was educated in Newport Pagnell.
  • James Nash, World Touring Car Championship driver, lives in Newport Pagnell.
  • Niko B (born 2000), YouTuber and rapper, lives in Newport Pagnell.
  • David Oldfield who played for Leicester City, Stoke City and Oxford United, lived in Newport Pagnell.
  • Charles Sanford Terry, the historian, musicologist and authority on J. S. Bach, was born in Newport Pagnell in 1864.
  • George Walters, born 15 September 1829 in Newport Pagnell, won the Victoria Cross at the Battle of Inkermann (where he was a Sergeant with the 49th Regiment of Foot) on 5 November 1854, by saving the life of Brigadier-General Adams.
  • Leah Williamson, professional footballer, played for Arsenal W.F.C. and England.

Demography

Although Newport Pagnell was excluded from the 1967 designated area of Milton Keynes, its growth has been at a similar level to that of the constituent towns of the latter; the two now join at the M1 and there are no other practical distinctions between them. As of 2001, the Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes Urban Area. By the 2001 census, its population had increased significantly from 6,000 in 1971 to 15,020. In 2006, the Borough Council projected that the population will remain broadly stable at this level, and by the 2011 census, the population had increased very little to 15,118.

Education

The town is home to four primary schools - Tickford Park Primary School, Cedars, Green Park Primary School, and Portfields Primary School - and three pre-schools - River Meadows, Lovat Hall and Northern Pastures. It is also home to one of two campuses of Ousedale School (the other one being in nearby Olney), which serves students from across the town and its surrounding villages, and is one of the best performing secondary schools in the Borough of Milton Keynes.

Location and transport

The town is located at the north-eastern corner of the Milton Keynes urban area, overlooking the rural parts of the Borough. It is served by the M1 motorway from Junction 14 (2 miles (3.2 km) to the south) via the A509 which, along with the A422 and Wolverton Road, connects it with (the rest of) the Milton Keynes BUA. To the east of the town, the A422 and A509 multiplex northwards to form the Newport Pagnell Eastern Bypass, providing links to Bedford, Wellingborough and Kettering. The historic Newport Pagnell-Northampton road (B526) runs through the centre of the town, linking rural villages to the north, and provides a secondary route to Northampton.

In February 2021, developers presented to Milton Keynes Council proposals for the development of a new community to the south of Newport Pagnell, with the construction of approximately 5,000 homes. In planning documents, the new area is called "Milton Keynes East", and is proposed to include a local centre with two primary schools and a secondary school. It is to have direct road links to Newport Pagnell town centre, and Central Milton Keynes via an expansion of the Milton Keynes grid road system. If undertaken, it will be the first major expansion of Milton Keynes to the east of the M1.

It was proposed in January 2021 that, with the money that had been given to Milton Keynes Council as part of the UK Government's Active Travel Fund, Tongwell Lane in Newport Pagnell would be converted into a redway, which would better link the town with the Milton Keynes designated area.

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Newport Pagnell para niños

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