OS grid reference SP7261 Country England Post town Northampton Shire county Northamptonshire District Northampton | Region East Midlands Sovereign state United Kingdom Local time Wednesday 9:06 AM Dialling code 01604 UK parliament constituency Northampton South | |
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Population 15,565
15,498 (2011 census) Weather 11°C, Wind W at 18 km/h, 93% Humidity | ||
Duston is a suburb of and civil parish in the borough of Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. The civil parish population was 15,498 at the 2011 census. It has been a settlement since at least Roman times.
Contents
Map of Duston, UK
From 1876 to 1995 Duston was home to St Crispin's Hospital, a county-owned and subsequently NHS mental hospital. During the First World War it was turned into Duston War Hospital for convalescent soldiers.
Schools in the area include Chiltern Primary School, Duston Eldean Primary School, The Duston School, Hopping Hill Primary School, Millway Primary School and St Luke's Church of England Primary School.
History
Archaeological remains found in the area suggest that Duston has roots in Prehistoric and Roman settlements. However, development in the area has meant that it is now difficult to find further remains.
Governance
The Duston parish is split into two wards for local governance. Duston returns four councillors in elections to the Northampton Borough Council split over two wards. The north-western side from the mini-roundabout at the Berrywood Road/Main Road junction to the northern edge of the Borough forms the New Duston ward (represented by Matthew Golby and John Caswell, both Conservative). The remainder of the parish from the mini-roundabout and down to the other side of the Sixfields retail park at the A4500 forms the Old Duston ward (represented by Timothy Hadland and Suresh Patel, again both Conservative).
Similarly, for elections to the Northamptonshire County Council, the area north from the same mini-roundabout up and east of Main Road - and including the recently developed St Crispin estate - forms the Duston West and St Crispin ward (represented by Matthew Golby, a Conservative). The remaining Duston East ward is composed of the rest of the parish and settlements past Bants Lane up to Weedon Road, and is represented by Suresh Patel, a Conservative.
The entirety of the Duston parish sits in the Northampton South parliamentary constituency, currently represented by David Mackintosh of the Conservative Party.
Economy
British Timken was previously a major employer in Duston. Established in Chester Road, Aston, Birmingham in 1937 manufacturing tapered roller, parallel roller and ball bearings. In World War II a shadow factory was built in 1941 on a green-field site in Main Road, Duston, to produce roller bearings. At its peak over 4,000 people were employed in the factory. In 2002 the works were closed and the site cleared for housing with production moving to Poland. British Timken was a division of the (then) Timken Bearing Company of Canton Ohio, now The Timken Company.
Duston also benefits from its proximity to the Sixfields Leisure retail park, which includes a Cineworld cinema and the Sixfields Stadium - home to the Northampton Town Football Club ("the Cobblers"), a Sainsbury's supermarket and several restaurants and pubs. Blacks Leisure Group (owner of Blacks and Millets) is based on an industrial estate on Mansard Close. On the north-eastern side of the area lies the Lodge Farm industrial estate, where major employers include builders merchants Travis Perkins, XPO Logistics, and a Debenhams distribution centre.
Education
There are a mixture of both secondary and primary schools in Duston. In addition to the secondary school, there are five primary schools located within the Duston boundary. Duston Eldean Primary School lies between the northern section of Main Road and Firsview Drive. Millway Primary School is situated in the south-eastern end of the parish on Millway near to the Sixfields retail park and Stadium. Hopping Hill Primary School is another community primary school, situated on Pendle Road close to the Duston Library and Limehurst Square shopping precinct. Chiltern Primary School is positioned on the north-east of the area on Chiltern Way. The St Luke's CEVA Primary School, while connected to the St Luke's church on Main Road, is actually located outside of Duston and instead in the neighbouring St Crispin area.
There is one all-through school in the civil parish, The Duston School, located towards the south-western end on Berrywood Road. Formerly named Duston Upper School prior to the abolition of middle schools in Northamptonshire, the school is co-educational and serves a teaching school for student teachers. In addition to its 4-16 provision, the Duston School also contains a small sixth form centre offering A-Levels, BTECs and other vocational courses. Outside of the parish, there are a number of nearby schools parents may send their children to. In terms of secondary education, Quinton House School is located nearby in the Upton area, directly south of Duston. Further afield, the Northampton School for Boys and Northampton School for Girls, situated near the areas of Abington and Spinney Hill respectively, are also options for parents. Additional secondary schools located within a commutable distance to Duston include Campion School in Bugbrooke, Malcolm Arnold Academy in Queen's Park and Abbyfield School in Mereway.