Finedon was once one of Northamptonshire's four largest towns

At the time of the Domesday Book the four largest settlement in Northamptonshire were Northampton, Brackley, Rushton and Finedon. The first two are still towns (one a great deal larger than the other) and Rushton is now a small village near Desborough

Finedon, where I went today, is described as a town, though its population at the 2021 census was only 4552 and there are few shops left in its historic heart.

The pub proved to be closed until six – as it was a Friday, that suggests to me that it's more of a restaurant these days – and the cafe that was my fallback had the builders in. 

I was saved by a small Co-op branch, were I got a sandwich. Looking round for the refrigerated unit with the cans of pop, I found it had a whole cold room devoted to them. How neat is that? The owner offered to let me stay in there for a while to cool off, but it wasn't that hot outside.

Anyway, Finedon's many ironstone buildings – there were many quarries serving the steel industry here at one time – remain and here are some of them.

Later. In fact, as someone pointed out on Bluesky, the pub I mentioned (The Bell Inn) closed in January. I'd assumed there would be some more pubs on the very busy A6 – as seems common in Northamptonshire, the original centre of Finedon lies off the later main road – but there are none.

Finedon may soon resemble the Leicestershire village of Hallaton, which once tried to rival Market Harborough as a market town. It has what still feels like a high street, but there are no shops on it.

Oh, and the Finedon building in the photograph immediately below this text used to be a hotel.

Rasputin features in our Trivial Fact of the Day

This morning Finedon's Revd Richard Coles tweeted that it was Rasputin's 150th birthday.

He added our Trivial Fact of the Day: Rasputin's murderer Prince Felix Yusupov had been a member of the Bullingdon Club. It's on Wikipedia so it must be true.

Oh, those Russians.

News Story of the Day comes from Finedon

Well done to the Northamptonshire Telegraph:

Ken’s Diner in Finedon closes 

An authentic American restaurant has closed and relocated to the States.

You can see what happened. The owners spent 18 months in search of that elusive authenticity until someone put his finger on the problem. They were in Finedon.

More on the Thor nuclear missiles at Harrington airfield

Last month I wrote about my discovery that Thor nuclear missiles had been stationed at Harrington Airfield, only five miles from Market Harborough.

Yesterday I bought a booklet on the airfield. It deals mainly with its career during World War II, when it was the home of "carpetbagger" operations. These dropped men and supplies behind enemy lines in occupied Europe.

But it also gives more information on the Thor missiles:

In 1958, work began on building the Missile site at Harrington ... In late 1959 there was a demonstration by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). The protesters met in Rothwell and walked to Harrington to voice their concerns over the building of the site. A truck driver, employed by St Ives Sand & Gravel, delivering building materials to the site told me that one time a CND protester lay in front of his vehicle and had to be forcibly removed by civilian police before he could enter.

In spite of the protesting, the construction of the site went ahead as planned. This included erecting a security fence, together with the necessary floodlights, which came on at dusk and stayed on until dawn every night the base was open. The lights were so effective, they were visible from the A6 at Finedon some 10 miles from Harrington airfield.

The booklet also contains the photograph above, which shows a missile being driven through the streets of Rothwell. The recent past is a very strange place.

The Volta Tower, Finedon

At St Mary's Church in Finedon you can look down into the Mackworth Dolben family crypt. Outside there are two tablets remembering, among others, two sons of the family who died young.

One is Digby Augustus Stewart Mackworth Dolben, a Uranian poet who was a cousin of Robert Bridges and with whom Gerard Manley Hopkins was infatuated. Digby was drowned in the Welland at South Luffenham, aged 19, in 1867 while bathing with the 10-year-old son of the rector. I am saying nothing.

South Luffenham, incidentally, is the Rutland village which at different times played host to Matt Monro and, reputedly, Hermann Goering.

A second son remembered on the tablet is William Digby Mackworth Dolben, who was drowned off the coast of Africa in 1863 at the age of 24.

For a long time William had a far more substantial memorial in Finedon. The Volta Tower was a 100ft tower the family erected in his memory.

It stood until 16 November 1951, when it collapsed, killing a Mrs Florence Northen who lived there with her husband. After the collapse it was discovered that no mortar had been used in its construction.

See The Volta Tower Awareness Group for more information and some photographs. It has to be said that the tower looks a bit of a monstrosity.

The Tudor Gate Hotel, Finedon

I was wandering around Finedon on Saturday taking photographs. I had reached what used to be the Tudor Gate Hotel.

A group of youths approached. "Do you know what is going to happen to it?" they asked. "No offence, but you look the sort of person who might be a historian."

I took that as a compliment. I think it is my flat cap.

An unxpected trip over the Welland Viaduct

I arrived at Kettering station on the way back from Finedon. After a cup of tea in the buffet I went out to catch my train.

A platform change was announced. Sure enough, the Nottingham service was being diverted and would not call at Market Harborough.

It was still light, I had all the necessary tickets, so I decided to catch it even so. Who could resist a trip over the Welland Viaduct?

The view as far as Corby is not exciting (as Go Litel Blog, Go... once pointed out), though there was a snowy field full of black sheep to enjoy.

Then we reached the viaduct itself. The hills were white, what Lord Bonkers always calls "the broad valley of the Welland" was green and the river itself, in spate from the melting snow, was silver in the low winter sun. The view was well worth the longer journey.

We reached Leicester. The trains were in chaos, but the crowds were mostly of Leicester Tigers fans happy after the victory over Gloucester and I met Colin Davies on the station.

Eventually I gave up waiting for East Midlands Trains and caught a bus home

Harrowden Books, Finedon

I have been to Finedon in Northamptonshire today. It is a village between Kettering and Wellingborough whose history was dominated by the Dolben family. More about it and them in due course.

Harrowden Books in the village is well worth a visit. The exciting news is that I was able to buy two books by Evelyn Cheesman. So more on her soon too.

Devon Malcolm and Jason Gillespie playing for Brixworth

A few weeks ago I reported that the former England fast bowler Devon Malcolm now opens the bowling for the large Northamptonshire village of Brixworth.

His new ball partner isn't bad either. It is Jason Gillespie, who was bowling for Australia only four years ago.

It didn't stop Brixworth losing to Finedon Dolben the other week though. According to the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph, they are "fighting for their lives at the wrong end of the table".