Boughton is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. It is situated approximately from Northampton town centre along the A508 road between Northampton and Market Harborough.
The parish area straddles both sides of the road, but the main part of the village is to the east. Boughton is on the northern fringe of the Northampton urban area and, together with the neighbouring village of Moulton, is an area for the expansion of the town.
History
Etymology
thumb|Boughton [[village sign]]
Boughton has been recorded under various names, including Buchenho, Buchetone, Buchedone and Bochetone during the 11th century. This evolved into Boketon, Buketone and Buckton between the 12th and 15th centuries. However, there is also evidence of Prehistoric and Roman settlements close to the modern centre of the village and in the surrounding area. Archaeological finds in the south of the adjacent field have yielded both pottery and worked flints of Bronze Age type. An unscheduled barrow exists at Bunkers Hill to the north east of the village, within Boughton parish.
While there has been little physical evidence, the Northamptonshire Historic Environment Record documents the presence of a possible Norman Motte-and-bailey castle within the current Pocket Park, although it is unlikely to have been maintained long after the 11th century. and was significantly damaged further in 1784 when the spire collapsed.
Boughton Green was also once the site of a substantial three-day annual fair dating from at least 1353 when, to this end, Sir Henry Greene was granted a royal charter by Edward III. The fair was popular into the 19th century. It was also the site of the last robbery attempted by the infamous highwayman George Catherall (or ‘Captain Slash’) who was caught, tried and hanged in Northampton in 1826.
thumb|Obelisk Farm dates back to the 17th century
In the centre of Boughton stands the chapel of St John the Baptist which now serves as the parish church. The tower, dating from the 15th century, is the oldest surviving structural element of the chapel and the village core. the main gate lodge on east side of the A508 main road. There is also a grotto north of the house and an obelisk to the south (1764) However, the Park's history was never properly documented until the publication of The Follies of Boughton Park by Simon Scott in 1995. A new edition, titled The Follies of Boughton Park Revisited was published in 2011, much expanded from the original. In 2022 a limited edition reprint of the 2011 book was published to mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of William Wentworth, Earl Strafford – the person responsible for the landscape and almost all the associated follies.
Modern
thumb|A cottage on Butchers Lane
During the 18th century, the village grew alongside the Hall. Surviving 18th century developments include the Rectory, Honeysuckle Cottage and Numbers 12, 13 and 14 Church Street. Historic figures: population in 1801 was 344; in 1831, 360; in 1841, 389; in 1851, 369; in 1861, 372 ; in 1871, 339.
Governance
Boughton Parish Council has 11 members elected every 4 years. The local authority is West Northamptonshire Council, but prior to local government reform, was Daventry District Council and Northamptonshire County Council.
Buckton Fields
In 2007, proposals were submitted to build a large housing development on Buckton Fields, land which sits within the Boughton parish to the south west of the village. An archaeological survey of the land in 2013 identified features associated with post-medieval agriculture, an early World War II searchlight battery and a mid 20th century rubbish pit.
After some revisions and public consultations to the original proposals, the planning application was approved by Daventry District Council in 2013 and work commenced on Phase 1 ("Buckton Fields East") in 2015 in a joint venture between Martin Grant Homes and Bloor Homes. By 2020, Phase 1 was mostly built out and occupied, closely followed by the start of Phase 2 ("Buckton Fields West") which was still in development as of 2024. Plans for Phase 3 were submitted by Taylor Wimpey in 2021 and work commenced in 2022.
Buckton Fields Primary School opened in September 2021. Like two other schools built from prefabricated modules by Caledonian Modular (Sir Frederick Gibberd College in Harlow and Haygrove School in Bridgwater), it was forced to close in August 2023 amid fears that the building might collapse in extreme weather. Education minister Nick Gibb said Department for Education (DfE) inspectors had "identified issues that related to the structural integrity of the buildings, weakening its ability for example to withstand extreme events such as high winds or a big snowfall or indeed a collision from a vehicle." The school had been designed by architects Stride Treglown but the DfE blamed poor workmanship, saying the school had not been built in accordance with the design. In December 2023, the DfE confirmed that the school would be demolished and rebuilt.