Rushden

Rushden lies on the A6 midway between Bedford and Kettering. The southern limits of the town border on the county of Bedfordshire, and to its north lies the River Nene (locally pronounced Nen) which flows into The Wash. Rushden lies in a small valley, with a stream or brook known as Sidney Brook flowing through the centre of the town. During the late 1960s and 70s this stream was culverted to prevent flash flooding.[3] From whichever way Rushden is approached, the streets and roads can be seen stretching out in the valley, with the spire of St Mary's church prominent above its rooftops.

Peter Bone MP is the local MP representing Wellingborough. As a result of recent electoral changes, Rushden has been divided into five wards for both District and Town Council purposes. With the following re-classifications: Rushden Spencer (formerly North), Rushden Hayden (formerly East), Rushden Bates (formerly South), Rushden Sartoris (formerly South) and Rushden Pemberton (formerly West).

Signpost in Rushden

Rushden's growth has resulted from a number of industries, including lacemaking and farming, and especially shoemaking and associated trades. In the mid-1900s there were well over 100 boot and shoe factories in Rushden but today there are only four shoemaking companies left in Rushden.[4]

One of the most renowned is Sanders and Sanders, which makes boots for the British Army and several other defence departments throughout the world. Some of the redundant factories have been converted into flats, and MPs support for government help has been limited.[6] Today, as with many towns in England, industry in the town is varied, and mostly situated in an out-of-town industrial estate. As with the industry, town centre shopping in Rushden has changed considerably although there are still many shops. Rushden has the oldest toy shop in the county.[7] In 1893 a short branch line railway opened linking Rushden and Higham Ferrers with the Midland Main Line. The line was closed in 1959 and dismantled. In 1991 the trackbed was converted into a pocket park.[8]

Hall Park with the spire of St Mary's Church in the far distance

The former Rushden railway station is now owned by the Rushden Historical Transport Society,[9] which operates a museum and real ale bar. The society often holds special events, including an annual 3-day transport cavalcade.[10] The society aims to rebuild the branch line from Higham Ferrers to Wellingborough.

There is also a privately owned museum in Rushden which is situated in the town's Hall Park. It is open between the months of May and October.

Rushden Hall is the oldest domestic building in the town, once owned by many families throughout the years including the Sartoris family and the Pembertons family. The hall now functions as the head office of the town council and some rooms are available for hiring. It lies in 32 acres (13 ha) of land which now is a public park (Hall Park).

The 1970s ITV Police Drama series Hunters Walk was filmed on location in Rushden and the surrounding villages.

Section of Rushden Greenway, heading under Washbrook Road

In late 2010, Rushden began to undergo a regeneration project, with the aim to making the town centre a more spacious and attractive place to shop. Rushden Splash Pool on Station Road and the Pemberton Centre, slightly out of town were planned to move to a new site to make room for in the town centre from the move of Splash and a knock on move of Alfred Street School to the Site of the Pemberton Centre. Plans were drawn up for a move to Manor Park, an open space out of town to the south side of Rushden. This however was put on hold in 2010 due widespread local opposition and the economic downturn.[11]

In early 2011, improvements to the High Street began with regeneration on the ‘southern gateway’ and a creation of a 'town square' in the middle of the High Street.[12]

Also a greenway cycle and foot path was created joining existing footpaths with a new one along the old railway line through the town. This linked Ferrers School to Rushden town centre and then out of Rushden to Crown Park, a small out of town retail/business park with a DIY store and Waitrose Supermarket.

Rushden has many supermarkets and convenience stores. Once Rushden was home to one of the five Safeway megastores in the country until they were bought by Wm Morrison; the store was then bought by Waitrose and turned into one of its five Food and Home stores which included a selection of home products from John Lewis. In 2006, Asda announced they would build a new £40m superstore near the town centre. The store opened in the autumn of 2006 and is now one of the biggest supermarkets in the town. In May 2007 Budgens announced it would be closing its store in the town because of the loss of trade to the new Asda store [13] the former Budgens site is now a Wilko store. Asda added a new petrol filling station with a kiosk shop to the site in the autumn of 2016.

In October 2014, 23-year-old Steven Smith from Rushden was murdered.[21] He was stabbed to death in an act of 'pure aggression' on 25 October 2014.

Before the single-sex senior schools were merged, the former girls school in Rushden was named "Chichele Girls School" after Henry Chichele who was born in the neighbouring town of Higham Ferrers.

Rushden is home to one secondary school, Rushden Academy. It is part of The East Northamptonshire College together with The Ferrers Specialist Arts College (Higham Ferrers) and Huxlow School (Irthlingborough). Rushden has 8 Primary Schools:

South Rushden

• Whitefriars Junior
• Whitefriars Infant
• Southend Infant
• Southend Junior

North Rushden

• Denfield Park Primary School

Central Rushden

• Alfred Street Junior

East Rushden

• Newton Road Primary (Risdene Academy)
• Newton Road Infant

West Rushden

• Tennyson Road Infants

Higham Ferrers

• Higham Ferrers Infant
• Higham Ferrers Junior
• Henry Chichele Primary

For adult education, Rushden is served by a 'Learning Centre' which is located in the town centre. The Learning Centre is operated by Bedford College, and offers Information Technology, English Language and Mathematics courses.

• H. E. Bates (1905–1974), novelist, was born here.
• Bernard Vann (1887–1918), World War I Victoria Cross recipient
• Walter Tull (1888–1918), professional footballer and possibly the first black/mixed race regular infantry officer in the British Army in World War I.
• Joe Ekins (1923–2012), World War II Trooper, defeated German tank ace Michael Wittmann
• Jim Walding (1937–2007), Canadian politician, in 1988 he brought down the NDP government in Manitoba.
• Richard Peck (b. 1937), British Army major-general and first-class cricketer
• Sidney King (1885–1972), English cricketer
• Thomas Britton (1644–1714), concert promoter
• James Richardson (b. 1974), darts player

Bedford, Burton Latimer, Chelveston, Corby, Finedon, Higham Ferrers, Irchester, Irthlingborough, Kettering, Milton Keynes, Newton Bromswold, Northampton, Oundle, Podington, Raunds, Riseley, St Neots, Thrapston, Wellingborough, Wollaston, Wymington

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rushden.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Rushden.

• Rushden town council
• Rushden and District History Society
• Rushden and Diamonds
• Rushden Online