Hall Park in which Rushden Hall is located

Rushden, in common with most of our present-day towns and villages, has ancient origins and in 1085 was one of the entries in the Doomsday Book. Then, it consisted of; 6 hides, land for 12 ploughs, 19 freemen, a mill at 10s, meadow and 30 acres. For many centuries Rushden continued as a small rural village with its two manors and a cluster of smaller properties. Its close neighbour Higham Ferrers, however enjoyed town status from the thirteenth century.

One substantial property that has survived from around this time is Rushden Hall with its 32 acres of grounds. The Hall is now the offices of Rushden Town Council and previously those of Longhurst Housing Association and East Northamptonshire District Council. Rushden Hall was, until 1928, a family home but its mature and attractive grounds are now a valuable asset to the town’s recreational facilities.

The Railway Station

When the former Rushden Urban District Council purchased Rushden Hall in 1931, the town had progressed from its agricultural village status to a bustling shoe manufacturing town. Its population had rapidly risen from just 2,500 in 1876 to 15,000 in 1916 and it was described as one of the most remarkable towns in Northamptonshire because of its manufacturing capacity. Local factories at this time were producing huge quantities of boots for the allied armies engaged in the world war. At one time there were nearly fifty factories in the town varying greatly in size and capacity. One of the largest factories was ‘Caves’, remembered by local people for its two fires, the second of which, in 1903, destroyed a considerable part of the centre of the town. Many of these local manufacturers were self made men starting as bench workers before establishing their own factories. A large proportion of them were also non-conformists in their religion. With the growth of factories, places of worship were erected for the good of themselves and their workers. Late Victorian structures may be seen in the Wesleyan Chapel (in the High Street) and those of the Baptist and Methodist churches in Park Road. St Peters Church and the Mission Chapel are also of the same period, while the Roman Catholic Church was not built until the 1970’s.

Nowadays, Rushden is still a bustling town but with the closure of most of these factories it is not the industrial town it once was.