Daventry Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Daventry is a historic market town in Northamptonshire, England with a population of 24,000. The town is the administrative centre of the Daventry district.It is located roughly 25 miles (40 km) west of Northampton. The town comprises a historic market centre surrounded by much modern housing and light industrial development. Daventry's amenities include a popular country park and reservoir, located just outside the town centre. Until recently Daventry had a small Battle of Naseby museum although this is currently (2004) being mothballed.
Daventry is near the M1 motorway and is served by the A45 road. The town lost its rail links in the 1960s, and now the nearest railway station is at Long Buckby
Due to its good transport links, Daventry is now a warehousing and distribution centre.
On the 653 foot (199 metre) high 'Borough Hill' overlooking the town, remains have been found of an iron age hill fort - one of the largest found in Britain. Remains have also been found on the hill, of later Roman buildings.
Daventy town was incorporated under a royal charter in 1606, and a new Royal charter was granted in 1674. During the English Civil War Daventry was the headquarters of king Charles I before the Battle of Naseby which occurred nearby in 1645 between Royalist and Parliamentarian forces.
In 1923 a BBC broadcasting station was built on the Borough Hill outside the town, which until recently had a large antenna farm. In 1935 the radio station at Daventry was used for the first ever practical demonstration of radar, by its inventor Robert Watson-Watt. The station closed in 1992 and only one of the radio masts now remains and is used as a radio beacon for aircraft.
Until the 1950s Daventry was a small rural town, with a population of around 6,000. Real growth started in the town in 1954 when the ball bearing manufacturer British Timken located a large factory in the town.
In the early 1960s the town was chosen as an overspill for people displaced by slum clearances in Birmingham. The town grew rapidly as a result: between 1955 and 1975 Daventry's population tripled to around 20,000.
For some reason, Roberta Williams picked the name 'Daventry' for the name of the fantasy kingdom where the computer adventure game series King's Quest take place. The similarities with the real Daventry stop there.History
King's Quest