Harpole

For other uses, see Harpole (surname).

Harpole is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England.^[1] The village is just off the A4500 road (formerly the A45), 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Northampton and 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of junction 16 of the M1 motorway. At the 2011 Census, the civil parish had a population of 1,546.

Harpole
Harpole Location within Northamptonshire
Population	1,545 (2001 census) 1,546 (2011 census)
OS grid reference	SP691608
• London	69 mi (111 km)
Civil parish	Harpole
Unitary authority	West Northamptonshire
Ceremonial county	Northamptonshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NORTHAMPTON
Postcode district	NN7
Dialling code	01604
Police	Northamptonshire
Fire	Northamptonshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Daventry
List of places UK England Northamptonshire 52.241603°N 0.990786°W / 52.241603; -0.990786

The village's name means "filthy pool".^[2]

Governance

From 1974 to 2021, Harpole was in the South Northamptonshire local government district, where it was part of Harpole and Grange ward, together with the parishes of Milton Malsor, Kislingbury, Rothersthorpe and Gayton. It was also in the area of Northamptonshire County Council and is in the Parliamentary Constituency of Daventry.

Geography and history

Junction 16 of the M1 motorway is 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Harpole. The village is 69 miles (111 km) northwest of London and 42 miles (68 km) southeast of Birmingham.

A Roman mosaic floor uncovered in 1846-48 identifies the site of a Roman villa north of the village.^[3]

In April 2022 archaeologists found an Anglo-Saxon woman's grave, the Harpole bed burial, at a site in Harpole being developed for housing by Vistry. The discovery was announced in December 2022 and described as "the most significant early medieval female burial ever discovered in Britain".^[4]

Demographics

2001 census data^[5] shows 1,547 people resident in the Parish Council area consisting of 755 males and 792 females (the 2009 estimated population is 1,557^[6]), in 636 households, of which 82.6% were owner occupied or being purchased with a mortgage.

Village events

Harpole hosts a scarecrow weekend in September.^[7] There is also an event in December where Santa drives around the village, as in, following him.

Harpole bed burial

Main article: Harpole bed burial

An early Christian Anglo-Saxon era burial site of a woman of high social standing was found in Harpole in spring 2022.