Many thanks to Dr Steven Hollowell for writing this brief history of Cogenhoe. 

Mr Hollowell has written a book, "A Century of Change", which tells the story of life in Cogenhoe in the 20th Century.  The lavishly illustrated volume is in hardback and is available from all good bookshops at £29.95 - locally priced copies at £19.95 + p&p may be obtained from Steven Hollowell. 6 Nene Rise, Cogenhoe, Northampton. NN7 1NT. Tel: 01604 890346.  There is also an accompanying double CD, which draws on extracts from the recorded interviews, available at the local price of only £12.95 + p&p.

 Cogenhoe's History

 

People have lived at Cogenhoe for at least 4,000 years with one of the early settlements lying to the east of the present village. Much later, the Celts lived here and probably had a shrine or temple on the Brafield side of the present village.

 

During the Roman period, a corn-drying kiln was built in the centre of the village and a villa estate developed out of an Iron Age settlement on the Whiston side. The Saxons lived to the west of St Peters church and it was they who would have built its predecessor, probably from timber and first gave the village its name. After the Norman Conquest, the village was moved on to the steep slope on the north of the church where it remained until ribbon development took place in the 16th or 17th centuries along Church Street. Not until the 19th century did Station Road begin to evolve with the construction of houses built from bricks made in the Cogenhoe brickyard.

 

The Roman corn-drying kiln being excavated in 1965

 

In the 20th century, acres of orchards and open fields were replaced by new housing in Orchard Way, Glebe Road and St Peters Way.

 

From the mid-19th to the mid 20th centuries the village, which had once been home to the agricultural and textile industries, became dominated by the manufacture of boots and shoes. By the 1950s, the major employer was local coach firm, York brothers and by the 1960s, an electronic component manufacturer – Midland Capacitors. Cogenhoe is now largely a commuter village with most people working in Northampton or further a field.