Place:Wollaston, Northamptonshire, England

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Wollaston is a village and civil parish now in the unitary authority of North Northamptonshire. From 1974 until April 2021 it was part of the Borough of Wellingborough of Northamptonshire, England.

The parish is about 3 miles (5 km) south of the market town of Wellingborough. The UK census of 2011 recorded the population of the parish as 3,491. This includes the very small neighbouring parish of Strixton which has a population of less than 100 (Office of National Statistics practise).

Wollaston varies from from 160 to 260 feet (50 to 80 m) above sea level on hills east of the Nene valley. The parish is on the old Wellingborough to London road.

History

In common with the rest of Northamptonshire, Wollaston is noted for its shoe industry. The Solovair brand of British-made boots and footwear is produced here by NPS Shoes Ltd. NPS has been in operation in the village since 1881 and now has a factory shop. Until 2003, Dr. Martens boots were also made in Wollaston. Manufacture of the "Made in England" line of Dr. Martens footwear was resumed in the Cobbs Lane Factory in Wollaston in 2007.

Wollaston also has the head office of an international chemical company, founded by the Quaker Ernest Bader (1890–1982), which is now a "common ownership factory", named the Scott Bader Commonwealth, making advanced resins and composite materials.

The village has four churches: Church of England, Baptist, Methodist and a Salvation Army Citadel.

Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 the benefice of St Mary's parish church was held by Delapré Abbey in Northampton. The oldest parts of the building are 13th-century. It is a Grade II* listed building.

At the north end of the High Street there is a village museum.

The Victoria County History for Northamptonshire has an article for Wollaston in Volume 4, pp 57-62.

Research Tips

A Vision of Britain through Time

A Vision of Britain through Time describes parishes and former parishes from a gazetteer of 1871; provides an outline of the historic administration links for parishes. The OS map of 1900, the OS map of 1935, and the OS map of 1965 all show parish boundaries and settlements within parishes. These maps are all expandable to show individual parishes and are useful for inspecting changes occuring over the 20th century.

Archive Centres

• Northamptonshire Archives is located at Wootton Hall Park, Northampton, NN4 8BQ, Telephone from the UK: 01604 767562 (from overseas replace the "01" with "44"). The website gives opening times and facilities available.
• Northampton Central Library, Abington Street, Northampton, NN1 2BA (Telephone from the UK: 01604 26771 (from overseas replace the "01" with "44").

Northamptonshire Family History Society

The NFHS website describes the activities of the society. The Society is presently transcribing the deposited Marriage Registers for the period 1754 through 1837. These transcriptions may provide more details than can be found on other databases where subscriptions are charged.

GENUKI

The main GENUKI page for Northamptonshire lists a number of topics for research.

Victoria County History

• the Victoria County History of Northamptonshire produced online by British History Online (founded by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust in 2003) contains only some of the Hundreds of Northamptonshire in its collection. Articles that do exist will be referenced under the relevant hundred and parish.

Online Databases

FindMyPast includes (list checked July 2018)

• Northamptonshire Parish Records (Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, and Probate Index)
• Northamptonshire Freeholders 1795-1797
• Northamptonshire Hearth Tax, 1674
• Northamptonshire Military Tribunals 1916-1918
• Northamptonshire Militia Lists 1771
• Northamptonshire, Northampton General Hospital Admissions 1774-1846

While Ancestry offers (list checked July 2018)

• Census & Voter Lists 1841-1911.
• Northamptonshire Birth, Marriage & Death
• Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1532-1812
• Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1912
• Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Marriages, 1754-1912
• Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1912
• Other Birth, Marriage & Death collections related to Northamptonshire. (32)
• Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Confirmations, 1870-1911
• Other Schools, Directories & Church Histories collections related to Northamptonshire. (34)
• A calendar of wills relating to the counties of Northampton and Rutland : proved in the court of the archdeacon of Northampton
• Other Wills, Probates, Land, Tax & Criminal collections related to Northamptonshire. (23)
• Reference, Dictionaries & Almanacs collections related to Northamptonshire. (21)
• Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers collections related to Northamptonshire. (7)
• Northamptonshire Stories, Memories & Histories

Genealogy of the descendants of Thomas French: who came to America from Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire, England and settled

Works of Reverend James Hervey, 1713-1758

The Orlebar Chronicles in Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, 1553-1733, or the Children of the Manorhouse

Descendents of Thomas Chichele of Higham-Ferrers, Northampton, England

Rockingham Castle and the Watsons

Other Northamptonshire Stories, Memories & Histories (14)

FamilySearch also has an extensive database online. It is free, but may not always provide the original images provided by the services one pays for.