Everything about Weedon Bec totally explained
Weedon Bec is a large
village and
parish in
the district of Daventry,
Northamptonshire,
England. It lies upon the infant
River Nene, and in
2001 had a population of 2,485.
Weedon is located around six miles south-east of
Daventry, and is at the crossroads of the
A5 and
A45 main roads. The
Grand Union Canal passes through the village, as does the
West Coast Main Line, but the village station closed in the
1960s. Between
1888 and
1963 the station was the starting point of a branch line to
Leamington Spa by way of
Daventry.
Due to the crossroads there are a fair number of
pubs,
cafés and shops in the village and it's developing as a centre for the
antique trade.
Next to the canal is the former
Napoleonic War era
Depot. The Depot, which was the central small arms depot for the British Army was opened in
1803 and was originally served by the canal, by way of its own branch which entered the depot through a portcullis. When the railway was built, it too had a branch into the depot. There was also a Barracks in the village, holding a standing battalion, plus a troop of cavalry and a troop of horse artillery. The Barracks were demolished in the 1950s. Because the barracks and depot were situated in the heart of England, they were considered a safe haven. In the event of a Napoleonic invasion of Britain, King
George III and other members of the Royal family would have been sent there from London on the canal. Three large Pavilions were built between the Depot and the Barracks to house them. These were demolished in the 1960s. Next door to the barracks was the Army School of Equitation, which was also demolished in the 60s. The Depot became redundant to the Army, in
1965, but is still in use for storage and light industry. It is hoped that the
National Fire Service Museum will be opening there in the near future.
The village is usually called just
Weedon when including
Lower Weedon and
Upper Weedon; these were once distinct villages but all three have effectively merged into one. The settlement patterns of all three villages have been distorted by the presence of the major road, the canal, the military establishments and the railway station and present an unusual example of urban sprawl in an otherwise rural part of England. The area on the A5 (then Watling Street or the London-Holyhead stagecoach route) was known as
Road Weedon and earlier "Weedon on the Street". The
Bec part of the name is derived from the
Abbey of Bec-Hellouin, in Normandy, France, which owned most of the village until the
dissolution of the monastries, when
King Henry VIII gave it to
Eton College.
Weedon Lois – otherwise Lois Weedon – is, however, in a different part of the county.
Its name came from the
Anglo-Saxon Wēo-dūn = "Temple Hill": before
Christianity came there may have been a
heathen temple there.
Its most famous resident Alex Wooldridge Smith has lived in the village for several years and is active in the community. Alex is more recently famous for being one of the founding members of the mid ninties band 'And From The West... Came Grunge'.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Weedon Bec'.
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