The town of Kettering is in the northern half of the county. Kettering has Saxon orgins, the name meaning the place of Ketter's people though there has been settlement in the area since at least the Iron Age, traces of a Roman settlement have also been found under the present day Kettering. The Saxon village of Kettering (or Keteriringen as one spelling has it) may have existed since the 10th century. Kettering first appears in a royal charter in 956CE.
Kettering gained a market charter in 1227 under King Henry III. The manor was held by the Abbey of Peterborough. By the 17th century the town was becoming known for woollen cloth. In the 19th century the boot and shoe industry helped the town grow in size. Large footwear manufacturers continued to have factories in the town into the 20th century though nowadays most of the industry has moved away. In the 19th century the town became a centre for iron smelting though this industry also died out in recent decades.
Kettering gained a railway station in 1857. The parish church of St Peter & St Paul has Norman origins though the church was rebuilt in the 15th century.
