a market town in the eastern parliamentary division of Northamptonshire, England, 72 m. N.N.W. from London by the Midland railway. Pop. of urban district (1891), 19,454; (1901), 28,653. The church of SS Peter and Paul, mainly Perpendicular, has a lofty and ornate tower and spire. The chief manufactures are boots, shoes, brushes, stays, clothing and agricultural implements. There are iron-works in the immediate neighbourhood. The privilege of market was granted in 1227 by a charter of Henry III.