Northampton is a large market town and a local government district in the English East Midlands region. Northampton is situated 67 miles (108 km) north of London on the River Nene, and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The district has a population of 200,100, whilst the urban area has a population of 189,474. By this measurement, it is the 21st largest settlement in England and is the UK's third largest town without official city status – after Reading and Dudley. Northampton is the most populous district in England not to be a unitary authority, a status it failed to obtain in the 1990s local government reform.[citation needed] Northampton's population has increased greatly since the 1960s, largely due to planned expansion under the New Towns Commission in the early-1960s. Traditionally Northampton was a major centre of shoemaking and other leather related industries. Shoemaking has almost ceased though the back streets of the town still retain the pattern of small shoe factories surrounded by terraced houses for outworkers. Northampton's main industries now include distribution and finance, and major employers include Barclaycard, Euro Building & Maintenance, Panasonic, Travis Perkins, Coca Cola Schweppes Beverages Ltd, and Carlsberg.
Remains have been found in the Northampton area dating back to the Iron Age. It is believed that farming settlement began in the Northampton area in around the 7th century. By the 8th century it had become an administrative centre for the kingdom of Mercia. The pre-Norman town was known as Hamtun and was quite small, occupying only some 60 acres. More on Northampton 

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