Great Brington


Great Brington is a village in Northamptonshire, England, in the civil parish of Brington, which at the 2011 Census had a population of about 200. St Mary the Virgin's church is the parish church.
In 1508, John Spencer from Wormleighton in Warwickshire purchased the estate of Althorp outside Great Brington with its moated house and several hundred acres of farmland. He had grazed sheep here from the 1480s. In 1508, impressed by the quality of the land, he eventually bought it and rebuilt the house. In 1511 he made further purchases to acquire much of the surrounding countryside, including the villages of Little Brington and Great Brington as well their parish church of St Mary the Virgin, from Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset.
Just outside the village is Althorp, the home of the Spencer family and Diana, Princess of Wales. Several members of the Spencer family are buried at Great Brington church, including Diana's father the 8th Earl Spencer, who died in 1992. The death of Diana had an effect on the village – the pub was renamed from The Fox and Hounds to the Althorp Coaching Inn and the post office gained currency exchange facilities following the large increase in tourism to the area.
The Macmillan Way long distance footpath passes through Great Brington. The disc jockey and television presenter Jo Whiley is from the village.

Geography

Nearby settlements include Little Brington, Nobottle and Long Buckby

Notable people from Great Brington