January 1965

The UDC supported the plan to have a petrol filling station, motel and restaurant at Sanders Lodge although the county Planning Committee was against the notion.

Of the 130 workers who were made redundant at John White’s at the beginning of the month, 30 men and 4 women had registered for employment at the local Employment Exchange.  There were almost no vacancies in the boot and shoe industry for skilled workers.

Due to the high numbers of private cars on the Home Farm estate it was decided that the entrance to the new school in Wymington Road, which was replacing South End, was to be placed opposite Hall Avenue.  It was hoped that pleas for a school crossing and ‘No Overtaking’ signs would not be ignored.

The Archbishop of Westminster presented Miss Susan King of Prospect Avenue with the top prize for nursing at the Royal Northern Hospital in London.

Pupils of Form 1A at Rushden Secondary School for Boys received a letter from a French boy saying he had found the balloon which the boys had filled with hydrogen in a science lesson.

February 1965

Shoemen at John White’s were back on a 5‑day working week.

Rushden CWS, in answer to the Mothers’ Club complaints, decided to remove some of their goods displayed outside their greengrocer shop in the High Street for an experimental period. The complaints aired were that they caused an obstruction, were unhygienic and were a temptation to children.

Rushden WRVS reported there was a waiting list for OAPs wanting Meals on Wheels.  This was one of the many services offered by the voluntary workers.  The WRVS also had its own clothing store and books were supplied to the Derby & Joan Club and to residential homes in the area.

March 1965

Opening hours in shops were to be cut to give 5‑day shopping.

Mr and Mrs Geoff Knight won five prizes with their Siamese kittens at the Championship Cat Show in Leicester.

The St.Celilia Singers won the Grand Challenge Shield at the Kettering Eisteddfod.

Harry Howarth MP viewed the “bungalow on wheels” which had been designed and built in Rushden by Nene Valley Coachworks Ltd who called it ‘Cedar Haven’.

April 1965

Seventeen year old Anthony Higgins gained awards for acting and speaking verse at the Birmingham School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art.

If the estimated £20,000 was raised by public subscription Rushden Swimming Pool would be covered and heated.

It was reported that Rushden Skew Bridge Club would host the National Ski Championships in July.

Following a report on telephone kiosks, an extra kiosk was to be located in Washbrook Road near the railway bridge.

May 1965

Higham Ferrers Council voted 12 to 3 against amalgamating with Rushden.

The Pemberton Memorial in Rushden St.Mary’s Church was restored.  The work took 12 weeks at a cost of £4,500.

It was announced that British Rail would withdraw freight service to Rushden and Higham Ferrers.

The Bakehouse in High Street South, which had traded there for 150 years, was to be demolished for a road widening scheme in Bedford Road.

June 1965

A demolition order was made for 14 Victorian houses on the corner of Northampton Road and High Street, Higham Ferrers, included Express Dry Cleaners, Co‑op Men’s Outfitters and Bailey’s general store.

July 1965

Succoth Chapel was to be demolished.

The Rock Foundation Hall was given a facelift by young people who were members of the Quaker International Voluntary work camp.  During their stay they would take up the old wooden floor, replace it with one of concrete, and would undertake a certain amount of decorating, cleaning and renovating inside and out.

Local people, it was claimed, were getting more adventurous with their holiday plans.  Continental Coach Tours had received heavy bookings and for some people the holiday would be the first opportunity of visiting their relatives in their native countries of Poland and Yugoslavia.

August 1965

Members of the Quaker International Voluntary Work Camp renovated the Rock Foundation Hall for the Rushden Christian Youth Association.

Over £500 was spent by the Rushden Town Football Club on improvements to their ground during the summer.  For the first time in its 40 year history the main stand had been re‑roofed, a bank was pushed out for training purposes and a car park would be constructed.

September 1965

The proposed closure of the Rushden & Higham Ferrers railway line was deferred.

Robert Marriott Ltd celebrated the firm’s 75th Anniversary with a dinner for 400 employees and their wives at the Salon, Franklins Gardens, Northampton.

October 1965

The Council was to decide if Rushden Hall should to be renovated or demolished.

Local manufacturers rejected the British Shoe Corporation’s chief’s prophecy that “it is possible the British footwear industry will no longer exist in 50 years time”, as the industry moved towards amalgamations.

November 1965

78 year old Mr Walter J Bone died.  He had worked for H.W.Chapman Ltd in Cromwell Road and was works manager when he retired in 1962.

December 1965

Rushden & Higham Ferrers Councils agreed the boundary proposals for Rushden, Higham, Newton Bromswold, Chelveston and Irchester to form a non‑county borough.

Activities culminating in Park Road Methodist Church’s Diamond Jubilee and Gift Day raised £1,095.  Mrs C.A.Espin who opened the fete had been the first female child to the christened in the Church – the first male baby was the novelist H.E.Bates.