Duston

Duston is a suburb of and civil parish in the borough of Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. The civil parish population was 15,498 at the 2011 census. It has been a settlement since at least Roman times.Duston Church is dedicated to St Luke. It was begun in the 12th century but has many 13th century - features.It has a nave, aisles and what would be a crossing tower except that it has no transepts.From 1876 to 1995 Duston was home to St Crispin's Hospital, a county-owned and subsequently NHS mental hospital. During the First World War it was turned into Duston War Hospital for convalescent soldiers.Schools in the area include Chiltern Primary School, Duston Eldean Primary School, The Duston School, Hopping Hill Primary School, Millway Primary School and St Luke's Church of England Primary School.HistoryArchaeological remains found in the area suggest that Duston has roots in Prehistoric and Roman settlements. However, development in the area has meant that it is now difficult to find further remains.Early Extractive IndustriesIron ore was first quarried in the district in 1854 and 1855 to the east of the village on land leased from Viscount Palmerston and from Duston Church (St Luke's.) At that time the ore was quarried mostly to the south of the Northampton to Daventry road, but also on the other side. The quarry was connected by railway to the Northampton branch of the canal,close to Duston Mill where the ore trucks were emptied into canal boats for transport to an ironworks eksewhere.The trucks descended when full by gravity and when emptied were hauled back to the quarry by horses. The quarry was re-opened in 1859 and the railway was extended under the road as the quarry was extended on that side. Steam locomotives were used on the railway from 1861 onwards. Quarrying finished on the south side of the road in 1905 and on the north side of the road in 1908.