How Corby was reborn as a new town 75 years ago

Image source, Dennis Taylor

Image caption, Corby was designated a new town in 1950
  • Author, Louise Parry
  • Role, BBC News, Northamptonshire

The first day of April 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the village of Corby in Northamptonshire officially becoming a new town.

The Glasgow-based steel making firm of Stewarts and Lloyds relocated to Corby in 1932, and thousands of Scottish workers headed south to what became known as "Little Scotland".

By 1950, the population had grown from 1,500 to 18,000, and it was designated as a new town the same year.

Corby Town Council is planning to hold a public exhibition to mark the anniversary.

Tom Beattie, the previous leader of Corby Borough Council, moved to the town as a teenager in the 1970s.

"I remember the steel works which were completely dominant in the town. At night the town would be lit up from the Corby Candle," he said.

"There was a smell about the place, you could tell it was an industrial town."

Since then, the town's steelworks expanded massively, before being almost wiped out, leaving Corby to re-invent itself at the end of the 20th Century.

Mr Beattie added: "Corby has a strong sense of community.

"It had then and it has now. I'm very proud of what Corby has become."

Image source, Corby Development Corporation

Image caption, With the population of Corby increasing dramatically, the government named Corby as one of a series of new towns designed to alleviate the post-war housing shortage

Image source, Evening Standard/Getty Images

Image caption, Corby was dominated by the steel and iron industry until 1979, when British Steel announced that most of the works would be closed and thousands lost their jobs

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, After a long court battle, Corby Borough Council was found to have been negligent during the clear-up of the steelworks and families of children born with birth defects received compensation

Image source, Northants Telegraph

Image caption, Steelworks closures continued into the 1990s, with the Cold Drawn Tubes division shutting in 1995. However, an enterprise zone had been set up in 1981 and, with the help of public and private money, Corby started to recover, as this photo from 1995 shows

Image source, Robert Laberge/Getty

Image caption, The new millennium saw more regeneration projects - Rockingham Motor Speedway opened in 2001 and once hosted the British Touring Cars Championship before it closed to competitive racing in 2018

Image source, North Northamptonshire Council

Image caption, Corby East Midlands International Pool was opened in 2009 by Olympic swimmer and Strictly Come Dancing star Mark Foster. The £19m facility includes a 50m Olympic length pool, making it a popular choice for hosting competitions

Image source, Ian Bateman

Image caption, One of the biggest projects, The Cube, houses council offices as well as a library, theatre and register office. It opened in 2010 and ran £13m over budget

Image source, Alamy

Image caption, Despite all the changes, the Scottish influence on Corby is alive and well. The town holds an annual Highland gathering and is said to have the highest sales of Irn Bru outside Scotland
Image caption, In 2014, the New Corby Cafe was selling a lot more Scottish breakfasts - which include a square sausage, tattie scone and black pudding - than English breakfasts

Image source, Corby Town Council

Image caption, Community events are thriving in Corby - it started hosting a Pride festival in 2023 with a procession running from the Cube to Coronation Park
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