of follies which still stand, including The Spectacles (twin towers with a Gothic arch), Bunkers Hill Farm (1776), New Park Barn (1770) which resembles a fortified castle (now called Fox Covert Hall and converted into a house) and the castellated Hawking Tower (1756 or earlier), the main gate lodge on east side of the A508 main road. There is also a grotto north of the house and an obelisk to the south (1764) near Obelisk Rise, a large 1960s housing estate in Kingsthorpe. Boughton Park contains Northamptonshires' largest collection of eighteenth-century follies and other landscape structures. However, the Park's history was never properly documented until the publication of The Follies of Boughton Park by Simon Scott in 1995. A new edition, titled The Follies of Boughton Park Revisited was published in 2011, much expanded from the original. In 2022 a Limited Edition Reprint of the 2011 book was published to mark the 300th Anniversary of the birth of William Wentworth, Earl Strafford – the person responsible for the historic Boughton Park landscape and almost all the associated follies. Modern During the 18th century, the village grew alongside the Hall. Surviving 18th century developments include Obelisk farm, the Rectory, Honeysuckle Cottage and Numbers 12, 13 and 14 Church Street. In the 19th century, the Methodist Chapel on Moulton Lane was established as well as The Whyte Melville public house, which is named after the poet of the same name who once lived in the building. Two terraced rows of cottages were also erected on Moulton Lane and on Humfrey Lane. The earliest example is a surveyor's map of Northamptonshire in 1813, where Boughton's historic layout is clearly visible. Boughton Primary School opened in 1841. During the 20th century, more residential development took place. Most of these buildings are found on Butchers Lane; Spring Close, Moulton Lane, the southern side of Humfrey Lane, a 1960s housing estate along Howard Lane and a row of detached housing leading out of the village on Vyse Road. Demographics The 2011 census indicated a population of 1,112, an increase from 951 in 2001. Historic figures: population in 1801 was 344; in 1831, 360; in 1841, 389; in 1851, 369; in 1861, 372 ; in 1871, 339. Governance Boughton Parish Council has 11 members elected every 4 years. The local authority is West Northamptonshire Council, but prior to local government reform, was Daventry District Council and Northamptonshire