Deanshanger

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Deanshanger is a small village and civil parish in the southern part of the English county of Northamptonshire, just north of the town and Unitary Authority of Milton Keynes. The village is in the District Council area of south Northamptonshire where from 2007 is was joined with the parish of Wicken to form Deanshanger ward, returning 2 councillors.

Whilst not the original population centre of the parish, from the late 18th Century the coming of the Grand Union Canal to the east made it an agricultural industrial centre causing it to grow quickly. This growth accelerated with the building of the London and Birmingham Railway in the first half of the 19th Century which passed through the nearby villages of Wolverton, Bletchley and Roade. From the 1820s the main industry in the village was an iron foundry and later an iron oxide works. This gave some of the surrounding area a red colouration from the oxide dust, which was mostly used to produce pigments. However, in 1999, the works closed and was demolished. By 2008 most of the works land has been replaced by houses. Extensive remedial work was needed to reverse the harmful effects of the previous industrial use of the site there are still signs of the red stained oxide all around the village. Deanshanger sits within the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Growth Area, and in addition to the construction of several new housing estates, land has also been designated for light industrial use.