Sir Philip Manfield (a shoe manufacturer) had a substantial mansion built on Kettering Road for himself and his family between 1899 and 1902.[3] James Manfield gave the house for a hospital and it opened as a "hospital for crippled children." It became an orthopedic hospital for all ages and closed as a hospital in 1992. The main building was then converted into apartments and renamed "Manfield Grange".[4][5]
The Spinney Hill pub was built in 1936 by the Northampton Brewery Company. From 1937 until 1947 their tenants were Bertha Wilmott, a singing star of variety theatre and radio, and her husband Reg Seymour. At that time it was a hotel offering accommodation and a famous hotel guest in 1943 was Hollywood film star Clark Gable, while he was a captain in the US army.[6][7]
Pevsner, Nikolaus (1961). Cherry, Bridget (ed.). Northamptonshire. Buildings of England (2nd Edition 1973 ed.). Harmondsworth (London): Penguin. p. 342. ISBN 0-14-0710-22-1. Ingram, Mike (2020). Northampton 5,000 years of history. Northampton: Northampton Tours Publications. p. 263. ISBN 9798579592910. Coleman, Richard; Rajczonek, Joe (1995). Northampton: Welcome to the past. Part Two. People and places. Wellingborough: WD Wharton. p. 90. ISBN 0-9518557-8-6. Knibb, Dave (2019). Last Orders:A history and directory of Northampton Pubs and Inns trading before 1945. Northampton: Dave Knibb. p. 237. ISBN 978-1-5272-3882-4.