Kettering is an ancient town, but is now changing enormously with the planned building of thousands of new homes and the radical revamp of its town centre with new retail facilities, public art, and some innovative contemporary townscape features. Famous for years for the shoe industry, Kettering has benefitted from its central location, with the A1, M1 and A14 in easy reach, and on the Midland mainline. Distribution centres have sprung up around the town, and with the quick link to St Pancras many residents now commute to work in London too. But monuments like Boughton House and the Triangular Lodge Tudor folly will hopefully keep the place in touch with its past.