Towcester

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Towcester
St Lawrence's Church and Towcester Town Hall
Towcester Location within Northamptonshire
Population	11,542 (2021 Census)[1]
OS grid reference	SP691481
• London	57 miles (92 km) SE[2]
Civil parish	Towcester
Unitary authority	West Northamptonshire
Ceremonial county	Northamptonshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	TOWCESTER
Postcode district	NN12
Dialling code	01327
Police	Northamptonshire
Fire	Northamptonshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	South Northamptonshire
List of places UK England Northamptonshire 52°08′N 0°59′W / 52.13°N 0.99°W / 52.13; -0.99

Towcester (/ˈtoʊstər/ TOH-stər toaster) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative centre of the South Northamptonshire district.

Towcester is one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the country. It was the Roman town of Lactodurum, located on Watling Street, today’s A5. In Saxon times, this was the frontier between the kingdom of Wessex and the Danelaw. Towcester features in Charles Dickens's novel The Pickwick Papers as one of Mr Pickwick's stopping places on his tour. The local racecourse has hosted many national horseracing events.