Editing Towcester (section)

==Governance==
There are two tiers of local government covering Towcester, at [[civil parish|parish]] (town) and [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]] level: Towcester Town Council and [[West Northamptonshire Council]]. The town council is based at [[Towcester Town Hall]] on Watling Street, overlooking the town's main square, which was built in 1865.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1371643|desc=Town Hall, 86 Watling Street East|grade=II|access-date=24 February 2024}}</ref><ref name="TTC">{{cite web |title=Towcester Town Council |url=http://www.towcester-tc.gov.uk/ |access-date=5 June 2008 |archive-date=10 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510113635/http://www.towcester-tc.gov.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Towcester was an [[ancient parish]]. When elected parish and district councils were established in 1894 it was given a parish council and included in the Towcester [[Rural district|Rural District]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Towcester Ancient Parish / Civil Parish |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10283176 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=24 February 2024}}</ref> Towcester Rural District Council initially met at the workhouse on Brackley Road, but bought the previously privately-owned Town Hall in 1935 to serve as its headquarters.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of Northamptonshire |date=1914 |page=316 |url=https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/54252/rec/2 |access-date=24 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Towcester Town Hall |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/search-newspapers |access-date=24 February 2024 |work=Mercury and Herald |date=22 March 1935 |location=Northampton |page=3}}</ref>

[[File:The Forum, Towcester.jpg|thumb|The Forum, Moat Lane: Built 2015 as library and headquarters of South Northamptonshire District Council]]
The rural district council was abolished in 1974 and replaced with the larger [[South Northamptonshire|South Northamptonshire District Council]]. The district council chose to base itself in Towcester, initially using the Town Hall as its headquarters. The district council moved to a new building at the junction of Springfields and Brackley Road in 1983, which in turn was replaced by another new building called The Forum on Moat Lane in 2015. South Northamptonshire District Council and [[Northamptonshire County Council]] were both abolished in 2021 and their functions passed to the new West Northamptonshire Council, which has its main offices in [[Northampton]], but retains The Forum as an area office.<ref>{{cite web |title=Visiting us |url=https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/communicating-us/visiting-us |website=West Northamptonshire Council |access-date=24 February 2024}}</ref>

The parish council took over the Town Hall after the district council vacated it in 1983.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mkheritage.org.uk/tdlhs/Places/Drawings/Draw3.html  |title=Towcester Town in Drawings|publisher=Towcester and District Local History Society| access-date=11 January 2020}}</ref> In 1986 the parish council formally declared the parish to be a town, allowing the council to adopt the name Towcester Town Council.<ref>{{cite web |title=Your Town Council |url=https://www.towcester-tc.gov.uk/the-council |website=Towcester Town Council |access-date=24 February 2024}}</ref>

Since the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]] Towcester has been part of the [[South Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Northamptonshire constituency]]. Prior to that it was in the [[Daventry (UK Parliament constituency)|Daventry constituency]].