25/08/1998 Northampton was originally suggested as an anti-tank island in June 1940 by Central Midland Area to Southern Command HQ, but the County passed almost immediately into Northern Command area. In September 1941, Northampton was designated a nodal point. Defended localities were constructed in September to replace roadblocks erected the previous year on the borough boundary.
The defended localities were constructed on bridges and major road junctions in built up areas of the town where tanks were unable to jink around then. They were constructed partly of concrete cylinders moved from old roadblocks and some were further defended by spigot mortars. The existence of a defended locality at Abington Park has not been firmly established.
Strategically, a defended locality at the junction of the Park Avenues North and South and Wellingborough Road, at the corner of Abinton Park, would conform with the pattern of other defended localities in Northampton. Further Barnes (see reference s) refers to a road block at Abington Park. More significantly, there is photographic evidence of members of C Company of the 12th Northamptonshire Battalion HG rolling concrete cylinders into place, also at a road block near Abington.