The Parish of Gayton comprises a rural area of 1725 acres, lying 5-6 miles to the south-west of Northampton in the South Northamptonshire Council district. It consists predominantly of arable farmland but also incorporates some beef cattle, sheep farming and horse breeding.
Running in an arc from the north to the east of the parish are the main rail line to Birmingham and the north-west of England, the Grand Union canal and a major oil/gas pipeline.
The village of Gayton is located in the centre of the parish on a high outcrop of Northamptonshire sandstone with extensive views, at the edge of the village, to the north-west towards the upper Nene Valley and to the north-east towards the western and southern suburbs of Northampton.
Nearby villages, all within a three-mile radius, are Tiffield, Eastcote, Bugbrooke, Kislingbury, Rothersthorpe, Milton Malsor and Blisworth. This, in part, accounts for there being six roads or lanes into and out of Gayton.
The main historical features of the village are a manor house built in 1540, the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, which celebrated its eight hundredth anniversary in 2006, and a number of listed buildings. The village also embraces several fine groupings of mature trees. A Conservation Area was established in 2001.
There are just over 200 households in the parish, of which all but a few are in the village itself. There are 455 residents on the Register of Electors for 2023 and the local authority’s current estimation of the total population is about 510, compared with 427 one hundred years ago.
Employment within the parish is small, being provided by the farms, the stables, the boarding kennels, the care home, the public houses and the garage but there are a significant number of self-employed residents, some of whom work from home.
The village is well served; it has a church, a village hall, a school, a garage, one public house, an active Neighbourhood Watch scheme, public transport, daily newspaper delivery and a magazine, Gayton News, which is published four times a year. Mobile facilities include a milkman, fish and chip van, pizza oven, a library and a hairdresser.
Leisure activities within the village include adult education classes, an allotment society, horse-riding, cricket, table tennis, an Evergreens group and dining and socialising in the public house. There are a number of marinas nearby, which provide the opportunity to cruise on the Grand Union canal, which is also used for fishing.