In 1830 the principal occupation of the village was supplying the needs of the coach trade.

The North-South Mail (Liverpool-Manchester-Birmingham-London) used to meet The East-West Mail at Northampton.

From Northampton southwards through Stoke Goldington to Newport Pagnell travelled 26 Scheduled stagecoaches every day and of course northwards on the return journey

The small village (population 735) boasted no less than seven inns which provided hospitality and horse changing facilities: The Bulls Head, The Black Dog, The Monarch, The White Hart, The George & Dragon, The Coach & Horses, and The George Inn.

By 1845 this trade had disappeared with the building of The Grand Union Canal and the construction of The London to Birmingham Railway. The inns graduated and became farmhouses.

The coaching tradition continued when in 1921 Wesley Brothers founded Bluebell Coaches, which traded from the village for almost the next seventy years.