Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. It is about 67 miles (108 km) north-west of London and around 50 miles (80 km) south-east of Birmingham, and lies on the River Nene. It is the county town of Northamptonshire. The district's population is 200,100 and the town population is 189,474, making it the 22nd-largest settlement in England, and the UK's 4th-largest town without official city status, after Reading, Dudley and Milton Keynes. Northampton continued to grow following the creation of the Grand Union Canal and the arrival of the railways in the 19th century, becoming an industrial centre for footwear and leather manufacture.