The old allotments were located on the west side of Raunds Road and were known to be operating in 1880, but closed sometime in the late 1950's. They consisted of 14 plots, most being 1 Rood (0.25 acres) in size.

The results of the 1880 Chelveston Flower, Fruit, and Vegetable Show lists the prize winners of the gardening competition as follows-

New Close Allotments -1st = James Bailey; 2nd = George Cowley; 3rd = William White;
Highly Commended = William Hazeldine and Commended = Joseph Britten.

(Taken from the Wellingborough & Kettering News, and supplemented from the 1881 census).

The name "New Close" is believed to refer to the land being inclosed (i.e. "Close") after the great fields inclosure of 1801-7. The outline of the former Close can be seen in the 2017 satellite image below.