Queen Eleanor's Cross

There were in fact twelve stone monuments erected between 1291 and 1294 in memory of Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290), wife of King Edward I marking the route of her body as it was taken to London.

Queen Eleanor died at Harby near Lincoln and the King escorted the body of his wife to Westminster Cathedral. During the twelve day journey they rested each night at the locations which were subsequently marked by the monuments with a cross adourning the top.

There are only three crosses remaining with two of those standing in Northamptonshire. One lies at Geddington which was the the third night of rest and one at Hardingstone which was the following night. Unfortunately the cross itself is missing from the top of the Hardingstone monument and it is said to have been missing at the time of the Battle of Northampton in 1460. The Geddington monument is renowned to be the best preserved of the three with the final cross standing at Waltham which is number ten of the twelve sites.

The Waltham cross has had the statues of Eleanor removed and preserved to protect them from an increasing polution problem.

Charing Cross in London is named after the final cross but the original was destroyed and the actual site has subsequently been built over. A replica monument stands prominantly in front of the station and the underground station is adorned with images of the monuments being constructed and a brief telling of the tale.

Britains Largest Beech Tree

At the back of 47 Sheep Street there was a Copper Beech tree which was said to be the largest in Britain, and possibly in Europe.

This tree has a suspected 200 year history and it may have been planted during the time of Dr William Kerr who built and lived at the property and founded the General Hospital.

The tree came under threat from a number of directions. Firstly, the tree was suffering from a fungal infection which sadly weakened the tree. The result was that the tree became very dangerous as branches could fall at any moment.

Secondly the council, without realising the significance of the tree set about cutting it down in 2001 but the people of Northampton saved it from destruction. A short fence was then erected around the tree at the cost of £1,500 to prevent potential people wandering beneath it.

The tree was severely cut back before it finally fell during a storm in September 2007. The photo shown is what is left of this magnificent tree (as of October 7th 2007) and is being cleared away.

If anyone has any photos of this tree before it fell we would be very grateful. You can view and aerial photo on Google maps which at least shows the huge canopy (Click for map).

Delapre Abbey

Delapre Abbey (The Abbey of the meadow), or more properly, the Abbey of St Mary de Pratis, Northampton, was one of only two Cluniac nunneries built in England (the other being at Arthington in Yorkshire); the Cluniac order was a branch of the Benedictines and fell under the rule of the great abbey at Cluny in Burgundy. Typically there were between a dozen and twenty nuns resident at the abbey at any one time.

The Abbey was founded by Simon of St Liz in 1145 during the reign of King Stephen and held a Royal Charter from Edward III. At its founding the Abbey was endowed with a lot of land at Hardingstone and held the churches at Earls Barton, Great Doddington and Fotheringay (confirmed by the Scottish Kings Malcolm and William). Edward III increased their holdings with the churches of Wollaston and Filgrave and also granted them the advowson of the church at Fyfield.

Edward III is recorded as giving "Ten beams" towards the repair of the church in 1232 and another five oaks for work on the Refectory in 1258.

Traditionally the Guild of Weavers at Northampton would make an annual procession to the Abbey church each Easter Monday, where according to the ordinances of the Guild in 1431 they would offer up, "...tapers before the ymages of the Trynitie and our Lady."

It is thought that there was (and possibly still is) an underground passage linking the nunnery to a friary based in the centre of Northampton, by way of Bridge Street.

After later use as a private residence and in war service, the house became the Northamptonshire County Records Office and the County Record Society; at present the house is empty and a fierce debate continues locally over its future use. The building is Grade II* listed.

The Abbey is reputed to be haunted by a "blue or grey Lady" - reputedly a nun - who is said to have been seen frequently on the main staircase (the habits of Cluniac nuns were blue).

Nearby was another Cluniac establishment - the Abbey of St Andrews.

The second Battle of Northampton (1460)

After the Battle of Northampton, which took in the Abbey grounds to the north of the Abbey and to the south of the River Nene, King Henry VI was captured and spent the night of the 10 July 1460 at the Abbey as a prisoner. The nuns tended the wounds of those injured at the battle and many of the battle-dead are buried in the nuns' graveyard (now the walled garden).

The Abbesses of Delapre

* Azelina
* Cecilia de Daventry - elected 1220
* Agatha - died 1274
* Emma Malore - elected 1274, died 1282
* Margery de Wolaston - elected 1282, died 1296-7
* Margery de Broke - elected 1297, resigned 1319
* Agnes de Poveley - elected 1319, died 1327
* Margaret de Grey - elected 1327-8, died 1333-4
* Isabel de Cotesbrok - elected 1333-4, annulled by the bishop
* Katherine Knyvet - appointed 1333-4, died 1349 of the plague
* Isabel de Thorp - appointed 1349, resigned 1366
* Joan Mallore - elected 1366, died 1394
* Margery Dayrell - elected 1394
* Gonora Downghton - died 1481
* Joan Doghty - elected 1481
* Joan Chese - elected 1492
* Clementina Stock - elected 1504-5, surrendered 1538

There is a poor impression of the great oval seal of the Abbey in the Public Records Office and it represents the coronation of the Blessed Virgin under a carved canopy.

The Cluniac Prayer

"O God, by whose grace thy servants the Holy Abbots of Cluny, enkindled with the fire of thy love, became burning and shining lights in thy Church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and may ever walk before thee as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever."

The present buildings

What remains today consists of four ranges based around an almost square courtyard; this is probably all that remains of the earlier cloisters, with the passage around the north, west and east sides being the former cloister walks.

The thicker walls found in the northern part of the building are probably part of the walls of the aisleless church of the nunnery. Almost nothing of the original medieval buildings remain apart perhaps from two small recesses found in the cloister walk which could have been to keep night lights in.

What is seen today is the result of work that started with the passing of the house to the Tate family after the dissolution.

The stables, found at the northern end of the property date, date from around 1750-65 and were renovated in 1971 by John Goff, the then County Architect.

The future of the Abbey

A volunteer group, "The Friends of Delapre Abbey" campaigns to keep the Abbey in good order, open and available for public access. This organisation was granted charitable status in June 2006 and it is hoped that this will make available new income streams to allow renovation and repair work on the fabric of the building.

Northampton Borough Council has also agreed to set up a new body to be called "The Delapre Abbey Trust" as a vehicle to take forward the ownership of and responsibility for the Abbey; it is planned that this new Trust will work closely with the Friends in the future to secure the future of the buildings.

The grounds are now being used for commercial and private events, such as weddings, parties etc, and these activities are generating much needed income.

After the dissolution

In 1542 the Tate family purchased the Delapre Estate from the Crown and it was the Tate family that started the work on the gardens. One of the family - Zouch Tate - is recorded as having laid out a typical Elizabethan-style garden. This is thought to have been where the enclosed formal garden can now be found.

The Tates lived at Delapre until 1764, when the estate was sold to the Bouverie family. The majority of the present buildings date from this time. As with many local estates (such as Castle Ashby) the grounds show the style and influence of Capability Brown.

The Tates' Elizabethan garden was transformed into a walled garden of fruit and vegetables and orchards were planted elsewhere - mimicking the earlier fruit garden of the original nunnery.

It is thought that the present walled garden is located on the site of the nuns' burial ground, and evidence of graves was discovered during the garden's construction.

During the 19th Century, other typical Victorian features were added, such as the rock and water gardens and garden conservatories for peaches and grapes - these fruit growing buildings still remain; a ha-ha was also constructed.

NOTE: Some of this text has been legally 'borrowed' from the Wikipedia website until further research can be completed and a fuller page/pages can be created. The full Wikipedia details can be found here

Guildhall

The Guildhall is regularly used as an image of Northampton and although it is undoubtedly a spectacular building, it is often taken for granted by those walking past.

More information about this building will be coming soon.

If you wish to update this page, register now for access to edit and create content. Go on.... have your say.

Northampton Tower

News - 6th January 2008

A new tower in Japan has just been opened which is only 50 meters taller than this one... BBC News - Japan Lift Testing Tower

Northampton Tram System

The first trams in Northampton were horse drawn and were inaugurated in 1881. The 3ft 6in gauge tramway was ran from the town centre at All Saints and headed up Abington Street and along Kettering Road to the Kingsley Park Hotel. It ran west down Gold Street and on to St James' End heading out of the town.

Northbound the route followed St Georges Terrace, Kingsthorpe Hollow and into Kingsthorpe. This part of the system was extended around 1883 and in 1884 the St James' route was extended along the Weedon Road heading out towards what is now Sixfields. A further extension was incorporated an 1893 along the Wellingborough Road out towards Weston Favell.

In 1897 the Town council took over the Tram system for the sum of £38,700. This included a delivery of 21 tramcars, 3 buses and 100 horses and associated land and buildings.

By 1904 the four main routes had been electrified and the St James depot (now the bus depot) was also built at that time. A fifth route out to Far Cotton was opened in 1914 and the trams ran through to 1934.

The demise of the trams is largely due to the steady introduction of buses from around 1929.

There are two Tram stops in Northampton that have been preserved which are rare examples. One is one corner of the Racecourse near the White Elephant pub and the second on central grass area on Kingsthorpe Grove near to Waitrose and Asda.

Northamptonshire Train Network

This page is about general tracks and stations around the county. At the moment the research on this site is limited to Northampton Castle Station but we hope to expand this as time allows.

Click to view Northampton (Castle) Station.

Other Links

www.smjr.info - This site includes some information about Blisworth, Towcester and Easton Neston. This is a very interesting site with lots of information and an impressive collection of home videos.

Sixfields Stadium

to be completed

Whitehall Roman Villa

to be created

Northampton Castle

Northampton Castle is of particular interest as mainstream historical references pay little attention to what was an extremely important building. One reason for its importance was the central English location and thus the high strategic value. The fortified castle was also the site for Parliament for over 200 years and was a favourite residence for Royals who enjoyed the rich county hunting grounds.

Location

The castle was located on the current Northampton Train Station site. This area was just on the edge of the main town walls to the west and on a slight hill. The site was likely to have been built on a previous Saxon fortification (known as a Burgh) as archaeological digs in 1962 uncovered various evidence to support this.

My research is still ongoing but the castle itself seems to have been situated in the current car park. The actual train station would have been in the grounds of castle close to the west wall. The Nene river which runs nearby also appears to have been rerouted at some point as initially this would have been further west and formed a natural moat. (NOTE: These details are to be confirmed). We are hoping to have a map drawn up soon showing the exact location of the castle and walls around the town.

Origins

The castle was part of the Norman expansion into England by William I (aka the Conqueror and Duke of Normandy). Having arrived in 1066 and won the crown through the famous victory over Harold II, William took control of all the lands from the English nobles. Northampton was given to Simon of St Liz (aka De Senlis).

Simon is referred to as the first Earl of Northampton taking possession in 1080 from Waltheof Earl of Northumbria and Northampton. Waltheof was in fact the first Earl of Northampton but maybe his conduct as the one of the last Saxon Earls to survive mean that the short gap between them resulted in Simon being the first Norman Earl of Northampton. Waltheof was executed for his repeated rebellion against King William but was pardoned twice. This third time he was tried and beheaded on May 31st 1076. The succession to the Earl of Northampton title was delayed as William demanded Waltheof’s widow Judith marry Simon but she refused. This may have been on account of him Simon being lame or simply out of pride and honour for her husband. The angry King William finally settled for the daughter of Waltheof and Judith, Maud, who married Simon reportedly in 1090.

William was well in control of the country but the construction of castles all over England was continuing with Simon being ordered to build one here. He likely set about this task very soon after coming to local power but the castle was not completed until around 1088. There is no reference to the castle in the Domesday Book of 1086 although it is probable it was already under construction.

Construction

It seems that there are no images of the castle remaining, nor plans showing the layout or number of rooms contained within it. There are some references to the actual location of the castle in terms of where the walls lay and the foundations of the main residence and we hope to bring these to the site soon. It is possible to make comparisons to other Norman castles of the day and one that still stands that is likely to be of similar design to Northampton is the castle at Dover (pictured right).

Our information suggests that Northampton castle was actually larger and certainly had more land within the walls than Dover Castle. It even had a second, outer wall which protected it further. There also seems to be a number (possibly two) separated towers for additional defence one of which lies up on the hill closer to town. We have discovered some dimensions and references to two great halls and other rooms but piecing this together is quite difficult and perhaps beyond the aspirations of this initial research.

Royal Association

The first trustworthy account of a royal residing at the castle was in 1106. Here a recorded transcript of the meeting of brothers Duke Robert of Normandy and King Henry I can be found. This account discloses that the elder brother Robert, after deferring the English crown to his younger brother, implored him to resist the temptation to be at war with him. This fell on deaf ears and Henry invaded Normandy and imprisoned Robert in Cardiff castle in the same year.

Further accounts of Henry being a Northampton can be found in reference to Easter 1122 and also that the King took further lands into the castle grounds in 1130.

More to come soon...

Interesting Information

The Northampton Museum has a model of the Castle and drawings which show the layout and structure in great detail. If you are interested in the castle a visit to this museum is free and very rewarding.

The Northampton coat of arms does use the castle imagery as its central character and even the Northampton Town Football Club has it emblazoned on every shirt as their logo.