The area around St Peter’s church was surveyed in 1743 along with the remains of the castle site. A helpful article appeared in the Journal of the Northants Natural History Society and Field Club in 1908 written by Rev R M Sargeantson, drawing on a previous article in 1904 by Mr A Adcock both eminent […]
The Deserted Medieval Villages Another are another “lost” landscape feature of Northamptonshire. These were extensively researched between 1958 and 1965 and comprehensive details appeared in 1966 as “The Deserted Villages of Northamptonshire” by K. J. Allison, M.W. Beresford and J.G. Hurst. Maurice Beresford subsequently edited a comprehensive gazetteer of lost villages in the UK in […]
An earlier post about the Civil War, 1643: Skirmishes in Kingsthorpe Hollow drew attention to a stream in Kingsthorpe Hollow that is now largely forgotten – Wallbeck. This stream is one of many water assets in the town that in former times would have played a significant role in the life of the inhabitants than […]
During World War 2 you could not travel far in and around the town of Northampton and not be aware that the country was in a time of war. Apart from air-raid shelters in most streets and many gardens, the town was surrounded by a number of checkpoints and roadblocks. Within the area of the […]
The “Northamptonshire Nonconformist” was the successor publication to the similarly titled “Northampton Nonconformist”. The two publications together ran from 1889 until 1910.1 The publication appeared monthly and contained articles of interest to the Nonconformist community in the town and surrounding area. This typically included news of events together with biographical and historical articles. It appears […]
Deeds are often an overlooked resource by family historians. Written in what might seem impenetrable legal language to the researcher and using terms that are unfamiliar in modern usage. This is a mistake as they often provide the framework for putting together family, social and business relationships. They link property to people through business transactions. […]
An “incident” in the early stages of the English Civil War. There is a small stream that lies beneath the road in Kingsthorpe Hollow. It originates in the Eastfield Park area, crosses Bradlaugh Fields, runs behind the Balfour Road houses and joins the Brampton arm of the River Nene not far from the corner of […]
Squares through time Over the years Northampton has lost a number of its squares, some completely and remembered only in street name, others have shrunk to a size significantly less than their former extent and others have succumbed to traffic thoroughfares. The public square has been important through history, and we can trace its origins […]
A “lost church” hidden in plain sight In some streets in London today there are so many coffee shops of one particular chain that you can see the next one further down the same street. In earlier days the same was true of churches, chapels and mission rooms along some streets of Northampton. The St […]
Of the hundreds of people who work in the Moulton Park area of Northampton, few are probably aware that the ground on which they walk was formerly known as King’s Park and was indeed one of the King’s hunting parks.