Northamptonshire

Did You Know?

Northamptonshire, archaically known as the County of Northampton, is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015 it had a population of 723,000.

The county boasts several grand historic houses including Althorp, ancestral home of the Spencer family and home to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial. Magnificent Boughton House near Kettering, dubbed “England’s Versailles”, is the Northamptonshire home of the Dukes of Buccleuch and Queensberry. 

The Roman road of Watling Street passed through the county, and an important Roman settlement, Lactodorum, stood on the site of modern-day Towcester. There were other Roman settlements at Northampton, Kettering and along the Nene Valley near Raunds. A large fort was built at Longthorpe.

One of the most important battles of the English Civil War was fought on Northamptonshire soil at Naseby on 14th June 1645. This was to be the final key battle of the war and resulted in a victory for the Parliamentarians.

Northamptonshire is home to the world-famous Silverstone circuit track which hosts the British Grand Prix and houses Mercedes’ engine manufacturing factory.

Northamptonshire is the origin of the British shoemaking industry and has a successful history of shoemaking which dates back almost 900 years.

A famous site to house the Tresham Family in 1438 – Rushton Hall in Northamptonshire was in possession of the Catholic Tresham ancestry until 1854. A Grade-I building which is known to recognize great builders like Sir Thomas Tresham, the building has some haunting folklores as well.

Apricots came to Britain in 1542 when the gardener of King Henry VIII brought some trees back from Italy. Ideal soil conditions saw the fruit thrive in Aynho, a small village near the southernmost border of Northamptonshire, years later. According to stories passed down the generations, residents of the village would pay part of their rent to the Lord of the Manor in apricots.

Agnes Browne has the dubious honour of being the first person in Northamptonshire to be punished under the 1563 law against witchcraft. Agnes, her daughter and 3 others were executed by hanging on the 22nd of July 1612.

Gin and tonic is a quintessentially British drink that dates back to the 19th century when it was consumed by British soldiers stationed in India. One of the rising stars in the world of gin is based in little Northamptonshire town Harrington.

Popular comedian Alan Carr grew up in Northampton, in fact his dad Graham Carr – formerly a half-back with The Cobblers in the sixties – was the manager of Northampton Town football club between 1985 and 1990.

In 1974 Danish beer giants Carlsberg opened a brewery in Northamptonshire, theie first outside Denmark. HRH Princess Benedikte visited Northampton to do the honours, a trip she remade 38 years later in 2012 to celebrate the town’s historic trade connections with Denmark.