Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/83

Rh NORTHAMPTON. 71 NORTHAMPTON. and municipal borough, and the county town of the co. of Northampton, 66 miles N.W. from London by road, and 68 by the Peterborough section of the London and North- Western railway. It is situated on a slope rising from the northern bank of the river Nen, and on a branch canal connecting the Neu with the Grand Junction canal. It is a very ancient town, but when originally built has never been determined. It was called by the Saxons Hampton and Northafendon, and is mentioned in Domesday as Northanetone. The Danes had possession of it in the reign of Edward the Elder, and burnt it in 1010, when they depopulated the surrounding country. Northampton was again destroyed by fire some fifty years later, under Earl Morcar. It was given by William the Conqueror to Simon de St. Liz, who was created first Earl of North- ampton, and who built the castle and walled in the town. It soon became the most important town in the county, from its central position, and the security of its fortifications ; and in it several councils and parliaments were subsequently held. Henry I. met his brother here, and celebrated Easter with great splendour, in 1122. Soon after he held a council, in which the barons swore fealty to his daughter Maud, whom he appointed his successor. From the reign of Richard I. to that of Henry III. it was a mint town. King John frequently visited Northampton, and removed hither his exchequer from London in 1209, but a few years afterwards was compelled to give up the town to the barons as a surety for the faithful observance of Magna Charta. In the reign of Henry III. the barons succeeded in gaining possession of the town, but it was soon after recovered by tho king's forces. It was here also that the King of Scotland did homage to Henry III., who kept Christmas at Northampton several times during his reign. The last parliament which was held at Northampton was in the reign of Richard II., in 1380, when the poll tax was imposed which provoked the rebellion under Wat Tyler. The Lancastrians were defeated here in 1460 by the Earl of March, afterwards Edward IV., and the " king-maker Warwick," in a great battle at Hardington Fields, soon after the commencement of the contest be- tween the Red and White Roses, in which Henry VI. was taken prisoner, his queen and the Prince of Wales escaping with difficulty. In 1637 the plague raged here with great violence. During the civil war of the reign of Charles I., Northampton was taken by Lord Brooke, and garrisoned for the parliament. In 1675 the town was laid in ashes by a dreadful fire which con- sumed upwards of 600 houses, besides the parish church of All Saints, property to the value of above 150,000 being destroyed. An Act of Parliament was passed to r< -build the town, and 25,000 subscribed, exclusive of tho gift of the king, who contributed a thousand tons of r towards that object. In the early part of the century a considerable amount of damage was to the town by a flood. Before the fire tho greater part of the houses were built of wood and ii, but are now chiefly of a reddish-coloured free- stone, obtained in tho vicinity. The town consists of four principal streets meeting in a large open market- place, and of a number of minor streets of very irre- gular formation. The principal streets are well paved lighted with gas, and the town supplied with i by works situated on the Billing-road. North- !iui|it"n returns two members to parliament. It was ' bartered by Henry II., and is a borough by pre- i ion. Under the Municipal Reform Act it is divided three wards, and is governed by a mayor, who is uing officer, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors, with 'ylo of " mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of North- ainpton." The municipal and parliamentary boundaries risivo.. The population in 1851 was 62,658, with-), HSU inhabited houses, which in 1861 hadincreased with 6,150 inhabited houses. The revenue of ition is about 7,000. The chief articles of uUcture are hoots and shoes, which employ rnvirly ' I, and are exported all over the globe. There is also a steady trade in the currying of leather. Stock- ings and lace were formerly made to a large extent, but since the introduction of machinery these branches of industry have ceased to exist. There are also several malting establishments, brass and iron foundries, flour- mills, coach-works, and a paper-mill. Trade is very much facilitated by tho navigation of the river Nen, the communication with the Grand Junction canal, and the opening of the several lines of railway. The public buildings are numerous, and some of them of considerable interest and importance. The towuhall is a modern building, and has portraits of Sir T. White, founder of St. John's College, Oxford, and the Right Hon. Spencer Percival. The new corn exchange includes a hall 140 feet by 65 feet, and was erected in 1851. The corn exchange buildings, which are in the Italian style, cost upwards of 10,000, and are now occupied by the mechanics' institution, which boasts of a library of 12,000 volumes, and has nearly 800 members. The county hall is a Grecian building, the ceiling of which is magnifi- cently decorated ; and there are portraits of King William III. and Queen Mary, Queen Anne, George I., and George II. The county gaol was erected at a cost of 25,000, by James Mylne, on the model principle, and is capable of holding 150 prisoners. There is also the borough gaol, which was completed in 1846, and cost about 18,000, including the price of the 24 acres of land. Besides these there are a theatre, union poor- house, temperance hall, several commercial banks, savings-bank, baths, and gas and water works. Tho barracks, erected in 1796, are situated at the northern extremity of the town. The infirmary is a stone building, erected in 1793 by subscription ; it cost 25,000, and has accommodation for 127 in-door patients. The lunatic asylum was opened in 1838, and is capable of holding 250 patients. The Royal Victoria self-support- ing dispensary was founded in 1844, when the Queen passed through the town. The ecclesiastical edifices include seven churches, viz., All Saints, rebuilt in 1680 after designs by Sir Christopher Wren. It is a large structure, having a central cupola, and Ionic portico of- twelve lofty pillars, which contrast strangely with the ancient embattled tower which escaped when the original building was burnt down in the great fire of 1675. Above the portico are a cornice and entablature, in tho centre of which is a statue of Charles II. In the interior was a marble statue by Chantrey to the memory of Spencer Percival, who was for a long period member for the borough, but this has recently been removed into the townhall. There is also a carved oak pulpit, and an altar-piece of Moses and Aaron by Sir Godfrey Kneller. Tho original church is said to have con- tained glass as old as 1252. St. Giles's church, near the E. end of tho town, is partly of Norman archi- tecture, and partly early English. It is in the shape of a cross, and was first built in the early part of the 12th century ; but so many alterations have since been made in it, that most of tho traces of the old building have disappeared. The embattled tower, containing a peal of eight bells, is supposed to have been erected about 1615, and is a fine specimen of the building of the period. St. Peter's, near the W. end of the town, and close to where the ancient castle originally stood, is said to have been built about tho same time, and is an exceedingly good specimen of the enriched Norman style of archi- tecture. It has recently been restored by Mr. Gilbert Scott. Some portions of the interior are most elabo- rately carved, and there are several very interesting ancient as well as modern monuments. St. Sepulchre's was built in tho early part of the 12th century by tho Knights Templars, on the model of tho church of tho Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, and is one of tho only four round churches remaining in the kingdom. It is supported on eight Norman columns, with plain pointed arches of a later style of architecture, surmounted by a central cupola; and adjoining it is a tower with six bells and a spire. It contains old brasses, and many curious inscriptions. The other churches are St. Katho- rinfi's, St. Andrew's, miri St. Kilmund's, all three district churches, erected within tho hist thirty years. There are,