Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
The county of Northamptonshire is full of villages with quaint cottages Tudor building’s and famous stately homes. It is also known as the home of Diana Princes of Wales as well as being the ancestral home of George Washington.
Northamptonshire the county was first recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (1011), as Hamtunscire situated in the East midlands it has been witness to great events in the history of England. From the wars of the roses to the civil war and before these it was fought over many times by the English and the Danes.
Originally settled by the Catuvellauni tribe who were subsequently subdued by the romans in 43 AD the county became an important roman town Watling Street passed through the county, the roman settlement of Lactodorum stood on the site of today’s Towcester.
The area eventually became part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia; from about 889 onwards the area was conquered by the Danes and became part of the Danelaw - with Watling Street serving as the boundary. It was later recaptured by the English under the Wessex king Edward the Elder, who was the son of Alfred the Great, in 917.
In 940 Northampmtonshire was conquered again by the Vikings of York, but two years later it was retaken by the English in 942. The county is one of the few counties in England to have both Saxon and Danish town-names.
The county became famous worldwide as a major producer of shoes and footwear, in recent times a film and musical called Kinky Boots relates the true tale of a Northampmtonshire factory entering the market for fetish footwear to stay afloat.
Famous places include Silverstone circuit. Northamptonshire's motorsport site which attract more than 2.1 million visitors per year. Cricket is also well supported the county boasts an excellent team.
Northamptonshie has two famous castles Rockingham Castle built for William the Conqueror and Fotheringhay Castle which was used to imprison Mary, Queen of Scots, before her execution.
In 1460, during the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Northampton took place and King Henry VI was captured.
During the English Civil War, Northampmtonshire staunchly supported the Parliamentarian cause, and the Royalist forces suffered a terrible defeat at the Battle of Naseby in 1645 in the north of the county.
Towns in Northamptonshire
| Wellow | Stoke Bruerne | Northampton |
| Fotheringhay | Sulgrave Manor |
Activities in Northamptonshire
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