NORTHAMPTON, a town in England, capital
of a county of the same name, situated in W. Long.
0. 55. N. Lat. 52. 15. According to Camden, it
was formerly called North-afandon, from its situation
to the north of the river Nen, called anciently Au-
fona, by which and another lesser river it is almost
enclosed. Dr Gibbon says, that the ancient Saxon
annals called both it and Southampton simply Hamp-
ton; and afterwards, to distinguish them, called the
one, from its situation, Southampton, and the other
Northampton; but never North-afandon. Though it
does not appear to be a place of very great antiquity,
nor to have emerged from obscurity till after the Con-
quest, it has sent members to parliament since the
reign of Edward I. and being in the heart of the
kingdom, several parliaments have been held at it.
There was also a castle, and a church dedicated to St
Andrew, built by Simon de Sancto Licio, commonly
called Senlex, the first earl of Northampton of that
name. It is said to have been burnt down during the
Danish depredations; but in the reign of St Edward it
appears to have been a considerable place. It was be-
sieged by the barons in their war with King John; at
which time that military work called Hunthill, is sup-
posed to have been raised. In the time of Henry III.
it sided with the barons, when it was besieged and
taken by the king. Here the bloody battle was fought
in which Henry VI. was taken prisoner. It was en-
tirely consumed by a most dreadful fire in 1675; yet,
by the help of liberal contributions from all parts of the
country, it hath so recovered itself, that it is now one
of the neatest and best built towns of the kingdom.
Among the public buildings, which are all lofty, the
most remarkable are the church called All-hallows
(which stands at the meeting of four spacious streets),
the sessions and assize house, and the George inn, which
belongs to the poor of the town. A county hospital or
infirmary has been lately built here, after the manner
of those of Bath, London, Bristol, &c. It has a con-
siderable manufacture of shoes and stockings; and its
fairs are noted for horses both for draught and saddle;
besides, it is a great thoroughfare for the north and
west roads. It was formerly walled, and had seven
churches within and two without. The horse market
is reckoned to exceed all others in the kingdom, it be-
ing deemed the centre of all its horse markets and
horse fairs, both for saddle and harness, and the chief
rendezvous of the jockies both from York and London.
Its principal manufacture is shoes, of which great num-
bers are sent beyond sea; and the next to that, stock-
ings and lace, as we have hinted at above. It is the
richer and more populous, by being a thoroughfare
both in the north and west roads; but, being 80 miles
from the sea, it can have no commerce by navigation.
The walls of this town were above two miles in com-
pass. The number of inhabitants in 1801 exceeded
7000. It had formerly a nunnery in the neighbouring
meadows, with several other monasteries; and of its
very old castle on the west side of the town, a small part
of the ruins is still to be seen. Some discontented
scholars
scholars came hither from Oxford and Cambridge, about the end of the reign of Henry III. and, with the king's leave, prosecuted their studies here academically for three years; during which there was the face of an university, till it was put a stop to by express prohibition, because it was a damage to both universities. The public horse races are on a neighbouring down, called Pey-Ley. In and about the town are abundance of cherry gardens. Within half a mile of the town is one of the crosses erected by King Edward I. in memory of his queen Eleanor, whose corpse was rested there in its way to Westminster. On the north side of the river, near that cross, many Roman coins have been ploughed up. At Guileborough, north-west of Northampton, are to be seen the vestiges of a Roman camp, the situation of which is the more remarkable, as lying between the Nene and the Avon, the only pass from the north to the south parts of England not intercepted by any river. This camp was secured only by a single intrenchment, which was, however, very broad and deep.