a town in England, capital of a county of the same name, situated in W. Long. o. 55. N. Lat. 52. 15. According to Camden, it was formerly called North-anfandon, 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 Hampton; and afterwards, to distinguish them, called the one, from its situation, Southampton, and the other Northampton; but never North-anfandon. Though it does not appear to be a place of very great antiquity, nor to have emerged from obscurity till after the Conquest, 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 Senlez, 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 besieged by the barons in their war with King John; at which time that military work called Hunhill, is supposed 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 entirely 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 considerable 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 being 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 numbers are sent beyond sea; and the next to that, stockings 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 compass. 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 Northampton 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-Legs. 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 refted there in its way to Westminster. On the north side of the river, near that cross, many Roman coins have been ploughed up. At Guilborough, 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 Nen and the Avon, the only pals 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.

a county of North America, in Virginia, forming the fourth part of the peninsula on the eastern coast of Virginia.