a parliamentary and municipal borough and market-town of England, standing on the north side of the River Nen or Nene, is probably the Artona of Tacitus (Annal. xii. 31); Lat. 52. 15. N., Long. 0. 55. W., 67½ miles from London by the London and North-Western Railway. It is a place of great antiquity, and supposed to have been of British origin; but the earliest mention of it is in the Saxon Chronicle, under the name of Hampton; in Domesday Book it is called Northanton. The castle, of which only some small portion of the walls and an arch of semi-Norman character remain, was built by Simon de St Liz, to whom William the Conqueror had given the town with the hundred of Fawsly. Several Parliaments were held here; the first of these in 1130-31, in the thirty-first year of Henry I.; and the last, in the fourth of Richard II. (1380), being that which originated the poll-tax that occasioned the rebellion of Wat Tyler and Jack Straw. From its central situation, the town or its neighbourhood was frequently the scene of conflict during the civil wars both of earlier and later date. On July 10, 1460, a battle was fought here between Henry VI. and the Yorkists, &c., when the former was defeated, and brought a prisoner into the town. In 1642 Northampton received a garrison for the Parliament under Lord Brooke. On March 30, 1645, Cromwell marched from it with 1500 horse and two regiments of foot to Rugby. After the Restoration, October 17, 1661, the walls of Northampton, with those of Coventry, Leicester, Gloucester, and Taunton, were demolished, these towns having taken the side of the Parliament. In 1675 the town was almost destroyed by a fire in the short space of six hours; L25,000 was collected by briefs and private charity towards repairing the damage. Charles II. gave 1000 tons of timber from Whittlewood Forest towards rebuilding All Saints' church, and remitted the duty of chimney-money for seven years. In 1720 it was damaged by an extraordinary flood. In 1750 a violent shock of an earthquake was felt, which lasted nearly a minute; and in 1776 another of shorter duration.

The town is pleasantly situated on an eminence sloping to the south. Its general appearance is neat and clean. The older buildings are constructed of a brownish-yellow stone found in the neighbourhood, being the inferior oolite; the modern houses are chiefly of brick or of a white stone (the great oolite) from quarries in the adjacent village of Kingsthorpe. The general style of architecture has nothing remarkable: numerous alterations of late years have been going on, chiefly in making more showy frontages to the shops. The market-square is one of the largest in the country, being about 600 feet square. For the last twenty years the town has been rapidly extending, especially towards the N. and E.: on the outskirts a great number of new streets have been built, consisting of neat tenements adapted to the working-classes, which form a pleasing contrast to those built at the commencement of the century. On the eastern side houses and villas of a more imposing aspect have been erected for the use of the gentry and more opulent tradesmen. The streets in general are well paved, and lighted with gas.

Of the public buildings, the principal are—the general infirmary, established in 1747; the present building was erected in 1793, and affords accommodation for about 120 patients. It has a medical library of 3000 volumes, and a splendid collection of anatomical casts, which are deposited in a separate building, containing also a convalescent ward for ten male and ten female patients. The general lunatic asylum, about half a mile from the town in the same direction as the infirmary, was opened in 1838, and by subsequent enlargements is able at the present time (1858) to receive about 280 patients. It is a self-supporting institution. The Royal Victoria Dispensary, established in 1844 to commemorate the visit of her present Majesty to the town, is conducted on the provident principle, every member above the age of fourteen subscribing one penny per week; twopence a week will admit a man and his wife and all his children under fourteen years old. The union workhouse, on the Wellingborough road, has accommodation for 300 inmates. The county-hall, where the quarter sessions, the assizes, and county courts are held, is a good specimen of Italian architecture, contemporary with the later features of All Saints' church. The town-hall is an ancient building, and retains a good deal of carved paneling from the time of Henry VII. to that of Elizabeth. Forty or fifty years ago alterations were made which diminished the original capacity of the principal storey; and the external staircase, which previously existed, was removed, and one within the building substituted. As it now stands, it is very inadequate to the wants of the town. The corn exchange, erected a few years ago, consists of one large hall, the interior of which has an imposing effect; it is frequently used for musical performances, and has an excellent organ; attached to it are the offices of the mechanics' institute, which has a library of nearly 11,000 volumes, and now enrols 600 members. The Religious and Useful Knowledge Society, supported principally by members of the Established Church, occupies a building in another part of the town. It has about 1000 members.

The town has seven churches—All Saints', St Sepulchre's, St Peter's, St Andrew's, St Katherine's, and St Edmund's. The last three are of recent date. The old church of All Saints, which was considerably larger than its successor, was destroyed by the great fire of 1675; but the tower escaped, and was incorporated with the new structure. Its style is the decorated, and the additions, in defiance of all congruity, are in that Italian style which Inigo Jones and Wren had rendered fashionable, and, as such, have great merit. The interior of the church is strikingly beautiful. It contains a statue, by Chantrey, of Spencer Percival, many years a member for the borough.

At the western entrance a portico extends the whole width of the church, consisting of twelve Ionic pillars supporting an entablature and balustrades. A statue of King Charles II. surmounts the centre; he is represented in Roman costume, with a truncheon in his hand, and his head covered with a wig of ample curls. St Peter's is a most interesting specimen of early and richly-ornamented Norman work. The capitals of the columns of the nave are charged with curious sculptures in a high state of preservation. The tower arch also is elaborate, with chevron mouldings; and some pilaster columns, on each side, are richly ornamented. Externally, also, the church has many interesting features; the tower especially, which has buttresses of three semi-columns diminishing at each storey. St Sepulchre's has a special interest as one of the four existing round churches built after the model of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. It bears evidence of having been erected at periods widely different: the circular part is Norman and early English; the spire, a fine piece of work, is perpendicular. St Giles' has a good Norman door at the western entrance, and the tower arch is of the same period.

Of the places of worship belonging to the various non-conformist bodies, four belong to the Baptists; five to the Wesleyan, Primitive, and Associated Methodists; three to the Independents; the Unitarians, Quakers, and Roman Catholics have one each. In Castle Hill Chapel, a mural tablet is erected to the memory of Dr Doddridge, who exercised his ministry there for upwards of twenty years. A similar memorial is erected in the Baptist chapel in College Street to the memory of the Rev. John Ryland, who was minister there for thirty years, and was succeeded by his son, the late Dr Ryland, afterwards president of the Bristol Baptist College.

St John's Hospital, in Bridge Street, is a very ancient, and was at some period a very wealthy foundation. Its available revenues are now equal only to the maintenance of a certain number of aged women, some of whom have rooms in the building. The importance of the charity in early times is evident from the architectural features of the hospital still remaining. St Thomas's Hospital was founded in 1450, in honour of St Thomas à Becket. It was first endowed for twelve poor widows; to these six were added by Sir John Langham in 1684, and since then the numbers have been still further increased.

In Marefare is the free grammar school, founded in 1556 by Thomas Chipsey, a grocer of the town. Dr Thomas Cartwright, Bishop of Chester, and James Hervey, the author of the Meditations and other works, were educated here. A free school, called the Blue-Coat School, was founded in 1700. There are also various parochial schools, and an excellent British school for boys and girls. The Sunday schools belonging to the Established Church and the different bodies of dissenters are numerous.

The town is divided into three wards—east, west, and south; and is governed by a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors; besides nine justices of the peace, a recorder, and town-clerk. The borough has sent two members to Parliament from the commencement of the reign of Edward I.

The coach-road to the metropolis, through Newport-Pagnell, Woburn, Dunstable, St Albans, and Barnet, has been superseded by the London and North-Western Railway, which is connected with Northampton by means of a branch line from Blisworth, making the distance 67½ miles. From Northampton the railway has been carried eastward to Peterborough, and a line, entering the town at Northampton, the West Bridge, is also now in progress from Market-Harborough, where it will join the line from Leicester to Hitchin. Before the formation of railways, coals and heavy goods were brought to Northampton by means of the Nen and a branch canal from the Grand Junction at Blisworth. Markets for the supply of meat and vegetables are kept on Wednesdays and Saturdays; the latter is also a cattle-market. About twelve fairs are held in the course of the year. That on September 19 is called the "cheese fair." The wool fair is held in the first week in July. The race-course is 117 acres in extent. The Northampton and Pytchley Hunt races are held in March, at the close of the hunting season.

The barracks were finished in 1796 for the accommodation of cavalry, and are situated at a short distance from the race-course.

The borough gaol was opened in 1846. It is constructed on the separate system, and is capable of containing eighty persons. The county gaol was opened in the same year, and is capable of receiving 150 prisoners. About a mile S. of the town, on the old London road, is one of the crosses erected by Edward I. to the memory of his queen, Eleanor of Navarre. It is a work of great beauty, and in fair preservation, but the upper portion has long been wanting, and no record remains of its character. An entry in the expense rolls makes mention of five images, and it has been conjectured that the fifth (only four being required for the canopy) surmounted the monument.

The staple manufactory of the town is that of shoes, in which the great majority of the working-classes are engaged. A large proportion of the army contracts are executed here and in the adjacent town of Wellingborough. Stockings were formerly made here; and the first stocking-frame used in Leicester was brought to that town in 1680 by a person from Northampton named Alsop. Lace-making also was carried on to some extent, but it has almost entirely ceased. There are three extensive iron-foundries in Northampton. At Rustmills, about 2 miles from the town, is a paper manufactory which supplies the bank-note paper and the stamps for postage. The population has rapidly increased during the last fifty years. In 1801 it amounted to 7220; in 1811 to 8427; in 1821 to 10,844; in 1831 to 15,351; in 1841 to 21,242; and in 1851 to 26,657.

post-town and shire-town of Hampshire county, Massachusetts, one of the United States of North America. It stands on a hill near the west bank of the Connecticut River, 95 miles W. from Boston; and consists chiefly of two streets laid out with considerable regularity. It contains several handsome public buildings, of which the court-house, jail, and one of the churches are the most conspicuous. The private houses are in general large and in a good style, and many of them are elegant. Northampton is one of the most beautiful towns in New England, and distinguished for the refinement and intelligence of its inhabitants. A stream passes near the centre of the town, on which are erected numerous mills and many manufactories. The rearing of the silk-worm has been carried on here for some time, and large quantities of silk, as well as cotton and woollen goods, are manufactured. Farnington Canal extends from Newhaven to this place. A bridge, built in 1826, connecting this town and Hadley, is 1086 feet in length by 36 in breadth, and is supported by six piers and two abutments. The lands bordering on Connecticut River, in which are now the towns of Northampton, Hadley, and Hatfield, were first known by the Indian name Nonotuck. It was the third place settled on the river in this state, and was incorporated in 1654. Amongst the striking objects in the scenery of Northampton are the