Explore Northampton
The Northampton Heritage Trail

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the oldest building in Northampton and dates from 1103.

It is a Norman round church and is probably the best preserved of the four remaining in England. It is believed to have been built by Simon de Senilis, Earl of Northampton, who in the late eleventh century joined the crusades to the Holy Land and saw the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

On his return, he had a half-sized replica church constructed. It has been modified and extended over the years, but much of the original church is still there.

One of the oldest and largest market squares in England can be found in the centre of Northampton.

In 1235 King Henry banned the sale of goods from All Saints Church churchyard and demanded that the market move to an area north of the church and its current site. The market square is bordered by some wonderful historic buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries and a network of old alleyways. At the time of our visit in 2023, Northampton Market Square was not accessible due to a huge regeneration project that is expected to continue until Autumn 2024. The photo shows the market in its temporary home until the works are completed.

A cobbler’s last is a tool used to hold shoes and boots whilst being fashioned or repaired. This sculpture in Abington Street celebrates Northampton’s shoe and boot making heritage.

A little further along Abington Street is the Discovery sculpture which recognises the work of Northampton-born scientist Dr Francis Crick, who helped reveal the structure of DNA.

The Grade II listed Northampton War Memorial and Garden of Remembrance is found in Abington Square and commemorates the fallen of both the World Wars.

The memorial was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens. On the rear wall of the colonnaded walkway are inscribed the names of the people (2864) of the borough of Northampton who gave their lives during World War I.

The original, 12th-century St. Giles Church was rebuilt in 1616 after the church tower collapsed. The church has been modified since and includes a Victorian West Door that appears to be very Norman.

The King Edward VII Memorial stands on a corner of Northampton General Hospital, which at one time was the King Edward Hospital.

The memorial is fashioned from local stone and displays a bronze bust of King Edward VII created by sculptor George Frampton. Above the bust of Edward VII is a bronze sculpture of St. George and the Dragon.

Becket’s Well gets its name from Thomas a Becket, royal Chancellor, and Archbishop of Canterbury, who, upon his escape from his trial in Northampton Castle in 1164, drank from the spring that rises here. In 1170, he was famously murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by a group of King Henry II’s knights.

The well enclosure is made from local stone and inside you can find a lovely mosaic created by local school children depicting Thomas a Becket’s life.

78 Derngate is a Grade II listed nineteenth century Georgian terraced house in the Cultural Quarter of Northampton that was transformed by the famous Scottish art nouveau/art deco artist and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. This is his only major work outside of Scotland and is now a museum and café.

Carry on up Derngate to the Guildhall.

You can't explore Northampton without stopping at the Guildhall, It's one of the most striking buildings in Northampton and owes its existence to the commercial success of the town.

As Northampton prospered and grew, the old town hall became too small and overcrowded until, in 1859, a committee started a competition for architects to submit designs for a new, larger building.

The winning plan was submitted by a young Bristolian architect by the name of Edward Godwin and his building was opened in 1864.

The Royal Theatre is a Grade II listed late Victorian theatre that was designed by C.J. Phipps, a prominent theatre architect.

It is now part of the Royal and Derngate theatre complex and film house and sits at the heart of the Cultural Quarter of Northampton.

The Northampton Museum and Art Gallery is a lovely light and airy space to learn about Northamptonshire history and admire the art displays.

The Shoe Collection details the history of shoes and Northampton’s long history of shoemaking. Part of the museum used to belong to the County Gaol when the small cells housed Victorian male prisoners!

The museum would also make a good starting point for our Kinky Boot's Heritage Trail which visits the Northampton Shoe Quarter.

The Town and County War Memorial, is a Grade I listed First World War memorial designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. It was unveiled on the 11th of November 1926 in memory of the servicemen from Northamptonshire lost in the First World War, and later Second World War. The memorial is typical of Lutyen’s many war memorials and has a pair of obelisks, a stone of remembrance, and painted stone flags hanging from the obelisks. The memorial sits in a pretty garden that was once part of the churchyard of All Saints’ Church.

Sessions House, a seventeenth century courthouse, was one of the town's earliest facilities built after the great fire of Northampton in September 1675. Designed by Henry Bell, it contains two courtrooms with original docks, galleries, decorative fittings, and a staircase down to the dungeons. One of the ornamental cherubs has the Devil’s head and was alleged to wiggle its jutting tongue when the defendant lied!

The main entrance to Sessions House is now Northampton’s Tourist Information Centre from where tours of the courthouse can be arranged.

Like Sessions House just across the road, the original town church of All Hallows was destroyed by the great fire in 1675. A parliamentary commission was formed to manage the rebuilding of Northampton which was supported by King Charles II who contributed 1000 tons of timber from the Royal forests of Rockingham and Salcey in Northamptonshire and abolished the Hearth Tax. As a result of removing the tax, people from around the country could contribute to the reconstruction of Northampton.

All Saint’s church was designed by Henry Bell in the style of churches built in London by Sir Christopher Wren. It was consecrated and opened in 1680. In 1701 a portico was added and in 1712, in memory and thanksgiving for his part in the rebuilding of the church, a statue of King Charles II was mounted on the portico parapet.

St. John’s started life in 1138 as a hospital close to the main gates of the walled town of Northampton. For over 875 years, a building on this site has been providing hospitality to townsfolk and travellers.

While it started as a hospice, St. John's as acted in many guises over the years. It's been used as resting place for soldiers killed during the 1460 Battle of Northampton, was part of Northampton’s first railway station, became a Catholic church, and is now a modern restaurant.

You can also find the old alms house right beside the church.

Tucked away on the narrow part of Kingswell Street just before the junction with Gold Street is an attractive building that was once Beckett and Sergeant’s School for Girls.

Widowed Mrs Beckett and her unmarried sister, Miss Sergeant, owned several properties around Northampton. In 1735 they set up a trust to use some of the rents from their properties to fund a school for 30 poor girls.

This building was built in 1862 and used by the girls until it was closed in the 1950s.

Just around the corner on Gold Street is the former Grand Hotel. Built in 1892, it replaced a smaller hotel on the same site, and over 130 years later it is still a hotel.

Hazelrigg House is a Grade II listed Elizabethan house that was one of a few buildings to survive the great fire of Northampton in 1675.

The house gains its name from the Hazelrigg family who lived here from 1680 to 1831. There is also a rumour of Oliver Cromwell staying here as he made his way to the Battle of Naseby in 1645.

St. Peter’s Church is a beautiful 900-year-old Norman church that was restored in 1850 by Sir George Gilbert Scot.

Inside you'll find great Norman arches, fine decorations, and wonderful furniture. The site dates to even older times as beside the church are the buried remains of a Saxon palace.

This small gate way would have been a side entrance (a postern) into Northampton Castle and is all the stonework that remains of the once grand royal residence.

After the English civil war, King Charles II ordered that the castle be made uninhabitable as it was used by the Parliamentarians.

After years of neglect the castle ruins were cleared in 1879 for the construction of Northampton train station, and during the 1880’s the postern was dismantled and rebuilt in this position as a reminder of the great castle that once stood here.

As we continue to explore Northampton, we now retrace our steps and return to the wooden sculptures on the corner Mare Fair and Chalk Lane where we turn left along Chalk Lane towards the castle mound.

On the left-hand side of Chalk Lane, just before Chalk Lane carpark stands another wooden knight sculpture. This one is from around 1350 when the Black Death reached Northampton and claimed half its population.

Leave the carpark and cross the road to the Castle Hill United Reformed Church.

This is the oldest nonconformist religious building in Northampton. The earliest parts were built in 1695 using reclaimed stone from the castle ruins.

The renowned eighteenth-century preacher and hymn writer Dr Philip Doddridge ministered here for 22 years.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, this now very busy road was the heart of the drapery business. Northampton was famous for its wool and cloth and the industry generated much of its wealth.

All that is left from this era are some attractive listed buildings.

© essentially-england.com

3 Canalside Cottages

Stoke Bruerne
Sleeps 4

© sykescottages.co.uk

Manor Farm House Cottage
Thrapston
Sleeps 4

© essentially-england.com

4 Canalside Cottages

Stoke Bruerne
Sleeps 2