Month: September 2025

The Spendthrift Election – Graham Evans

NB THIS MEETING STARTS AT 7:00PM TO ACCOMMOIDATE THE SOCIETY’S AGM

October’s meeting sees us go back to the riotous political scene of the 18th century, when a man was proud to stand up and say who he voted for. As long as his wife, landlord and patron agreed. Northampton’s famous election in 1768 became a by word for corruption, excess and violent behaviour as three noble lords struggled to dominate the borough their candidates elected. Can Society Chair Graham Evans make sense of it all? He’ll give it a go, as he tries to explain what really happened on a very different battleground.

Tickets are now available on the Society’s Ticket Source page: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/northantsbattles . These are free to Northamptonshire Battlefields Society members, £5 to non-members. Talks are held at Delapre Abbey. Doors open about 6:30pm, with the meeting starting at 7:00pm. There is ample free parking on site. Entry is through the Orangerie Restaurant. 

Tea and coffee will be available before hand, provided by the Abbey volunteers. Please make an appropriate donation.

These tickets are for personal attendance at Delapre Abbey ONLY. Members joining in by Zoom do not need to book a ticket.

Those who came on the walks on 24th July and 13th September this year will know that there is work going on within the bounds of the Registered Battlefield of Edgcote. This involves the burying of a large area of the medieval battlefield under an enormous pile of waste soil generated by the construction of HS2 in the area. I will be appearing on the BBC Radio Northampton breakfast show just after 7am on Thursday, 18th September, to discuss what has happened and what could be done about it.

Update: The interview on the radio is now available on catch up. I am on at 7:10am. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002j7vw

The BBC also ran an article on the Northamptonshire local news section: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9qnxwewelpo

Graham Evans
Chair, Northamptonshire Battlefields Society

NBS Chair, Graham Evans, points at the large mound of earth on the Culworth side of the battlefield during the recent walk.

The size of the mound is much clearer from this picture, taken from near the tree in the middle of the previous photo. The fence line across the middle is closer to the natural ground level.