Northamptonshire Battlefields Society
Dedicated to the research and preservation of Northampton's Battlefields and Heritage
The international award winning Northamptonshire Battlefield Society will be at Delapre Abbey on 15/16 July for the commemoration of the 1460 battle where we will be giving walks, talks and demonstrations. Come and play our new battle of Northampton game. We will have our new Northamptonshire and Rutland Wars of the Roses Gazetteer and battle heraldry posters on sale as well as the book and game.
Jan 26: Dom Smee and Richard Knox – Richard III armour
Feb 23: Mike Ingram – The Earls and Kings of Scotland and Northamptonshire
March 23: Thom Richardson (curator emeritus, Royal Armouries) – Arms and armour in England in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
April 27: Mike Brown – The medieval pilgrim
June 1: Bob Woosnam-Savage (Curator of European Edged Weapons, Royal Armouries) – The reality of 15th century warfare – Tis but a scratch
June 29: Andy Chapman – Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age Northants
July 27: Peter Brearley – The story of archery
September 28: Mathew Morris – Revealing Greyfriars. The search for Leicester’s lost Franciscan friary.
October 26: AGM plus Matthew Lewis – Henry III
November 30: Prof Steven Upex. Medieval Field Systems in Northants
All start 7:30pm except AGM (7:00pm)
See our Facebook page under events for more details of individual talks.
All free to full Northampton Battlefields Society members otherwise £5.00 on the door.
Venue: Marriott Hotel, Eagle Dr, Northampton NN4 7HW http://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/maps/travel/ormnh-northampton-marriott-hotel/
It was Christmas 1223, the rebel alliance (the Schismatics) were on the run. They planned to meet in ‘great array’ at the castle of Northampton which was held by one of the rebels, Sheriff of Northampton, . However, they were beaten to it, and on 23 December, the young King Henry III arrived at Northampton Castle with Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury and many bishops, earls, barons and Knights intending to spend Christmas there. It was not the first time, the King had celebrated Christmas at Northampton, as de Breauté, had entertained him in the castle after the victory at the Battle of Lincoln Fair during Christmas 1217. The Dunstable annalist noted that neither in the days of his father (King John), nor afterwards, is such a feast known to have been celebrated in England. The next day Langton excommunicated all the rebels, and they were summonsed to appear before the King at Northampton on 30 December. When they arrived the Schismatics were shown letters from the Pope ordering the restoration of their castles to the King. They surrendered their castles and de Breauté and the Earl of Chester lost their sheriffdoms. It was not until mid Jan that Ralph de Trublevill was appointed as de Breautés replacement. The following June, de Breauté was convicted of 16 charges of seizing other peoples land. In reply he captured one of the judges Henry of Braybrook in Northants and threw him in the dungeon of his last surviving castle at Bedford. The King who had been at Northampton ordered his army to march on Bedford. It was to be one of the longest sieges during this period lasting eight weeks, with over 200 killed by the missiles of the defenders. After a fourth assault broke the walls de Breautés brother William and 80 knights were captured, refused pardon and hanged. De Breauté himself was exiled and died in 1226, allegedly from a poisoned fish.
We are pleased to announce as part of our February meeting there will be Talk by historian Richard Brooks on Simon de Montfort – Martyr or Mountebank?
Thursday 25 Feb 2016 7:30pm start at the Marriott Hotel, Eagle Drive, Northampton. NN4 7HW
Richard Brooks is a freelance military historian with a particular interest in the intersection of naval and military history, and the use of hitherto untapped sources to develop fresh insights into past campaigns. Richard is the author of “Lewes and Evesham 1264-65: Simon de Montfort and the Barons’ War” and “The Knight Who Saved England: William Marshal and the French Invasion, 1217” both for Osprey. Previous books for Osprey include Solferino 1859 and Walcheren 1944. He was also Consultant Editor for The Times History of War.
Free to full members, otherwise £5.00 on the door.
https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/maps/travel/ormnh-northampton-marriott-hotel/
Thursday 28 January 2016 – Talk by Mathew Morris, the archaeologist who led the search to find Richard III’s grave. Thursday 25 Feb 2016 – Talk by Richard Brooks Simon de Montfort – Martyr or Mountebank?
Richard Brooks is a freelance military historian with a particular interest in the intersection of naval and military history, and the use of hitherto untapped sources to develop fresh insights into past campaigns. Richard is the author of “Lewes and Evesham 1264-65: Simon de Montfort and the Barons’ War” and “The Knight Who Saved England: William Marshal and the French Invasion, 1217” both for Osprey. Previous books for Osprey include Solferino 1859 and Walcheren 1944. He was also Consultant Editor for The Times History of War.
Free to full members, otherwise £5.00 on the door.
All 7:30pm start at the Marriott Hotel, Eagle Drive, Northampton. NN4 7HW
https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/maps/travel/ormnh-northampton-marriott-hotel/
Ever wonder who the knights were? How they fitted into the nobility. How their armour and weapons change? These and many more questions (plus a bit of Northants medieval history) will all be answered in our talk “The Knights Tale”
25 June, 7:30pm The Marriott Hotel. Eagle Drive, Northampton
https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/fact-sheet/travel/ormnh-northampton-marriott-hotel/
Northamptonshire Battlefields Society 