Category: Northampton history
You may remember the story a few weeks ago that the golf club had dug up part of the battlefield without permission? We can now reveal that this was relatively close to where the cannonball was found. The deadline for a response from the club has now passed and it appears that they will be applying for retrospective planning permission.
We hope those concerned have read the Council’s own Conservation Management Plan for the battlefield, which on pages 80 and 81 states
Overriding Policy 1
“Any operations which may result in disturbance of potential archaeological evidence or contamination with metallic artefacts should be appropriately assessed by a battlefield archaeologist to ensure that any archaeological evidence is recorded, interpreted and protected”
Overriding Policy 2.
“Conserve and enhance the historic and planned elements of the Registered battlefield’s built environment and landscape including remnant medieval features and the designed parkland.”
Overriding Policy 6.
“Maintain the landscape assets of the site, key views linking the town of Northampton to the battlefield, parkland within the site, the quality of the Abbey Grounds”
Overriding Policy 7.
“Ensure that the natural and built components of the site are maintained in a manner which conserves and enhances their heritage, ecological and amenity value ….”
One other question. If you or I built something without permission what would happen? We would be ordered to put it back to how it was and fined heavily. What is going to happen here?
A lead ball, believed to be the oldest surviving cannonball in England, has been found at Eagle Drive on the site of the Battle of Northampton.
The battle was fought between Yorkists and Lancastrians on 10 July 1460 in the area now known as Delapré Park and the 50-60mm diameter ball was originally found on farmland in the area of Eagle Drive, Northampton, part of the English Heritage registered battlefield.
The ball was actually found several years ago by the late Stuart Allwork, but had been believed lost until last year. Since its rediscovery the cannon ball has been subjected to detailed analysis by Dr Glenn Foard, one of the UK’s leading experts on medieval artillery and noted battlefield archaeologist from Huddersfield University.
Dr Foard also led the team that found the true site of the Battle of Bosworth. A programme of research and scientific testing of the ball is ongoing, Dr Foard has concluded that “It is highly likely that the projectile was fired during the battle in 1460”.
The Eagle Drive Cannon Ball itself has suffered massive impact damage from at least two bounces, and one gouge still contains small fragments of Northampton Sand and Ironstone. A testimony to the immense forces in play as the shot ricocheted across the battlefield.
Other damage may have been caused by the cannon ball hitting a tree. But whatever caused the damage it is a vivid reminder of the dangers of a medieval battlefield which could at any moment maim or kill without favour the lowliest peasant conscript, one of the most powerful nobles in the Kingdom or even a King. In August the same year James II of Scotland was killed by an exploding cannon at the siege of Roxburgh Castle.
The whole area in which the cannon ball was found is of immense archaeological importance.
Not only is it part of the 1460 battlefield, which contains large and well preserved areas of the medieval field system over which the battle was fought, it is also the site of a Roman villa or settlement. A possible Neolithic cursus of national importance and evidence of ancient trackways criss-cross the site of the find, showing the importance of the area during even earlier periods. Indeed, a number of other important finds from the Stone Age have also been found in the area.
The Battle of Northampton itself is also unique in British military history.
It was the only time a fortification was assaulted, the last time protracted negotiations proceeded a battle, and the only time a whole army was excommunicated during the Wars of the Roses. In its aftermath, Richard of York, the father of Richard III, laid claim to the throne for the first time, setting in train the series of violent and tragic events which eventually saw his son die on the field at Bosworth twenty five years later.
Contemporary accounts suggest as many as 12,000 men could have been either killed during the battle, or trampled to death or drowned in the rout as the defeated Lancastrian Army tried desperately to escape.
Both the Yorkist and Lancastrian armies are known to have had artillery available during the battle, although some contemporary accounts suggest that the Lancastrian guns failed to fire because of the rain. Therefore, the ball most likely originated as the Yorkist gunners targeted Lancastrian troops in their defences.
Thus the find of the Eagle Drive Cannon Ball supports current theories about the position and orientation of the battle which form the basis of Northampton Council’s Conservation Plan for the site which was adopted in 2014.
The 1460 Cannonball
The new weekly blog on the history of Northants is now on line.
In 1173 Henry II’s sons Henry and Richard (future Richard the Lionheart) rebelled against their father, supported by Louis, King of France.
Major baronial revolts broke out in England, Brittany, Maine, Poitou and Angoulême. In Normandy some of the border barons rose up and, although the majority of the duchy remained openly loyal, there appears to have been a wider undercurrent of discontent.
In May 1173 Louis and the Young King probed the defences of the Vexin, the main route to the Norman capital, Rouen; armies invaded from Flanders and Blois, attempting a pincer movement, while rebels from Brittany invaded from the west.
In July 1173, Henry secretly traveled back to England to order an offensive on the rebels, meeting his Barons at Northampton, giving them instructions and then returning. Chief Justicar, Richard de Lucy captures the town but not the castle of Leicester.
In September, Earl Robert of Leicester lands with an army of Flemish mercenaries and meets with Earl Hugh Bigod at Framlingham, intending to relieve Leicester. They capture the royal castle at Haughley.
On 17 Oct 1173, Royal forces under the command of Richard de Lucy, the Chief Justiciar surprise the rebels at Fornham as well as Humphrey de Bohun Lord High Constable, Reginald de Dunstanville, the Earl of Cornwall, William of Gloucester, the Earl of Gloucester, and William d’Aubigny, the Earl of Arundel, the Earl of Norfolk’s son, Roger Bigod intercept the rebels fording the River Lark about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Bury St Edmunds.
The rebel forces numbering around 3000 mercenaries were caught fording the River Lark about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Bury St Edmunds. With his forces split, Leicester’s cavalry was captured and his mercenaries were driven into nearby swamps where the local peasants killed most of them. Leicester was captured, as was his wife, Petronilla de Grandmesnil, who had put on armour herself. She is said to have fled from the battle, only to be found in a ditch wanting to drown herself, Leicester remained in captivity until January 1177 when some of his lands were returned to him.
David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother of Scottish King William goes to the relief of Leicester. Simon de Senlis III, Earl of Northampton, is told by King Henry he can have Huntingdon – if he can capture it so promtly lays siege to it. To draw the royal army away from Huntingdon, on May 1174, an army led by Ansketill Malory, Constable of Leicester attacks Northampton. Although details are scant, it appears a battle took place under the walls of the town (possibly outside the north gate). The Burghers of the town are beaten with 200 killed and 200 taken prisoner. The victors then assault Nottingham.
Then on 8 July 1174, Henry arrives in England, first travelling to Becket’s tomb in Canterbury, where he announced that the rebellion was a divine punishment on him, and took appropriate penance. On 13 July, King William was defeated and captured by local forces in a short battle at Alnwick, crushing the rebel cause in the north. He is taken to Northampton, his feet tied under a horse, where he is brought before King Henry. Eventually King William is transferred to Falaise where he is forced to sign a treaty renouncing Scottish claims on Northumberland.
Henry then marches to Huntingdon which surrenders. The remaining English rebel strongholds quickly collapse and Henry accepts the rebels surrender at Northampton.
Northamptonshire has always played an important part in the history of Britain. Sadly it is a current trend that modern historians leave the county out of narratives of important events such as the wars between Saxons and Vikings, the sealing of the Magna Carta, the Second Barons War, the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War.
In an attempt to redress the balance, we are making available below a potted history of the county as two pdf’s. Part 1 covers Saxons to the mid 15c, Part 2. the Wars of the Roses to the Black Watch Mutiny.
Although we will not be having a meeting in December due to the Xmas hols we are pleased to announce our first meeting of 2015 will be on Thurs 29 Jan at 7:30 pm. Marriott Hotel, Eagle Drive, Northampton. Our speaker will be Rev. Peter Wadsworth from St. Albans. He will be talking about medieval religion. If you have not seen him before, he is brilliant and has incredible depth of knowledge.£3.00 per person
We are pleased to announce that Northampton Battlefield Society has been awarded a Community Star Award by the NN48 Community Group which covers the area around Delapré, Far Cotton and Briar Hill in Northampton. There are ten awards in total including the Community Group Award, The Charity Champion Award and the Good Neighbour Award. NBS has been awarded ‘The Roy Connell Award’ for a Community Group have fought for what they believe in. The award itself is in memory of the late Roy Connell, who was the chair of Far Cotton Residents Association and who fought tirelessly for what he believed in for the benefit of the community.
Chair Mike Ingram said, ‘ We are honoured and grateful to receive this award, and although it may sound like a cliché, this really is an award for all those in the community who have said enough is enough, this is our green space and our battlefield, and we don’t want it destroyed. A big thanks must also go to those people and organisations such as Mortimer, the Battlefields Trust and English Heritage who have been helping behind the scenes’.
Our next meeting will be held at the Marriott Hotel, Eagle Drive, Northampton Wednesday 26 November at 7:30pm. Our speaker will be Edward Dawson, the Battlefields Trust coordinator for the Magna Carta 800 Project.
Last night, on the eve of the anniversary of the 1460 Battle of Northampton, a cabinet meeting of Northampton Borough Council agreed a conservation plan for the 1460 battlefield. In essence they
1. Approved the adoption of the Battle of Northampton 1460 – Conservation Management Plan as a Supplementary Planning Document.
2. Approved the Battle of Northampton 1460 – Conservation Management Plan to inform the activities of the Council and its tenants in the wider management of its assets which are not subject to regulation through the statutory planning process.
3. Approved the submission of a funding bid, working in association with interested parties and the community, to enable further survey work to be undertaken in accordance with a brief, agreed with the County Archaeologist and English Heritage, to try to establish the location of the Lancastrian encampment and further understand the wider battlefield.
4. Agreed to the development of a Battlefield Visitor Centre to showcase the Registered Battlefield, the results of any further survey work and any associated archaeology and local history in association with interested parties and the community.
The full report can be found here
http://www.northampton.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/7430/cabinet-9th-july-2014battlefield
Northamptonshire Battlefields Society 