Northamptonshire Battlefields Society
Dedicated to the research and preservation of Northampton's Battlefields and Heritage
29 September – Phil Steele, Medieval Battle in contemporary illustrations.
20 October – AGM and talk Richard Brooks, William Marshal: The Knight who saved England
24 November – Paul Blinkhorn, Anglo-Saxon Northamptonshire
December – No talk
26 January – Dominic Smee and Richard Knox, The armour of Richard III
All talks at the Marriott Hotel, Eagle Drive, Northampton. 7:30pm start and are free to full NBS members otherwise £5.00 on the door.
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.
On 3 April 1264. King Henry III, his son Prince Edward (later King Edward I) and their army left Oxford marching towards Northampton. At their head, Henry’s dragon banner with sapphire eyes. In the meantime the rebels commanded by Simon de Montfort’s son, summons the men of the county to gather outside the walls of Northampton, near the modern day Beckets Park. Despite many protestations, they are forced to defend the towns south wall. The Second Baron’s War had begun!
On April 4 1264 Henry III’s army began to arrive at Northampton from the south. They brought with them a variety of siege engines which they brought along the modern London Road and set them up to the south of the town and in what is now Beckets Park. Behind the walls, as well as the 80 or so rebel barons and their men were all the students from Oxford and Cambridge Universities. They had all abandoned their cities after a major row with the Papal Legate two years before, and had made Northampton the main university centre of the country.
At dawn 5 April 1264, the Royal Army began its assault on the south gate of Northampton. Unbeknown to the defenders, Prince Edward and Phillip Basset lead a large body of men around the town to attack the north-west corner of St. Andrews Priory (most likely in the vicinity of the junction of the modern-day St. Andrews Road and Hampton Street). Whether the wall was in a poor state of repair, or it was weakened by the Prior, depends on the chronicle, but it quickly collapsed. On hearing of the breach, Simon de Montfort the younger races to its defence. Twice, the attackers are repulsed. During a third assault, Simon is thrown from his horse and is captured. The defense quickly collapses and the Royalist infantry pour into the town.. Some of the defenders flee into the churches where they are quickly captured, the majority retreating into the castle. Henry’s army begins to plunder and burn the town. Although numbers are not given, many towns people are killed. They then prepare to lay siege to the castle itself.
On the morning of 6 April 1264, the surviving rebels holding Northampton castle surrendered. Simon de Montfort the Younger was put on trial and exiled for a year. A number of the other barons were put in prison. The university scholars apparently fought hard for the rebels and Henry wanted to execute them. However, as many were the sons of his nobles, he was persuaded otherwise. Instead, Henry banned any university from being in Northampton again. The tables would be turned a few weeks later when on 14 May 1264, the royal army was smashed by the rebels at Lewes.
Northamptonshire Battlefields Society 