News, Articles and Events
Around 1800, residents of Brixworth wanting to improve their gardens could do worse than asking the local vicar. In that year, the third edition of Charles Marshall’s book on the subject was published, with over 400 pages on the subject, extending as far as ‘hints on fish-ponds’.
Christine Vialls’s essay - The Duty on Marriages, Births and Burials, 1695-1706 (PDF) - explains the historical background to the tax and arrangements for collecting it. Examples are included of types of associated documents.
Read More: The Duty on Marriages, Births and Burials, 1695-1706
What? Dr Callum Jamieson from the University of Glasgow will be talking about Archbishop Thomas Becket and his associations with Northampton. Arrive early to explore one of the town’s most memorable churches too.
When? Saturday 12 October 2024 from 2pm to 5pm. Tea, coffee & cake available.
In 1675, most of the buildings in Northampton were burned to the ground.
We plan to produce an issue of Northamptonshire Past and Present in 2025 devoted to aspects of the Great Fire of Northampton in 1675 and its social and economic context. Papers may be long (up to 7,000 words) or short (a couple of hundred words) or anything in between. We are looking for original research based on primary sources.
Charles Marshall, the vicar of Brixworth from 1779 until his death in 1818, was also a noted author. One of his works - which extends to 155 pages - gives an interesting insight into the methods by which at least some children were taught subjects such as spelling, behaviour and grammar over 200 years ago.
Would you like to meet some earlier inhabitants of your town or village in the documents they left behind? Are you a keen local historian who would like to be able to use more of the wealth of documents held in the Northamptonshire Archives?
The Northamptonshire Record Society has a programme of making many of its publications available free of charge. It helps us to share discoveries about the history of local people, places and events with as many readers as possible.
Already, 38 books can be downloaded from our website.
When his exquisite map of Northamptonshire was published in 1611, little did John Speed think that more than four centuries later thousands of people would still appreciate it.
The map features most villages in the county, with large-scale insets for Northampton and Peterborough. You can see, zoom and download the whole of it from University of Cambridge Digital Library or Wikimedia Commons.
When news about the map was posted on the NRS Facebook Page, it reached over 11,000 people stimulating many positive reactions.
When ‘John Clark & Mary Green of Hardingstone’ were married at Duston on 14 December 1693, the parish register gave no clue about why the husband was later referred to as ‘Irish John Clarke’.
Consulting the catalogue of documents held at Northamptonshire Record Office unlocks the mystery…
The courts of Chancery have left a wealth of documents about a wide range of individuals and variety of disputes. Unlike some other courts, even its early records are in English. All Chancery records are held at The National Archives, with much scope for finding people and places in its online catalogue.
It is well worth spending 16 minutes to listen to Susan Moore explain how the Chancery courts worked (YouTube), the types of information to be found in their records and how they can shed light on almost any aspect of history that interests you.
Saturday 8th June 2024 at 2pm
Conference Room at St Andrew’s Hospital, Billing Road, Northampton, NN1 5DG
- 2.00pm - AGM 2024
- 2.45pm - Spring Lecture by Dr Susan Kilby
- Followed by refreshments
Spring Lecture by Dr Susan Kilby
Fantastic Beasts and where to find them: the Romanesque Capitals of St Kyneburgha, Castor and the Local Landscape