Northampton Castle

In the civil parish of Northampton. In the historic county of Northamptonshire (Modern Authority of Northamptonshire, 1974 county of Northamptonshire).

Motte and Bailey castle was probably built by Simon de Senlis, 1st Earl of Northampton, between 1090 and 1100. This castle was probably replaced in stone in C12. The castle was deserted after the town fire of 1685 and partly destroyed in 1880 during the building of the railway station. Excavations in 1962 may have revealed traces of Saxon occupation on the site, and it is possible that the site was a Saxon burh. Now almost totally gone. A postern gateway from the castle was re-erected in 1879 on Black Lion Hill.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP74856059

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 343615
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record. In particular 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website, or elsewhere.

• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p78-9
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p169 [slight]
    Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford)
    Drage, C., 1987, 'Urban castles' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p117-32
    RCHME, 1985, ‘Medieval defences’ and ‘Northampton Castle' An inventory of the historical monuments in the county of Northampton. 5. Archaeological sites and churches in Northampton (London: HMSO) p50–1, 327–30, 332–5 [the main entries are on microfiche]
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p317
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p268
    Williams, J.H., 1977, ‘Northampton Castle’,Archaeological Excavations 1976, (HMSO) p141
    Colvin, H.M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson, John, 1975, The history of the King's Works Vol3: 1485-1660 (part 1) (London)
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p750-3
    Page, Wm (ed), 1930, VCH Northampton Vol3 p33-5 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66254
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Serjeantson, R.M., 1908, The Castle of Northampton (Northampton)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p330-4
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol2 (London) p286-9
    Hartshorne, C.H., 1848, Historical Memories of Northampton (Northampton) p111-73
• Journal Articles
  • Giggins, Brian L., 2005, 'Northampton's Forgotten Castle' Castle Studies Group Bulletin Vol18 p185-7
    1994, South Midlands Archaeology Vol24 p24
    1989, South Midlands Archaeology Vol19 p29-30
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p309
    1982, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol12 p39
    1981, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol11 p31
    1979, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol9 p11
    1978, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol8 p40
    Williams, J.H. et al, 1977-8, ‘Chalk Lane' CBA Newsletter and Calendar 1 p112
    Williams, J.H., 1977, ‘Northampton Castle' CBA Calendar of Excavations, summaries 1976 p10
    Williams, J.H., 1977, ‘Northampton Castle' CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol7 p16
    Moore, W.R.G. and Giggins, B.L., 1977, ‘Northampton, castle' in ‘Archaeology in Northamptonshire, 1976' Northamptonshire Archaeology Vol12 p226
    Webster, L.E. and Cherry, J., 1976, ‘Medieval Britain in 1975' Medieval Archaeology Vol20 p168, 185 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Hunter, R., et al, 1976, ‘Northampton' in ‘Archaeology in Northamptonshire, 1975' Northamptonshire Archaeology Vol11 p199
    1976, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol6 p35
    1973, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol3 p29
    Mynard, 1972, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol2 p19
    1965, Medieval Archaeology Vol9 p191 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    1964, Medieval Archaeology Vol8 p257-8 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Wilson, David M and Hurst, D G., 1962-3, ‘Medieval Britain in 1961' Medieval Archaeology Vol6-7 p322-3 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Alexander, J., 1960-4, ‘Excavations in Northampton. 1961-2' Journal of the Northamptonshire Natural History Society and Field Club, 34 p127
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 p249-280 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p90-121] http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28195904%2974%3A291%3C249%3AALOC1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P
    Brown, R. Allen, 1955, 'Royal Castle-building in England 1154-1216' English Historical Review Vol70 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)] p19-64
    Serjeantson, R.M., 1907-8, Journal of the Northamptonshire NaturaI History Society and Field Club Vol14 p81-98, 121-40, 155-77
    1880, Gentleman's Magazine pt2 p928-9 plate II
    Sharp, 1881, Associated Architectural Societies' reports and papers [Lincoln, York, Northampton, Bedford, Worcester, Leicester and Sheffield] Vol16 p243-51 [objects found]
    Scriven, R.G., 1881, Associated Architectural Societies' reports and papers [Lincoln, York, Northampton, Bedford, Worcester, Leicester and Sheffield] Vol16 p71-2
    Law, E.F. and Scriven, R.G., 1879-80, Associated Architectural Societies' reports and papers [Lincoln, York, Northampton, Bedford, Worcester, Leicester and Sheffield] Vol15 p198-210 [plan]
    1860, Gentleman's Magazine pt1 p385-8 http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015030568995
    Hartshorne, C.H., 1846, 'The castle and parliaments of Northampton' Archaeological Journal Vol3 p309-32 [history only]
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p339-43
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/huntseng.html#norts3]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p324
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p7 http://www.archive.org/details/itineraryofjohnl01