From ‘palace’ to ‘town’: Northampton and urban origins

Abstract

In the second half of the twelfth century Northampton was one of the largest and wealthiest towns in all England. This represented, however, only a transient phase, since by the early part of the fourteenth century the town had assumed a more modest position. As a result of a series of disastrous fires in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, little now survives to remind us of Northampton's former medieval glories, and its earlier development has been until recently but dimly perceived. Over the last decade, however, archaeological and other research has facilitated the identification of elements of continuity in the upper Nene basin (in which Northampton lies) stretching back several thousand years. 1 In particular it is now possible to demonstrate that the late Saxon borough emerged as the culmination of a gradual evolutionary process throughout the Anglo-Saxon period rather than as the result of a single dramatic act of foundation. This has important implications for ideas relating to the re-emergence of towns in the ninth and tenth centuries and is particularly significant in that Northampton has no obvious major Romano-British antecedent.

The Danelaw Reconsidered: Colonization and Conflict in Viking-Age England

“…As with fortification construction, the disruption of an established urban fabric can act as a powerful expression of elite influence and power. In Northampton a large stone hall, interpreted variously as a palace or minster structure (Williams 1984;Foard 1995;cf. Blair 1996), has been shown by archaeological excavations to have fallen out of use or have been demolished during the late ninth century or early tenth century.…”