Gone Medieval - Northampton: The Heart of Medieval England?

Episode Date: July 3, 2021

When we think of the heart of England, we often think of the city of London. But in Medieval times, Northampton held this title and it solidified royal roots as a result. It’s geographical advantages made it an ideal location for countless important meetings in history and a Midlands base of choice for many. For this episode, Matt was joined by historian and author Mike Ingram to talk about the history and significance of Northampton. From famous feuds and executions to rebellions and the destruction of the town. Was Northampton a victim of it’s own importance? Mike Ingram is the author of Northampton: 5,000 Years of History. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From long-loss Viking ships and kings buried in unexpected places to tales of murder, power, faith, and the lives of ordinary people across medieval Europe and beyond. Join me, Matt Lewis, Dr. Eleanor Jarniger, and some of the world's leading historians as we bring history's most fascinating stories to life, only on history hit. With your subscription, you'll unlock hundreds of hours of exclusive documentaries

with a brand-new release every week exploring everything from the ancient world, to World War II. Just visit historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. Welcome to this episode of Gone Medieval from History Hit. I'm Matt Lewis and today we're going to be taking a look at the path through the Middle Ages taken by a single town. I'm delighted to be joined by Mike Ingram who for me is Mr Northampton. This town isn't perhaps the most famous in the UK but by the time Mike has finished I think we'll have a clear understanding of just how important it was and how one town in the Midlands can have a fascinating worth exploring. Mike's the author of several books on the 1460 Battle of Northampton

on the Battle of Bosworth and his latest book, Northampton 5,000 years of history, demonstrates his love of his hometown. Thank you very much for joining us today, Mike. Thank you for having me. And we'll dive straight in. So I guess the first question is, as far as we can tell, when and where does Northampton begin as a town? It really begins as a Neolithic settlement on the top of the hill. It's useful to point out that Northampton is actually a hill. and it's surrounded on itself and its west side by rivers.

And the river is the river Nene or Nen, depending on where you come from, which is an incredibly fertile river and the surrounding lands around it. So it's really got everything. He's got everything needed for farming. It's got the water supply. And it's also highly defensible. It does appear to be not just a town, but the surrounding area of an important early. religious area because you've got as well Briar Hill outside Northampton where there is another

Neolithic Cunas and there is also another one at Halston and then you've got the Iron Age and possibly earlier hill of Hunsbury which becomes another very early settlement so it's surrounded by important places and they would have all been visible from each other from all around so it seems a natural place to actually start from and grow from yeah it's kind of geographically bled I guess. But moving into the medieval period then, so it really starts to emerge from an importance around the turn of the millennium. So who would we say was the first Earl of Northampton who starts to really make a mark in the town? The very first Earl was Seward, who was grounded the olden by King Canute or Nut. And in fact, actually, Nut's first wife

came from Northampton, a life of Northampton was his first wife. And their son then goes on to the King Howard Harefoot. So even at that early stage, we've got important people. Seawood, of course, is more famous if you've read Macbeth. The next sort of real movement then starts during the period of Seawoodson, who is Walthioth. He becomes the next Earl of Northampton. One of the, again, important connections of this is just before the Norman invasion.

You have the more car rebellion in the north of England. That does end up coming down to Northampton. More cars, rebels, lays waste in Northamptonshire. It's recorded. And King Harold, by that point then comes up and meets up with them in Northampton. And then his brother is then sent away. And that starts the whole process that begins the normal invasion with his brother coming in from the north and so on and so forth.

So already again, it's starting to show its importance in the whole story. Yeah, really having an impact. And Seward and Walthyof were kind of nationally important figures, almost rulers in the north of England, weren't they? So they're kind of creeping their influence south and maybe seeing Northampton as a good place for them to get hold of at the south of their lands? And again, being in the centre of the country,

it's the ideal place to meet up and also control these main roads north and south. So whoever holds Northampton is quite key to the story. And Walthyof himself is also important because he's one of only two Saxonels, that's allowed to retain his position under William the Conqueror. So again, he plays a very important part. But it's also important as a Viking settlement.

There's a burr built in Northampton on the top of the hill. With the river, you've got an in-manned port there as well for the Vikings to resupply and everything else as well. So even, as I say, it started to become important. But it's not really, I suppose, until the third Earl, Wolfieoff's end up being executed down in Winchester for taking part in one of the rebellions supposedly said because Walthioth was married to Julius of Lens

winning the conqueror's niece and it ends up with him being executed and so at that point then Simon Sonley becomes the third Earl Simon Sonny wanted to marry Walthioth's widow but she wouldn't have it because apparently he'd got an injured leg whether it was injured in the fighting nobody knows But Simon then goes on to marry Walthioph's and Jude's daughter.

So he immediately shoots to huge prominence. Marrying into the royal family as well as becoming locally significant. Exactly. And we see it in the doomsday that Northampton at that point had 316 houses, so already it's big in comparison. And there were 87 Royal Burgesses holding their tenements directly from the king. Pretty significant number in a local provincial town, really, isn't it? Exactly.

And it also highly unusually has its overall. and Reeves and Bayless at that point, which I think there's only one or two of the towns that actually have that. So even by Doomsday, it's a pretty significant town in the Midlands. Exactly. But we don't have a castle to start with. There's no castle

mentioned in the Doomsday. So it comes slightly later, probably built by Simon Sonny. We must also say as well that there are three Simon Sinlies, one after the other. So it's helpful with medieval names, isn't it, when they all name each other the same thing, and they're all Henry's and Edwards and...

Exactly. And also as well, who's doing what at which time, because the dates can slightly get out as things move along. The other thing Simon does, which is a huge part of the growth of Northampton, he found St Andrew's Priory, and it's only the second Plinyat Prairie in England. And it's controlled and maintained by the French as well. So Northampton already has its very early French connection. Going on as well, that's one of the other things that Northampton's well known for, that it's very multi-man. multicultural from quite an early, quite an early stage, particularly with the Jews, this largest Jewish community in England at one point. We've also got recorded going on into King John's time.

We have the first recorded Muslim living in England, and he is a crossbow maker living in Northampton Castle. I think one of the most probably significant moments in Norman kingship takes place at Northampton in 1131 when Henry I, after his only legitimate son is killed in the white ship disaster, causes all his nobles to swear fealty to his only other legitimate child who was his daughter, Empress Matilda. And this obviously causes, stores up problems for the future. So why was Henry doing this at Northampton? Why was he specifically based there? Perhaps because it was originally large, because it's also becoming more royal over time. And again, its central location makes it ideal for the barons and the nobles to come from all over England.

And there's no real excuses if you've got to come down from the north of England down to London, as opposed halfway down to Northampton. So it's kind of a gateway to the central point of the kingdom that the king can place himself there and call on everyone to come to him and, like you say, lessen their excuses. Exactly. And this is a tradition that carries on, again, King John. He's barons swear guilty to him at Northampton. and there are several others as well over its history that all come there, including Edward II. He brings everybody to Northampton. And I'm pretty sure, although by that point it's much more important in the Royal Roots, but again, its central location is quite key to it, I think.

Probably a bit of a chicken and egg question, but do you think the walls came to protect the king and the growing status of Northampton, or did the king like Northampton because those walls and that defensive nature were there? I think it was built there to defend the place. The Kings were already coming and regular visitors, again, moving on, we know King John stayed there over 60 times. Henry III stayed there over 150 times. But again, it's also the town is tied by the rivers of how and where it can grow. So it tends to grow north and east, bounded by the rivers. Yeah, so its geographical advantages kind of give it limitations as well

as it's looking to expand. And I think kind of after the anarchy, it's really under Henry the second that Northampton starts to really launch itself towards prominence. And I guess this is just an extension of the, you know, the king viewing Northampton as his base in the Midlands, the place out of London where he might base himself. But I think one of the most fascinating things that happens at Northampton in Henry the second is the trial of Thomas Beckett as he's going through his period of falling out with Henry the second. So again, is this just a case of Henry happened to be based at Northampton when this happened or was there a reason for being specifically there? Again, I think it's down to its strategic location.

We know that Henry II spends really large amounts of money on rebuilding the castle and extending the castle. So it's an important castle for all there. And again, the fact that it's in the centre of the country makes it an ideal place for everyone to meet. We also know the year before Beckett's trial that Beckett did meet Henry at Northampton. And apparently Henry wouldn't let him into the town because he was supposedly gone. got such a large entourage that they were taking up all the accommodation in the town. But they do have a row outside the town walls to say that this is the year before. Fascinating to see a row between Henry II and Thomas Beckett, wouldn't it?

Stood outside the big walls of Northampton arguing about who could go in. And apparently the accounts talk about them sitting on their horses, and the horses are getting frisky as well. And there is the issue of the Earl of Northampton. After the death of Simon Sonley, his widow goes on. and marries who would become King David of Scotland. And as a consequence of that, I'm quite sure that Henry and the other early kings

didn't want the Scottish to have a huge castle and a huge walled town smack in the middle of England. Yeah, a big toehold halfway down in England. It almost be like Calais became for England in France, wouldn't it? Exactly. And all the other main cities, London, Oxford, Cambridge, they're all within very easy reach of Northampton. So again, you put an army in Northampton

and you can strike at any of the main towns extremely quickly. So does the increased royal interest become about countering that potential Scottish threat? You know, if the king puts his stamp on Northampton, it stops the King of Scotland, appearing to be a regional dominance as Earl of Northampton. And they do continue to play quite an important part that the Scottish do within the Northampton.

the son of King David who is also called David there's a contest between Simon Simon I. And Earl David, who's going to be the Earl? And in fact, the Scottish Earl David, he has quite a substantial fortification just outside Northampton at a village called Yalvi Hastings, part of which still survives today.

So there's this interesting mix. And when David dies, he doesn't have a surviving male heir, or he does, but only very strong. shortly. He's married to the Welling of Wales his daughter and supposedly she poisons him and kills him quite early on. So all of the daughters then go and marry into Scottish nobility. So one of them marries into the Ballyoles and they set up their headquarters originally at Fotheringay Castle which of course is more famous for later things but you've got

that there and another daughter goes on and marries into the bruce's So just to say there's this massive link between England and Scotland all based around Northamptonshire. And I think that then adds to later on when you get all these Scottish treaties, the Treaty of Burgundy signed in Northampton, the later what's known as the shameful peace, which marks the end of the Scottish War of Independence is signed in Northampton. So it's all there all the way along. So that connection is possibly helped by Northampton being almost like a middle ground

between Scotland and England, sort of safe territory for the Scotland. to come down to and sign treaties. We also have other examples of when the Scottish Kings claim to Northumberland and the like, they always meet at Northampton to deal with that, which is the first meets them there to discuss that as well. So it is quite common. Fascinating how that builds up the influence of kind of one town

in the Midlands of England because of all of those connections going on. But Beckett's trial, I think is quite interesting because it's often seen as quite a short, sharp business. It's obviously quite taught between Henry the second. and Beckett by this point, but it's actually something that goes on for several days, isn't it, and really impacts the relationship between Henry and Beckett? It originally starts quite early on, to say, the year before, then in October 1164, Beckett's ordered to come to meet Henry at Northampton.

And initially, the charges are quite small, and it starts over to land that Beckett had confiscated from a chap name John Marshall. But then over time, you can see it actually growing as Henry, gets more and more angry with Beckett, and each day there, it grows in intensity. He's just throwing more and more things at Beckett to try and make something stick. He's determined to get him some way or other, and the more he resists, the more it goes on, he's found guilty of ignoring a court summons, and all his movable property is forfeited. He goes on to further things, to say things like there's charges of embezzlement and false

accounting, then brought against him. and initially Henry is trying to financially ruin him when this doesn't work, then he starts talking about treason. I guess Henry's difficulty is trying to dissect Thomas's position as Archbishop of Canterbury, so a member of the church, and Henry's trying to treat him as a lay lord, so a man who holds land from the king and offices from the king, rather than being a member of the church.

So Henry's trying to kind of force himself in between Beckett and the church to try and make something stick. All this time, Beckett's also got most of the... the other prelates supporting him as well. So I think Henry gets to the point where he's getting quite terrified whether he's going to be excommunicated. Because, of course, this is a time where excommunication means a lot more than perhaps it does in slightly later years.

Yeah, and part of Henry's reason for putting Beckett in as Archbishop of Canterbury was because Henry wanted more control over the church. And he thought Beckett would be, you know, very pliant. And Beckett turns out to resist all of that. So obviously Henry is probably getting personally quite annoyed throughout all of this as well. So you see the ramping up of all of these tensions and charges and pressure on Beckett. It comes to a head here at Northampton. On the so-called last day of the trial, of course, Beckett is starting to become in real fear of his life.

So flees out the north gate of the town and over to the continent, which of course then we have all the other things that sort of go on with it and the troubles in Europe. So again, Northampton kind of being central to national politics, but also international events, because obviously Beckett's feud with Henry has a real international dimension to it with France and the papacy being involved as well. So lots of eyes focused on Northampton. It wasn't your order to execute Beckett, but when it comes about, interesting two of the four knights who actually do that do come from Northamptonshire, again, it all ties it all together. after Beckett's death and Henry returns to England he goes straight to Canterbury where he does his penance

the next place he goes to is Northampton he comes straight up to Northampton because we're starting to see other things going on at the same time you've got William Lyon the Scottish King at the time is coming to Northampton so again it's bringing it all together and then of course soon after that you then got the rebellion by Henry's sons 1173, 74, that will start off. When the rebellion breaks out, Henry actually comes to Northampton secretly,

gives his orders to his barons, and then goes back into France again. But in the meantime of this, there is a battle that takes place outside the town walls, and this is between rebels in from Leicester, under Axtil Mallory, possibly with Old David, the Scottish Earl also taking part as well. on the rebel side. And that is another one of the many times that the town gets burnt down. This is one of the big problems with Northampton with its history. We haven't got a huge amount standing today apart from the few of the ancient churches, mainly because it's been burnt down by so many people over its whole history. So all its medieval pastors have been totally destroyed.

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that mean the town gets burnt down and rebuilt and burnt down and rebuilt. Exactly. And then just to finish it off in 1675, there is another great fire that completely wipes the town out. destroys the whole of the town. Already we really haven't got that far into the medieval period and you can see how important it is. Yeah, it's already starting to feel a little bit like a capital of the Midlands, you know, a second city in England for the king.

Exactly. Again, the kings are always stopping here. And because of this as well, it's also getting more important things. So Henry II starts giving the town Burgesses and they're paying directly to the king. So it's part of this royal connection. Under Henry, we just sort of touched onto it, but we have the university. Yeah, I think that's a fascinating thing that possibly people won't have heard anything about in Northampton, that it effectively had the second university established in England after Oxford.

And this is all down to Henry II again, it appears that we have a university founded in the town. We know it's important because of the number of people that are coming there to study, including Henry's illegitimate son Jeffrey. We know he studied there for a year, and he goes on to be the Bishop of Lincoln and all sorts of things as part of that. We know that there are teachers, lecturers, coming from all over Europe to teach at Northampton as well.

Some of the most important ones of the age, actually, people like Jeffrey DeVinsel, who was the European expert on rhetoric and poetry. and if you look later on to the likes of Jeffrey Chaucer. Yeah, this is a real cultural element to Northampton's development there. So why does the university end up bloundering or failing or disappearing? For a short period, it becomes even more prominent during the reign of Henry III. There is a falling out between papal legates with the Oxford and Cambridge students

and the majority of them will migrate to Northampton. So for about four or five years, Northampton is the only university in England. or the main university in England. But then when we get the outbreak of the Second Barron's War, when everybody knows about Lewis and Evesham, but it actually starts at Northampton. Again, who holds Northampton? Is Keeter holding the Midlands?

Simon DeMontford's son takes the town quite earlier on. And as part of that, the students are already there and they all fight on the Montfort side. so the battle is not particularly long-lasting whether you call it a battle or a siege Henry III attacks the town from the self meanwhile Prince Edward future King Edward I

goes round the town and attacks through the north of the town and breaks into the town again burning half the town down in the process murdering a lot of the people but as a consequence of this we don't know whether it's actually Henry's own idea because after the battle he's under the control of Simon De Montfort. Because of it, he actually issues an edict

that Northampton will never have again any university because of the fact that all the students are there. There are hints in the chronicles at the time that suggest he wanted to execute all the students. But someone tapped him on the shoulder and said, look, if you think you've got trouble now, these are all the sons of your nobles. If you execute all these,

it's going to be 10 times worse. So he just banned a university ever being held in Northampton again. Yeah. So that's kind of 1265, I guess, when Henry III is taken into custody. So it's fairly short-lived university, but sparkling for a while.

For a hundred years or so, it's clearly important. But the scholarship also continues, even though we haven't got a university, we've got one of the leading Jewish scholars living in town, and a lot of the early Jewish writings come from this guy. You can't have Paris.

Another thing that's happening to Northampton, it's becoming hugely important as a religious centre. And every single of the major houses all have very substantial prairies in and around Northampton. So that adds to its growing importance and becomes a place of visitation by everybody. We also know, for example, that there's a very strong temple presence in Northampton,

again fostered by Henry II. and Simon Sonny the second was one of two or three of the greatest benefactors of the Templars in England and because we have got the Holy Sephora Church which is one of the first

two round churches built in England there is a debate who actually built it whether it was Simon Sonny the first or Simon Sonny the second because it happens at a time

where Simon died and the next Simon takes over so it's round about the time so I think is very probably Simon too. because of his templar connections. So it's also building the importance of there. We have a lot of important early religious writers living in these houses at Benedictine's Greyfriars' whole priory

was supposedly, according to Leyland or Leyland writing mater, was the biggest and best of all the Greyfriars' houses in England. Fascinating, so still building those kind of cultural and international links from Northampton, you know, spreading out everywhere onto continental Europe. Is it right that Northampton becomes a kind of focus for the tournament circuit during the high medieval period as well, so as tournaments get more popular? The first actual recorded tournament in England in the 1120s was actually held at Northampton, and it continues to be the preeminent place. It's outside the town. You've got to remember that these tournaments, particularly the early ones, you could end up with two or three thousand people on taking part.

So it's bigger than the town. And these tournaments weren't kind of the joust that we probably associate with the films of medieval periods. This was like a full-scale rumble across miles of countryside. In actual fact, we know that there is several tournament grounds in Northamptonshire, because you've got the main one at Northampton. There is another key one at Brackley, which is just down the road. And there is another one. Old David, who we've been talking about, has his own tournament ground,

probably where Castle Ashby is and then there is the other one in the north which is just outside Stamford and again this becomes important during the Magna Carta story because the barons and their army which again was quite substantial actually moves from tournament ground to tournament ground

so we know they're up at the tournament ground at Stamford we know that they go down to Northampton tournament ground they then go down to Brackley and then back up to Northampton. and burn it down again. Because they were sort of using the tournament circuit as an excuse to meet up and plot against John

under the guise of being on tour with these tournaments. Exactly. And that's one of the key things with these because the tournaments were a meeting place for rebels and training for war. So it provided the perfect cover, I suppose, for actually doing that. So I think we've seen quite a lot of Northampton's

kind of political and cultural links and importance. Is there a trade that Northampton's particularly well-known for. Although you wouldn't necessarily know it today because most of them focus on the shoe industry, which didn't really come about until the 1830s. For most of its medieval history, it was cloth and horses with the two main trades. Cloth, King John gave Northampton the right to buy and sell dyed cloth quite earlier on. And this is a time when English cloth is like the absolute pinnacle and it's wanted across the whole of continental Europe. Exactly.

And then also as well, Northampton Scarlet Cloth is renowned throughout Europe. Even scarlet cloth that's made and died elsewhere is not sufficient quality of red. And it's brought to Northampton to finish, which is very probably down to, again, because it's on a limestone hill, it's the quality of the water that would be used to finish the scarlet on. and also why that it becomes one of the seven main royal fairs in England, annual fairs in England. And this is where the kings are buying all their cloth from. And there is also international merchants coming to Northampton to sell their wares as well. This is very much reflected in the street names in Northampton.

The main road through the town is called horse market. Obviously speaks through itself. On the side of that, there's an area of the town called the mayorhold. the modern spelling changes it to a mayor with a dangley chain but the original spelling was in a mare as in horse where the mares were kept separate from the stallions so even that's got its connection and as I say that goes right on till Daniel Defoe

writing in the 1800s describes it as the best horse fair in England fascinating how those medieval fingerprints are still on the town for you to see as you're walking round I think I want to talk a little bit as well about Northampton has this connection to what I think is probably one of medieval England's greatest love stories. If we get to the end of the 13th century, start of the 14th century, when Edward the first beloved wife passes away, could you just explain where the Ellenacrosses come from and the Northampton connection to those? Northampton was the heart of Ellen's business empire and the surrounding villages. and again they were frequently visiting the town

and staying in the town even down to the last years of Eleanor's life when she probably knows that she's dying she comes to Northampton and this is where another one of those Scottish treaties are written at this point in there before she carries on up to Harvey where she sadly dies

and the funeral cortege is then taken back down to London and every place they stop and then when the cross is built in some form or another. There are only three surviving today. Two of those are in Northamptonshire, the one at Hardingstone on the edge of the town, and at Gettington.

So again, we're fortunate that they survived for whatever reason, whenever all the other ones were pulled down or disintegrated. So that continues it onwards as well. And again, the connections with Edgwood and Eleanor in Northampton are hugely strong. Edward gives Northampton its Royal Coat of Arms, which still survives today,

and can be seen on the badges of the football team and the rugby team, and on the town crest. And it's the combined arms of Edward and Eleanor. It's got Castile Castle being in the centre of it all. Even going down back earlier when Edward's still a prince, and you have all the issues around in the Baron's War, Edward uses Northampton as a base of operations to attack Kenilworth Castle. Again, this is showing the strategic importance and how it fits into the landscape

and how you can strike anywhere in the middle of the country from. Yeah, great location to base yourself for anything like that. I think as we move towards the end of the medieval period, Northampton, we can still see playing a really critical role. So we get a battle of Northampton during the Wars of the Roses on the 10th of July in 1460. So again, why does that happen in Northampton and whereabouts is it? And can we see the battlefield today? Oh, yes, yeah.

It's all there to go and see. It's one of the few totally unspoiled battlefields. And in fact, if you go to Delapri Abbey, which survives today, although it's a later building, there are rooms dedicated to the battle in there. And you can look across the battlefield. And it is still the medieval ridge and borough. It's been untouched. So you can actually see the ground that.

that they were fought over and look at all this. And isn't there a story of people watching the battle from the Eleanor Cross that we just talked about? Ellen Cross is at the top of the hill. We know that the papal legates actually watched the battle from there. The Archbishop of Canterbury watched the battle from there. If you go to the Elamacross, by the way, you will see that it's headless. We know from the account that the head was missing at the time of the Battle of Northampton. So what you see is how it was at the time of the battle.

Yeah. Are there some local myths that it was taken off by a plane in World War II and all sorts of things? Yeah, there's all sorts of spurious ideas. But the contemporary story is quite clearly say that it was Hedley at the time. It was missing as early as 1460. Yes, exactly. And it's also interesting that the Battle of Northampton was at the game was a fortification. It was the only time that a field fortification was attacked.

and it's the first massed use of guns in England there. So again, it's quite an important and key early battle. Yeah. And Henry the 6th is captured there by Warwick and the Yorkist forces, so fairly central to the story of the Wars of the Roses in those early years. Oh, exactly. And Northampton had been very much on Henry's side. Again, he was frequent visitors to the town.

We know that Henry actually puts out a charter to thank the town for all its sort. during the early stages of the Wars of the Roses. And then Edward, once he becomes keying, issues a pardon to the town for their path on their side. And we know that the town militia takes part in the Battle of Toulton as well on Edward's side. And it's recorded in the poem The Rose of Ruan

that their banner was a wild rat, which shows lots for how Northampton's been ever since. Just going back very slight, as well. Northamptonshire is important to, of course, Richard the 30s born in Northamptonshire at Fotheringay and lives there for quite a long time. And also the Woodville's. Elizabeth Woodville is brought up at Crafton Regis, which, again, is there only 15 minutes from the town. So again, this is showing how it's central to the story. And Fotheringay was really the base, the home of the House of York, wasn't it? So it's why

Richard is born there as the son of Richard Duke of York, because that's where the whole house is focused. And if you look at the county badge, even today, it is still purely Yorkist, with the white roses, the falcon and pettelock on it, and the white half of which is the second on one side and the blackboard of Claire on the other. And that's the town badge. And we know that it's in existence on Edward's the fourth ancestral role, which now resides in the States. The only town mentioned by name is Northampton. And it's got that same badge that is on the armorial role that's used today. Anything that associates itself with Richard Duke of York is great by me.

He's definitely my historical man crush, I think, as much as I'm interested in Richard the third, Richard Duke of York is someone I'm really fascinated by. As you say, the Woodville's meet with Richard in Northampton Town Centre. They're captured in the town centre and taken off. Eventually it's a pontiffrat where they're executed. This is where the lines always get very blurred on what really went on. This is probably a whole other podcast, isn't it, about what actually happened? in Northampton in 1483.

Exactly. And we also know that after Richard takes control of the new king, they do come back to Northampton and stay at Northampton for about three days before they're taken down to London. So there's obviously a lot of significant things going on as part of that story as well. Yeah, we'll maybe stay away from the controversy of that particular episode other than to say that obviously Northampton was to a really important place as the medieval period comes to a close.

And I was struck by something you said to me before about viewing Northampton, as really central to the story of the development of England's democracy? Yes, because you've got, going right back to the very beginning, you've got the Magna Castle story. Northampton and Northampton's year's part in that is generally ignored. And the fact that the barons do come down from Stamford, down to Northampton, they're supposed to meet John. John refuses to meet them.

So the barons then go to Brackley, again onto the tournament ground. So showing this connection. and John then sends papal legate and the outspish of the Canterbury up to meet them. And it's at that point they write a list of demand and that's the very first Magna Carta or the very first version of the Magna Carta.

The barons then go back up to Northampton. They siege to Northampton for two weeks. They're clearly not prepared and they haven't bought any siege equipment. They then move on to, down to London. And it's at that point John realizes that they're totally serious about what they want to do. And it's agreed that the Magna Carta is sealed at Rone Mead. And then, of course, the whole of the Barron's War starts at that point.

So the actual Magna Cancer story really is 90% Northamptonshire. Fascinating. It makes me feel almost a shame that I don't know much more about Northampton. And I think, you know, obviously, Mike is a great person to champion Northampton, and Northampton deserves a much more prominent place when we think about medieval history. So I hope everybody has found that really interesting today. We've probably only scratched the surface of Mike's 5,000 years of Northampton's history, but I hope you've found that interesting.

I've definitely learned a lot. So thank you, Mike, for a fascinating look at one town's experiences in medieval England. It makes you wonder really what other medieval history there could be on your doorstep, you know, in the street names that surround you. Maybe there's more than you'd know. If you found this interesting and would like to hear more on Gone Medieval, then please subscribe wherever you get your podcast from and tell all your friends and family that you've gone medieval.

While I've got you, I caught an episode called When Parliament cancelled Christmas in 1644 on Dan Snow's History Hit. And I know the Civil War is one of Mike's other great interests and the impact that that had in Northamptonshire as well. So I thought I'd put you on to that to have a listen to anyway. So I'll let you go anyway. I've been Matt Lewis and we've just gone medieval with history hit.