Northampton

Northampton, a municipal and parliamentary borough, and the capital of Northamptonshire, is situated on Watling Street, and stretches upwards from the left bank of the Nen; it is 67 miles N.W. of London by railway. The public buildings include a town hall (1864), ornamented on the outside with statues of English kings, a county hall, and a corn exchange (1850). There are two interesting old churches, St. Peter's (Norman) and St. Sepulchre's, which was built for the Templars by Simon de St. Liz in 1127 and is one of the four round churches in England modelled on the plan of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. All Saints' church was destroyed by a great fire in 1675 and rebuilt by Wren five years later; the ancient tower remains. A little S. of the town is one of the beautiful crosses erected by Edward I. in memory of his queen, Eleanor, in a very good state of preservation. Northampton is the centre of the boot and shoe manufacture; the other industries include leather-dressing, paper-making, and brewing.

Outside the town is the racecourse, where the Pytchley Hunt races are held in April and November.