Towcester
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Towcester | |
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| Population | 8,856 (2001 Census) |
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| OS grid reference | |
| Parish | Towcester |
| District | South Northamptonshire |
| Shire county | Northamptonshire |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TOWCESTER |
| Postcode district | NN12 |
| Dial code | 01327 |
| Police | Northamptonshire |
| Fire | Northamptonshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Daventry |
| European Parliament | East Midlands |
| List of places: UK • England • Northamptonshire | |
Towcester (pronounced [ˈtəʊstə]) is a small town in Northamptonshire, England with a population of 8,856 (2001 census). The town is located roughly 9.5 miles (15 km) southwest of Northampton. The name is derived from the Latin for "Camp on the (river) Tove". Towcester is the administrative headquarters of the South Northamptonshire district.
Towcester is located upon the A5 road and is perhaps most famous for its Racecourse, where many important national Horse racing events are held. Also nearby to Towcester, is the Silverstone motor racing circuit. Towcester no longer has a railway station although it has done in the past. In fiction, the "Saracen's Head Inn" in Towcester features in Charles Dickens's novel The Pickwick Papers as one of Mr Pickwick's stopping places.
St. Lawrence' Church (CofE) stands in the middle of the town. It has a 12th century Norman Transitional ground plan and foundation, probably laid over a Saxon 10th century stone building. Its ecclesiastical heritage may well relate back to the Roman times as St Lawrence was patron saint of the Roman Legions. The building was reconstructed in the Perpendicular style 1480-85 when the Tower was added. Permission to quarry stone for this restoration from Whittlebury Forest was granted by Edward IV and later confirmed by Richard III on his way towards Leicestershire and his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field.
The church contains a "Treacle" Bible, a table tomb and cadaver of Archdeacon Sponne, Rector 1422-1448. The Archdeacon started what was thought to be the oldest Grammar school in Northamptonshire, which was now merged with the old Comprehensive School in Towcester to produce Sponne School. The church tower contains more bells than probably any other Parish Church in the land: a fine peal of 12 bells and a chime of 9 bells which ring the hours and chime tunes at frequent intervals.
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[edit] History
[edit] Prehistoric and Roman times
Towcester lays claim to being the oldest town in Northamptonshire and possibly, because of the antiquity of recent Iron Age finds in the town, to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the country. There is evidence that it was settled by humans since the Mesolithic era (middle stone age). There is also evidence of Iron Age burials in the area.
In Roman times, the Watling Street road (now the A5) was built through the area and a garrison town called Lactodurum was established on the site of the present day town. Some say the Battle of Watling Street was fought in 61 at a site two miles to the south-east of Towcester, in that small strange dip in Watling Street, or the A5 as it is now, in that corner of Northamptonshire known as Cuttle Mill.
Lactodurum was encompassed by a wall that was strengthened at several points by brick towers. Substantial remains of one of these towers could be seen until the 1960s, when it was demolished to make way for a telephone exchange. The wall was also surrounded by a ditch part of which became the Mill Leat on the east side of the town.
The modern day St Lawrence's Church in Towcester is thought to occupy the site of a large Roman civic building, possibly a temple. Small fragments of Roman pavement can be seen next to the church's boiler room.
[edit] Saxon and Medieval times
When the Romans left in the 5th century, the area was settled by Saxons. In the 8th century, the Watling Street became the frontier between the kingdom of Wessex and Danelaw, and thus Towcester became a frontier town. Edward the Elder fortified Towcester in 914. In the 11th century, the Normans built a motte and bailey castle on the site. Bury Mount is the name of what is left of the Norman fortification. The Motte and part of the Bailey remain and are a scheduled Ancient Monument, although listed as being "at risk". They are rather overgrown with trees and scrub although as of early July 2006, plans were afoot to make the site fit for archaeological excavation (source - Towcester and Brackley Post 7/7/2006).
[edit] Georgian and Victorian times
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, in the heyday of the stagecoach, the Watling Street became a major coaching road between London and Holyhead, and Towcester flourished, becoming a major stopping point. Many coaching inns and stabling facilities were provided for travellers in Towcester many of which remain.
The coaching trade came to an abrupt halt in 1838 when the London and Birmingham Railway was opened, and Towcester soon reverted to being a quiet market town. By the 1870s, Towcester was linked to the national rail network by the Stratford Junction Railway, although this was closed to passengers in the 1951 [1]. The advent of the motor age has brought new life to the town in recent years. Although the A43 now by-passes the town, the A5 trunk traffic passes directly through the historic market town centre causing gridlock at all times of the day and causing the air quality in the town centre to be measured as the worst in the county.
