BOROUGH OF NORTHAMPTON 



to prescribe rules for rebuilding and enforce obedience 

 to them. The records of tliis court arc preserved at 

 Northampton and form a substantial volume. 'They 

 extend from April 1676 to October 1685, and 

 deal with 79 cases." Briefs and pamphlets'^ brouglit 

 in generous contributions from all over Kngland, 

 from individuals, beginning with the King, from 

 towns and from the two universities, amountins; 

 in all to ^25,000, and the subscription list drawn 

 up by Henry Lee the town clerk is still to be 

 seen in All Saints' Church.*' No great alterations 

 were made in the town plan ; the definite recommen- 

 dations of the Act for widening the approaches to the 

 market square, the narrowness of which had much 

 increased the loss of property, were for the most part 

 not followed, though .Ml Saints' Church was shortened 

 by the length of its nave and more space was thus 

 secured in the south-west corner. Eighteenth cen- 

 tury taste entirely appro\ed the style of the rebuilding: 

 Northampton, ' nobl) re-edified after the fire, is now 

 universally owned to be one of the neatest towns in 

 the kingdom,'** but it was admitted that the town 

 arose ' though much more beautiful, less spacious.'*" 

 The great increase in the size of the town began in 

 the second half of the i8th century. The population 

 rose from 5,136 in 174.6*' to 7,020 in 1801, 15,351 

 in 1831, 32,813 in 1861, 87,021 in 1901 and 90,923 

 in 1921. The increase between 1801 and 1831, which 

 is well above the average increase over all England, 

 is attributable to the stimulus given to the boot trade 

 by the Napoleonic wars. The number of houses 

 increased from 2,086 in 1821 to 3,239 in 1831.** The 

 main growth of the town in the 19th and 20th cen- 

 turies has been to the north-east, in the direction of 

 Kingsthorpe, Kingsley and Abington. There has 

 «lso been a considerable extension to the west and 

 south, and a recent survey of the town*' with a view 

 to its future development advocates the formation of 

 a garden city suburb on the rising ground south of 

 the river, round the site of Dclapre Abbey. The 

 second Reform Act added parts of Dallington, Duston, 

 Hardingstone and Kingsthorpe to the Parliamentary 

 borough, but the municipal boundaries remained 

 unchanged till 1901, when they were extended so as 

 to include half Kingsthorpe, the whole of St. J.imes' 

 End and Far Cotton, with the exception of some 

 small agricultural areas, and a large part of Abington, 

 the area of the borough being thus enlarged from 

 131 1 to 3,392 acres.'" 



In the early middle ages the borough was, like 

 Leicester, divided into four quarters, named after the 

 four points of the compass. These are mentioned in 

 the rolls of the eyre of 1253." To these a fifth, the 



Chequer Ward, round the market place, was added. 

 Dr. Cox thought about 1300.''^ These five wards, 

 supplemented for a few years by those of St. James 

 and Cotton End'* in 1618, lasted down to 1835. 

 Under the Municipal Corporations Act of that year 

 the town was divided into three wards ; the South 

 \\'ard, south of Gold Street, St. Giles' Street and 

 Billing Road; the East Ward, c.Tst of the Drapery, 

 Sheep Street and the Kingsthorpe Road, and the 

 West Ward, west of the same line.'* Each ward was 

 represented by six councillors on the borough council. 

 With the increase in the population, the East and West 

 Wards outstripped the South Ward, originally the 

 most populous, and in 1897 the East Ward contained 

 6,898 \oters, the West 2,325, and the South 1,380. 

 In 1898, by an order of the Local Government Board, 

 the town was divided into six nearly equal wards : 

 the Castle Ward, the North Ward, St. Crispin's, 

 St. Edmund's, St. Michael's and the South \^'ard. 

 Further, after a two days' inquiry at Northampton 

 Town Hall at the beginning of 1900, the Local 

 Government Board approved a scheme for the 

 enlargement of the municipal borough which was 

 embodied in an Act passed on 30 July, 1900.'^ This 

 Act" added to the six wards formed in l8q8 tlie three 

 new wards of Far Cotton, Kingsthorpe and St. James, 

 each, like the six old wards, returning three councillors 

 and one alderman. In 191 2, under the Northampton 

 Corporation Act," the borough was divided into 

 twelve wards, of which Castle and St. James' Wards 

 were unchanged from those of 1 90 1. The name of 

 Far Cotton Ward was changed to Delapre Ward. 

 Part of St, Edmund's Ward was added to South 

 Ward. Three new wards were added : Kingsley, 

 carved partly out of the old Kingsthorpe and St. 

 Edmund's Wards ; Abington, out of the old St. 

 Edmund's and St. Michael's Wards ; St. Lawrence's, 

 out of the old Kingsthorpe, North and St. Crispin's 

 Wards. These twelve wards each return three 

 councillors and one alderman.'* 



Corresponding changes took place in the civil 

 parishes of the town in 1902 as a result of the enlarge- 

 ment of the borough. In 1909 the four civil parishes 

 of All Saints, St. Giles, St. Peter and St. Sepulchre 

 were consolidated and formed into the civil parish 

 of Northampton." In 1914 the civil parishes of 

 Kingsthorpe, Duston St. James and the parts of 

 Dallington and Abington within the municipal 

 boundary were added to the civil parish of Northamp- 



ton 



80 



The CASTLE OF NORTHAMPTON, hke most 

 royal castles, was outside the borough liberties. Ori- 

 ginally built by earl Simon I, from the time that it 



" Northampt. Corp. Book), Press \, 2a. 

 Inrolmenti of decrees of Court of Judica- 

 ture appointed 1675. 



" The State of Northampton from tbt 

 beginning 0/ tbi Fire . . . to Nofember ^ . . . 

 ntKB recommended to all uiell-diipoted persons 

 in order to Christian charity and speedy 

 relief for the said distressed people, hy a 

 Country minister. London, 1675, Nov. 22. 

 Reprinted in Hartshomc, Mem. of North- 

 ampt. pp. 224-257. Sad and LamentabU 

 metes from Northampton, 1675. The ac- 

 count given above is based upon these and 

 Henry Lee's narratives. 



** Printed Bar's. Rec. ii, 250-1. 



" Morton, Natural History of North- 

 ants. (1712), p. 23. See also Pennant, 



Jouyney from Chester to London (1782), p. 

 307 : ' Much of the beauty i)f the town is 

 due to the fire of 1675 ' ; and Baskcrvillc : 

 ' Phtrni-x like risen out of her ashes in a 

 far more noble and beauteous form.' 

 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. >;iii, app. 2, p 

 2S9. 



"Notes to Noble and Butlin's m.ip 

 of I74fi. 



" Pari. Papers, 1826-27, vol. iii, p. 63. 



"Pari. Papers, 1835, vol. xxv, p. 

 1965. 



'■■' County Borough of Northampt. Prc- 

 pcsult for Development and Reconstruction. 

 Published by authority of the County 

 Borough of Northampt. 1925. 



'" 63 and 64 Vict. c. clxxxiii. 



33 



" .\ssize R. 615, m. 14. 



''- lioro. Rec. ii, 517. 



" Ibid. II, 140.' 



" Xorthamp. Corp. Rec. Misc Docts. 



45/>- 



'* Northampt. Mercury, 9 November 

 1900. 



" L. G. B. Provisional Orders Con- 

 firmation (No. 14) Act, 63 and 64 Vict, 

 c. dx.xxiil. (Public .Act of a local cha- 

 racter.) 



" I and 2 Georgii V, c. Ixiv (Local 

 Act). 



" Information from Mr. H. Hankinson. 

 Town Clerk. 



'" I . G. n. Order, No. 53404. 



"» Ibid. No. P. 1623. 



