Museums

Decorative castle stone, most likely to derive from the royal apartments of Northampton Castle, developed by Henry III in the mid-1200s.

After the Norman Conquest in 1066, much of Northampton was in ruins. Simon de Senlis and his successors, Simon de Senlis II and III, rebuilt the town from the local iron stone, adding many churches, priories, the town walls and likely initiated work on the castle around 1086.

The castle was developed into a larger royal castle by Henry I in the early 1100s and regularly hosted the monarch.  Every King of England from Henry I to Edward III visited Northampton Castle at some stage of their reign and conducted business there. Henry I visited the castle for the first time in 1106 and celebrated Easter there in 1122.

In 1130 the Castle was commissioned as a Royal Castle and the first Grand Council of the king’s magnates assembled there in 1131, where they swore loyalty to the Empress Matilda, Henry’s chosen heir to the English throne. National events were held there, such as the trial of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket in 1164. Most of the stone in the museum’s collection comes from the royal apartments of Northampton Castle developed by Henry III in the mid-1200s.  

After the last Parliament of Northampton was held in 1380 the castle remained an administrative centre of the state, with a new gaol being installed in 1378. By 1593 however the castle was described as being in a ‘ruinous’ state, and in 1615 the castle was leased to the Earl of Leicester on account of the fact that it was ‘surplus to royal requirement’

The castle was also used as a garrison for Parliamentarian troops during the English Civil War in 1643 but was partly demolished by Charles II in 1662 to punish Northampton for supporting the Parliamentarians. Its remains were destroyed in 1879 to allow the construction of Northampton railway station.

Northampton Castle- The Postern Gate behind the early railway.