Our March meeting on Monday was led by Andy Chapman, who also spoke to us in Oct 2023, on the “Search for Northampton Castle”, which really showed us how important Northampton was in the Middle Ages. Monday’s talk illustrated how this growth in the town stemmed from a reasonably significant Anglo Saxon fortified settlement or “burh” that had developed after the Roman era. Several digs over the last 30+ years have gradually revealed evidence of significant Anglo-Saxon development close to today’s St Peter’s Church, the railway station and the post Norman castle which followed it but has since been lost under said railway station(s). The plan below shows the footprint of the early stave timber building with 2 side chambers and a central entrance, later replaced by a much larger stone-built complex which lay within Ango Saxon “Ham-tun”.
A range of late Saxon artefacts have been found here as well as in several areas around / beyond the town, including Brackmills and Wollaston . Earlier archaeologists proposed this was some sort of Saxon palace, however the pre-Norman dating of St Peter’s and the now lost St Gregory’s Church would suggest that before the castle, Hamtun was a fairly significant settlement with an ecclesiastic focus supported by a community of people.
For those who were unable to join us on Monday, I am pleased to report that the Welton History Project is coming on apace. Using a Google maps platform we have plotted 22 houses, 11 Lost Treasures, 5 public buildings. There is a significant amount of collated history for a number of these buildings although it is a work in progress to complete it for all. We have also created a People of Welton section, focusing on families and individuals over time, including the Clarkes, Garrards, George Smith of Coalville (who lived in Welton!), the Emerys and Sir Stephen Hill of The Firs who became Governor of Newfoundland! We have also completed a detailed history of St Martin’s Church and Welton School.
We have also set up a Welton History / Memories group on Facebook, which has been amazingly useful in sourcing a huge number of vintage photographs and details regarding buildings, events and traditions in the village.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Welton Recreation Trust for their continued support of our group. They recently agreed to fund a 2-year license for Flikr which has enabled us to create a digital photo album for the project organised on a street-by-street basis. These photographs are also attached to property and event specific sections of the website. Additionally, we also plan to host a Welton History website which will keep all our meeting notes, research materials and links, newsletters all in one place. This will feed selectively into the History Group section of the parish council but in a streamlined way. More news on this will follow in due course.
Finally, a big thank you to so many people for stepping forward and sharing their memories and memorabilia associated with places in the village. If you can help with our research, please do email me at suzanne.edwards161@icloud.com
Dates for your diary
Monday 27th April: Our next meeting, led by Stephen Barker, will give us an illustrated and no doubt fascinating account of the most significant battle of the Civil War: Naseby. With thanks in advance to Richard Proto, we hope this will be followed up with a Welton Walkers group foray onto the battlefield to see some it for ourselves.
Tuesday 19th May: a special WHG meeting in which we will walk you through the website and take a deeper dive into some key areas. This will be in the Village Hall at 7.30pm as usual but will be free of charge as it is an additional meeting to the published schedule. Also, Karen O’Mahoney and I will be giving a very brief introduction to the platform at The Good Neighbours group on April 14th. Please do support this project by letting people who may not be members of the History Group know about these events. We very much want this to be a history of Welton by Weltonians and for all members of our community.
WHG annual walk: Tuesday 19th May 10.30am which this year is being led by Mike Tebbitt around the remains of the abandoned village of Wulfhamcote. There will be a small charge of £3 for this meeting to cover speaker costs. If you could bring cash on the day this would be very helpful. Meet at The Boat House pub car park. Car sharing available. If you would like a lift, please drop me an email. Duration – approximately 2 hours.
History events slightly further afield
Ashby St Ledger’s Open Garden Day at the Manor House: Sunday 10th May: 11.00-5.00pm Booking required. For more information visit https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk
Towcester Museum and Visitor Centre: April 1st: 11am-2pm: archaeological digs and Roman activities
Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens: April 5th and 6th: Spring Fair: stalls inside and outside.
St Mary’s Church, Little Addington: April 17th – an evening of railway nostalgia
And finally, where in Welton is this?
No prizes – just for fun!
Discover more from Welton History Group
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.