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Err,
Towcester Reg?
Situated
in the South Northamptonshire countryside, Towcester is the oldest
town in the county and can be traced back to the middle stone age.
As
a result, many of the buildings on Watling Street, the town’s main
road, are grade two listed buildings and central Towcester is a
designated conservation area.
Maybe
it’s because of this extensive history that the town's inhabitants
have developed a strong sense of community with many clubs, groups
and societies based in the town.
Romans
The
Romans had a huge impact on Towcester establishing the town and
naming it Lactodorum.
The
garrison town was surrounded by a huge wall strengthened at particular
points by brick towers.
The
remains of one of these towers lasted right up to the 1960s.
The
Romans left Towcester in the 5th Century and control of the town
changed hands many times over during the ensuing years.
The
road to Ireland
A more settled community in the 18th and 19th Century, and the British
public’s desire to travel, put Towcester on the map.
| Towcester
People |
| Samuel
Stone and Thomas Lord - founders of Hartford, Connecticut
U.S.A. Lived in Towcester in the 1630s |
| Richard
Empson - Henry VII’s tax collector. |
| Thomas
Shepard - born in the early 1600s fled to New England and
in 1636 organised the first permanent church in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He was also instrumental in bringing Harvard College to Cambridge
that year. |
| The
Fermor-Hesketh family - their linage has been present
in Towcester since the 1500s. |
The
age of the stage coach brought great prosperity to the town.
Watling
Street was one of the main roads from London to Liverpool, Manchester
and Holyhead - the port to Dublin.
Countless
travellers passed through the town including Charles Dickens, and
Towcester welcomed them with inns and ale houses.
In
fact, Dickens mentions the Saracens Head, still in the town today,
in his novel The Pickwick Papers.
Change,
trains and automobiles
The
railway saw the stage coach trade die over night and with it went
Towcester’s main source of income.
But
during the Victorian period Towcester wasn’t completely down and
out.
Buildings
appeared, including the town hall on Watling Street, churches and
a brewery, and Towcester carried on as a market town.
The
arrival and popularity of the car brought people back to the town
in the 20th Century.
But
Towcester is now awaiting a relief road to help congestion on Watling
Street (A5).
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