The Great Fire of Northampton occurred in September 1675 in Northampton in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The blaze was caused by sparks from an open fire on St. Mary’s Street, near

Northampton Castle Northampton Castle at Northampton, was one of the most famous Norman castles in England. The castle site was outside the western city gate, and defended on three sides by deep trenches. A branch of the River Nene provided a natural barrier on t ...

. The fire devastated the

town centre A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus s ...

, destroying about 700 of the town's 850 buildings, including All Saints church, in six hours. Three quarters of the town was destroyed, 11 people died and about 700 families were made homeless. Many people escaped the fire by going through Welsh House on the market square to safety. Local people and businesses raised £25,000 towards re-building the town centre based around the Market Square. Streets were widened to help prevent a re-occurrence. King Charles II donated 1,000 tons of timber from

Salcey Forest Salcey Forest is a fragment of a former medieval hunting forest east of the village of Hartwell, between Northampton and Newport Pagnell in Northamptonshire. It is managed by Forestry England and to promote biodiversity, and is also commercially ...

for the re-building. William A. Shaw (ed.
Donation listed in Shaw's ''Calendar of Treasury Books''
''Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 6: 1679-1680.'' (1913), pp. 11-18.

British History Online ''British History Online'' is a digital library of primary and secondary sources on medieval and modern history of Great Britain and Ireland. It was created and is managed as a cooperative venture by the Institute of Historical Research, Univer ...

A commemorative statue of the king (dressed in a Roman

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

) stands on the portico of the re-built All Saints church. In 1724, the town's new appearance inspired author and traveler Daniel Defoe to describe Northampton as the "handsomest and best built town in all this part of England… finely rebuilt with brick and stone, and the streets made spacious and wide". The fire received fictional treatment in book 2 of

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

's 2016 novel ''

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

''.

References

External links

Northampton Chronicle articleContemporary account of the fire of Northampton 1675
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northampton, Great Fire of History of Northampton 17th-century fires 1675 disasters 1675 in England

1675 Events January–March * January 5 – Franco-Dutch War – Battle of Turckheim: The French defeat Austria and Brandenburg. * January 29 – John Sassamon, an English-educated Native American Christian, dies at Assa ...

Fires in England Urban fires in the United Kingdom 17th century in Northamptonshire

See also

References

External links