Hazelrigg House is a historic Grade II listed sandstone house of 2½ storeys in Northampton. Northampton Borough Council information sheet
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It is not known exactly when the building was built, but an examination of the building's roof trusses suggests that the property dates from the early 16th century and it is one of the few houses to escape the Great Fire of Northampton in September 1675, when only a part of it was destroyed. The building's name derives from the Hazelrigg family who owned it for many years. It has also been known as Cromwell House and Hazelrigg Manor. The Cromwell reference derives from a local tradition that

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

spent the night at Hazelrigg House on his way to the

Battle of Naseby The Battle of Naseby took place on 14 June 1645 during the First English Civil War, near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. The Parliamentarian New Model Army, commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, destroyed the main ...

in 1645. Unfortunately this local reference isn't supported by any documentary evidence. The property has a tiled roof and has three gables; the house as built was originally wider, with five rather the current three gables which were added in the 17th century, probably at the same time that the front of the house was remodelled; an extension was also added at the rear. This rebuilding may have been made in addition to the repairs after its partial damage caused by the Great Fire. The property was divided into three separate houses sometime in the 19th century, and subsequently (sometime before 1886) reduced in width from 5 gables to the present 3 gables when part was demolished. The house stayed in the Hazelrigg family until 1831. After this, the new owner let the property. In 1913 the Northamptonshire Ladies Club purchased the building to use as its meeting place, sharing it with the local

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branch as well as the Northamptonshire Architectural & Archaeological Society. In the early 1960s it was acquired by the national architects practice of Marshman Warren Taylor who remained there until the late 1970s. After this the building sat empty for most of the 1980s, by which time it had been acquired by Northampton Borough Council. In 1989 it was refurbished by its tenant, another firm of architects. In 1994

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

became the tenant, staying until 2004; after this the property was occupied by a succession of children's nurseries.; the property is presently occupied by a theatre company.

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

describes the building thus: "Dates from 17th C. Altered later and reduced in size. Coursed rubble, three big dormers with semi-circular gables typical of the mid 17th C. Tall mullioned windows. Irregular fenestration. Doorway with flat classical surround. Staircase with twisted balusters. Probably later."Pevsner - The buildings of Northamptonshire 2002 p335

References

{{Coord, 52, 14, 12.15, N, 0, 54, 8.92, W, display=title Grade II listed buildings in Northamptonshire Grade II listed houses Houses in Northampton Stone houses Buildings and structures in Northampton Houses completed in the 16th century