Scheduled Monument: Saxon Palace Complex and Saxon and Medieval Urban Deposits in the Centre of Northampton (1006620)

Description of the monument The scheduled area covers the remains of the Saxon Palace complex, and overlying Saxon and Medieval urban deposits. Recent excavations in Northampton have demonstrated that the town has a lengthy and complex history stretching back at least to Saxon times. During the Middle Saxon period a major palace and ecclesiastical complex comprising two churches flanking the east and west ends of a royal hall occupied this central area of the town. The medieval church of St Peter, still in use today, overlies the western palace church. The eastern church underlies the ruins of the medieval church of St Gregory. Both would originally have been of timber construction but were soon rebuilt in stone. Each would have provided a focus for burials, and indeed some burials of Saxon date were recorded in excavations south of St Gregory’s Street. The royal hall was also originally a timber construction quickly rebuilt in stone. The scale of the rebuilding which occurred within the complex is indicated by the group of mortar mixers also discovered during excavation. In the late Saxon period the nature of settlement and activity changed and the palace complex fell out of use to be replaced by individual properties carefully arranged as tenements fronting onto firmly established street lines such as the Marefair. Within these properties activities of a commercial and industrial nature were beginning to develop, thus transforming Northampton for the first time into a settlement recognisable as a town. The period from the Norman conquest up to the 12th century was one of consolidation, expansion and prosperity for Northampton. During this time it grew from a well-established yet middling shire town into one of the great centres of England. It was renowned particularly for its markets and fairs. The recent excavations examined a block of land running north-south between Marefair and the Green. The archaeological deposits in this block have been removed and hence are excluded from the present scheduling. Although with the exception of St Peter’s church and the ruins of St Gregory’s church there are no visible archaeological features surviving above ground in the scheduled area, the recent excavations confirmed that substantial buried deposits of Saxon and medieval date survive extensively beneath the present ground surface. The modern buildings on the site including the church of St Peter are excluded from the scheduled area. The deposits underlying these buildings are, however, included. Also excluded are the cellars underlying properties fronting onto Marefair. Assessment of importance On current information, the form of the Middle Saxon Palace on this site is of a unique type within the British Isles and is one of only four such royal centres to have been extensively examined in England. Well-preserved late Saxon urban deposits are a rare resource throughout England and the survival of the Saxon and medieval urban deposits in Northampton is now largely restricted to this area of the town. This is the core area of Northampton and lies within the streets (Marefair, Horsemarket and Horseshoe Street) established as the main axes of the late Saxon town. Apart from the general urban deposits, burials of medieval date are thought to survive around both medieval churches.

Record last edited

Aug 30 2022 11:39AM