Monument record 1160/87 - Medieval University, Northampton

A university may have been present in the town by the late 12th century, but there was no offical decree until 1261. However, its removal was ordered in 1265, perhaps because the students had sided against the King during the siege of Northampton in 1264.

{4} It is often stated that the students who had been driven from Oxford when the king made that town his headquarters, and who were supposed to have migrated, with their masters, to Northampton, “were here found fighting against the king with the utmost zeal”, and that they “did more damage with their bows, slings and crossbows than all the rest”. Their conduct is said to have so angered Henry that he resolved to put them to death, and was restrained from doing so only when advised of the danger of alienating the many influential families to which some of the young men belonged. Some of the students are said to have resorted to a hasty tonsure in order to claim benefit of clergy should they be brought to trial.
It is now clearly established that Henry III expelled the university from Oxford early in 1264, not because he believed the masters and students to be hostile to his cause, but simply for the convenience and for the preservation of public order in a crowded town which was to be his headquarters for several weeks. The migration from Oxford to Northampton is likely never to have been large, nor organised, and had no special political significance: a group of masters and students, seceding from Cambridge, had settled in Northampton a few years earlier, and had even received approval; and encouragement from Henry in February 1262, so it was natural that some of the masters and students displaced from Oxford early in 1264 should have gone to Northampton.

{5} It was not until 1261 that the King officially issued a decree permitting the establishment of a university at Northampton. The universities of the 13th century were very different in every respect from those of the present day. Official college buildings didn't exist; the students were scattered about the town in various houses and taverns. No system of university discipline was maintained and there were no courses of organised study.

{7} Scholars are known in Northampton as early as 1176 and migrations of students to Northampton subsequently occurred, from Oxford in 1238 and 1264 and Cambridge in 1261. In 1265 however, King Henry III ordered the removal of the students and university from Northampton. A 14th century chronicle suggests that this was because the students had sided with Simon de Montfort against the King at the seige of Northampton in 1264. It has also been argued, however, that contemporary sources indicate that the detrimental effect of a university at Northampton on the borough of Oxford was the overriding reason.

<1> Calendar of Close Rolls (1264-8), p.92-3 (unchecked) (Document). SNN108506.

<2> Powicke F.M.; Emden A.B. (Editors), 1936, The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, p.86-9 (unchecked) (Book). SNN108504.

<3> Richardson H.G., 1941, The Schools of Northampton in the Twelfth Century, p.595-605 (unchecked) (Article). SNN108503.

<4> Treharne R.F., 1955, The Battle of Northampton, 5th April, 1264, p.89 (checked) (Article). SNN108507.

<5> WHITE A.P., 1986, The Story of Northampton, p.79-84 (checked) (Book). SNN56485.

<6> Powicke F.M., 1947, King Henry III and the Lord Edward (2 volumes), p.784-7 (unchecked) (Book). SNN108505.

<7> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1985, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.55 (checked) (Series). SNN77383.

Record last edited

Jul 3 2025 12:50PM