Monument record 1160/238/1 - Swan Street formerly Cow Lane

Minor lane which had been laid out by the 13th century.

{3} The first appearance of Cow Lane (the medieval name for Swan Street) is inferred from a 1275 reference to Cougate. There are subsequent references of 1414 to four cottages with gardens and thereafter to stables and orchards.

{4} One of the oldest of the smaller thoroughfares, occurring in various documents pertaining to the Anglo-Norman town.

{5} Excavations have demonstrated that this street was not laid out until the 13th century.

{6} By the 13th century Cow Lane (Swan Street) had been laid out, the quarry pits were being backfilled and the land terraced for occupation. From the late 13th century, an ironstone wall served as a property boundary and revetment for the terrace. This boundary wall was retained through later periods up to the present development. In the 15th century, on the upslope side of the wall a number of dwellings were erected with gardens and stone-lined cesspits to the rear, and probably with stables and orchards beyond. In the 16th century, the buildings had been demolished, the stonework robbed, and existing pits backfilled to level the land for horticultural use. The 17th and 18th centuries saw renewed activity, and the site again became used as backyards, with drains, stone-lined cesspits, and post-built structures.

<1> Speed J., 1610, Map of Northamptonshire, (checked) (Map). SNN559.

<2> Noble; Butlin, 1746, Town Map, (checked) (Map). SNN430.

<3> Shepherd N., 2013, Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment: Swan Street, Northampton, p.13 (checked) (Report). SNN109229.

<4> Cox Rev.J.C., 1898, Records of The Borough of Northampton, p. 518 (Book). SNN3420.

<5> Shaw, M, 2020, Approaches to the analysis of the topography, origins, growth and development of English medieval towns: case studies of selected towns and their wider applicability, p. 174 (Thesis). SNN116307.

<6> Horne, B (editor), 2016, South Midlands Archaeology (46), p. 44 (Journal). SNN111326.

Record last edited

Sep 29 2025 9:27AM