| Best foot
forward 19th - 22nd April 2012 A City Safari walking tour of Northampton, led by Sue Constable - 3 nights, from £295pp Click to download full details and a booking form |
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Northampton has a long and distinguished history. There is evidence for a thriving market town long before the Norman Conquest. Later in the middle ages parliaments were held there and it became a regular stop on journeys to and from London.
Shoemaking was recorded in the town as early as 1200 and grew into a major industry. By 1500 ready made shoes were being sent to London for sale. Until the middle of the 19th century shoe making was carried out in small workshops by hand. The introduction of machinery led to the development of factories, though the hand made trade survived until the 1950s. Our visit will explore the landscape of the shoe industry and the development of the town as well as looking at ancillary industries such as tanning and engineering. There are several shoe factories still in production and we plan to include a visit to one of them. The town centre was devastated by a fire in the early 17th century leaving little of the medieval town standing. All Saints church was built after the fire and forms a centre point to the town. Nearby is the Guildhall, a notable mid 19th century building with later additions. |
 Northampton Guild Hall |
Castle Factory Long Buckby |
Also to be visited are the site of the Express Lift factory, an interesting bus garage and the river side including a brewery (or two) and a corn merchant.
On Saturday afternoon we will visit one of the shoemaking villages in the area around Northampton and look how that developed over the years. There will be a fair amount of walking on this visit due to the nature of some of the sites. Travel will be on the local transport network. Accommodation will be in a town centre hotel. Click to download full details and a booking form |
