Precaution (1820) is the first novel by American author James Fenimore Cooper .
76-479: Precaution is set in the spring of 1815 in Northamptonshire , England. It follows the relationship of Emily Moseley and George Denbigh. The novel was written after a challenge made by his wife Susan. Cooper was reading aloud to her from an English novel but found it dull. He threw the book aside and declared he could write a better book than that himself. Susan Cooper challenged her husband to make good on
152-523: A comprehensive system of state-funded secondary schools. From May 2021 compulsory education in the county is administered by North Northamptonshire Council and West Northamptonshire Council. The county is home to private schools Oundle , Quinton House School , Wellingborough School , Spratton Hall School , Northampton High School . The county's music and performing arts trust provides peripatetic music teaching to schools. It also supports 15 local Saturday morning music and performing arts centres around
228-495: A continental people in the form of the Hallstatt culture , and over the next century a series of hill-forts were constructed at Arbury Camp, Rainsborough camp, Borough Hill , Castle Dykes, Guilsborough , Irthlingborough , and most notably of all, Hunsbury Hill . There are two more possible hill-forts at Arbury Hill ( Badby ) and Thenford . In the 1st century BC, most of what later became Northamptonshire became part of
304-538: A more patriotic theme in his next book, The Spy . Auguste Defauconpret translated Precaution into French in 1825. Precaution was written in imitation of contemporary English domestic novels like those of Jane Austen and Amelia Opie , and it did not meet with contemporary success. It did, however, make Cooper realize his potential as a writer. The author went on to have great success with works such as The Pathfinder (1841) and The Deerslayer (1840). The American reading public responded most to The Last of
380-525: A number of small industrial centres which specialise in engineering and food processing. Much of Northamptonshire's countryside appears to have remained somewhat intractable as regards early human occupation, resulting in an apparently sparse population and relatively few finds from the Palaeolithic , Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. In about 500 BC the Iron Age was introduced into the area by
456-431: A number of very large Danish settlements to the south, including Northampton and Bedford , which existed in a similar fashion. Old Norse: Djúra-bý . Although the area was settled by Danes from 877, it was not under English threat until 913 when Lady Aethelflaed of Mercia campaigned deep into Danish territory and established a burh at nearby Tamworth . In 917 Aethelflaed launched her first offensive foray and selected
532-473: A three-pronged assault, the combined forces of Leicester and Northampton, and possibly Derby, laid siege to the Mercian burh at Towcester . Though isolated by the loss of Derby and Northampton later that year, the Mercian army returned in early 918 to ravage the local countryside, and as a result the fortress surrendered peacefully to Aethelflaed's troops. Relieved of English rule by King Olaf of York in 941,
608-409: A year, as well as a minor injury unit to serve Eastern Northamptonshire. This was opened to relieve pressure off Kettering General Hospital, and has also replaced the dated Rushden Memorial Clinic which provided at the time about 8,000 appointments a year, when open. In June 2008, Anglian Water found traces of Cryptosporidium in water supplies of Northamptonshire. The local reservoir at Pitsford
684-573: Is Arbury Hill southwest of Daventry , at 225 m (738 ft). There are Iron Age and Roman remains in the county, and in the seventh century it was settled by the Angles and Saxons , becoming part of Mercia . The county likely has its origin in the Danelaw as the area controlled from Northampton, which was one of the Five Boroughs . In the later Middle Ages and Early Modern Period
760-780: Is a landlocked county in the southern part of the East Midlands , sometimes known as the South Midlands . The county contains the watershed between the River Severn and The Wash , and several important rivers have their sources in the north-west of the county, including the River Nene , which flows north-eastwards to The Wash, and the Warwickshire Avon , which flows south-west to the Severn. In 1830, it
836-427: Is due to have tens of thousands additional homes built between 2010 and 2020. In North Northamptonshire (Boroughs of Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and East Northants), over 52,000 homes are planned or newly built and 47,000 new jobs are also planned. In West Northamptonshire (boroughs of Northampton, Daventry and South Northants), over 48,000 homes are planned or newly built and 37,000 new jobs are planned. To oversee
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#1732793191157912-640: Is just over the border in Bedfordshire but has a Northamptonshire postcode. A study commissioned by Northamptonshire Enterprise Ltd (NEL) reported that Northamptonshire's motorsport sites attract more than 2.1 million visitors per year who spend a total of more than £131 million within the county. Northamptonshire forms part of the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Growth area which also includes Milton Keynes , Aylesbury Vale and Bedfordshire . This area has been identified as an area which
988-534: Is the most populous civil parish in England, and (prior to 2021) was the most populous urban district in England not to be administered as a unitary authority (even though several smaller districts are unitary). During the 1990s local government reform , Northampton Borough Council petitioned strongly for unitary status, which led to fractured relations with the County Council. The Soke of Peterborough
1064-416: Is within the historic county of Northamptonshire, although it had had a separate county council since 1889 and separate courts of quarter sessions before then. The city of Peterborough has been a unitary authority since 1998, but it forms part of Cambridgeshire for ceremonial purposes . In early 2018, Northamptonshire County Council was declared technically insolvent and would be able to provide only
1140-648: The Capture of the Five Boroughs . For many years afterwards the Five Boroughs were a separate and well defined area of the country where rulers sought support from its leaders, including Swein Forkbeard who gained the submission of the Five Boroughs in 1013, before going on to attack London. In 1015 there is a unique reference to the 'Seven Boroughs', which might have been included Torksey and York. Following Danish conquest in 1016, Earl Sired succeeded to
1216-587: The A361 between Kilsby and Banbury (Oxon) and all B, C and unclassified roads. Since 2009, these highways have been managed on behalf of the county council by MGWSP, a joint venture between May Gurney and WSP. Five Boroughs of the Danelaw The Five Boroughs or The Five Boroughs of the Danelaw were the five main towns of Danish Mercia (what is now the East Midlands ) under
1292-738: The Danelaw – with Watling Street serving as the boundary – until being recaptured by the English under the Wessex king Edward the Elder , son of Alfred the Great , in 917. Northamptonshire was conquered again in 940, this time by the Vikings of York , who devastated the area, only for the county to be retaken by the English in 942. Consequently, it is one of the few counties in England to have both Saxon and Danish town-names and settlements. The county
1368-465: The Danelaw . These were Derby , Leicester , Lincoln , Nottingham and Stamford . The first four later became county towns . Viking raids on England began in the late 8th century, and were largely of the "hit and run" variety. However, in 865 various Viking armies combined and landed in East Anglia , not to raid but to conquer the four Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England. The annals described
1444-585: The King of the English , Edmund I besieged the Viking army at Leicester the same year. Olaf and his advisor Wulfstan I, Archbishop of York , both escaped and the siege was lifted after a peace negotiation ceded the Five Boroughs to the Kingdom of York. Jarl Orm, the likely ruler of Leicester at the time (and who attested charters between 930 and 958 ) married his daughter Aldgyth to King Olaf later that year to cement
1520-674: The Labour Party and two from the Conservative Party . Several of the constituencies have been marginal in the past, including the Northampton seats, Wellingborough, Kettering, and Corby, which were all Labour seats before 2005. In the 2016 EU referendum, all of the Northamptonshire districts voted to Leave, most by a significant margin. From 1993 until 2005, Northamptonshire County Council, for which each of
1596-758: The Nene Valley near Raunds . A large fort was built at Longthorpe . After the Romans left, the area eventually became part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia , and Northampton functioned as an administrative centre. The Mercians converted to Christianity in 654 AD with the death of the pagan king Penda . From about 889 the area was conquered by the Danes (as at one point almost all of England was, except for Athelney marsh in Somerset ) and became part of
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#17327931911571672-646: The Soke of Peterborough . The county is characterised by low, undulating hills, particularly to the west. They are the source of several rivers, including the Avon and Welland , which form much of the northern border; the Cherwell ; and the Great Ouse . The River Nene is the principal river within the county, having its source in the southwest and flowing northeast past Northampton and Wellingborough. The highest point
1748-569: The South Midlands has been described as " Motorsport Valley ... a global hub" for the motor sport industry. The Mercedes-AMG and Aston Martin Formula One teams have their bases at Brackley and Silverstone respectively, while Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines and, formerly, Cosworth , are also in the county at Brixworth and Northampton respectively. International motor racing takes place at Silverstone Circuit and, formerly, Rockingham Motor Speedway ; Santa Pod Raceway
1824-745: The Wars of the Roses , the Battle of Northampton took place and King Henry VI was captured. The now-ruined Fotheringhay Castle was used to imprison Mary, Queen of Scots , before her execution. During the English Civil War , Northamptonshire strongly supported the Parliamentarian cause, and the Royalist forces suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Naseby in 1645 in the north of
1900-459: The fortress at Derby as her target. At that time the local ruler had probably joined with the armies from Northampton and Leicester in a number of raids to attack Mercia. Aethelflaed took advantage of the weakened burh, and successfully assaulted the town in July 917; the whole region subsequently being annexed into English Mercia. The Danes might well have established their military headquarters on
1976-409: The 19th century. In the north of the county a large ironstone quarrying industry developed from 1850. In 1823 Northamptonshire was said to "[enjoy] a very pure and wholesome air" because of its dryness and distance from the sea. Its livestock were celebrated: "Horned cattle, and other animals, are fed to extraordinary sizes: and many horses of the large black breed are reared." Nine years later,
2052-551: The 73 electoral divisions in the county elected a single councillor, had been held by the Labour Party; it had been under no overall control since 1981. The councils of the rural districts – Daventry, East Northamptonshire, and South Northamptonshire – were strongly Conservative, whereas the political composition of the urban districts was more mixed. At the 2003 local elections, Labour lost control of Kettering, Northampton, and Wellingborough, retaining only Corby. Elections for
2128-627: The County of Huntingdon and Peterborough, was not reinstated as a Shire county in its own right in 1974. Instead, Huntingdonshire was transferred to and became a district of Cambridgeshire. Since 1965, Northamptonshire has been one of the small number of English counties that does not contain a city. In 1879, a local government district was created covering the three parishes of Market Harborough and Great Bowden and Little Bowden . When elected county councils were established in 1889, local government districts were placed entirely in one county, and thus
2204-631: The East Anglian Danes when they advanced to Tempsford and built a new fortress in July 917. From here, the joint army attempted to recover the recently fallen burh at Bedford, but were severely defeated and put to flight by the English garrison. The burh was occupied by the Edward's West Saxon army shortly afterwards. Cambridge was first occupied by the Danes under kings Guthrum , Osketel and Anwend in 875, whose armies took up quarters there over
2280-770: The Edwardian burh of around 2700 ft ( c. 650 hides). The following burhs were not part of the Five Boroughs, but were Danish settled towns with large armies and ruled in a similar manner. These Danes often acted in alliance with those of the Five Boroughs and the Danish King of East Anglia. First recorded invading newly ceded Mercian territories with their allies in 913, the Northampton Danes were initially very successful. However, on their return they were defeated by local Mercian forces near Luton , losing many horses and weapons. In December 914, their strength
2356-469: The Elder of Wessex during 916 and 917. The area was subsequently ruled by the Earls of Mercia until King Olaf of York reoccupied the five former Danish burhs following a major offensive in 941, perhaps assisted by local Danish leaders. Danish rule was not restored for long before King Edmund recovered the Five Boroughs in 942. It is at this time the Five Boroughs are first recorded in an English poem known as
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2432-474: The Five Boroughs was ruled as a Danish jarldom , controlling lands around a fortified burh , which served as the centre of political power. The rulers were probably initially subject to their overlords in the Viking Kingdom of Jorvik (or York ) and operated their armies sometimes independently but often in alliance with the rulers of their neighbours. In addition to the Five Boroughs there were also
2508-476: The Great 's biographer, Asser , the Vikings then split into two bands. Halfdan led one band north to Northumbria. The Vikings returned in 877 to partition Mercia: the west of the kingdom went to Ceolwulf II, whilst in the east the Five Boroughs began as the fortified burhs of five Danish armies who settled the area and established the Danelaw , the area where their native law and customs prevailed. Each of
2584-671: The M1 to the M40 motorway , passing through the south of the county to the junction west of Brackley, and the A45 links Northampton with Wellingborough and Peterborough. The county road network (excluding trunk roads and motorways), managed by West Northamptonshire Council and North Northamptonshire Council, includes the A45 west of the M1 motorway , the A43 between Northampton and the county boundary near Stamford,
2660-485: The Mohicans (1826). Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( / n ɔːr ˈ θ æ m p t ə n ʃ ər , - ʃ ɪər / nor- THAMP -tən-shər, -sheer ; abbreviated Northants. ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire , Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire , Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire to
2736-633: The River Ouse . Thurketel then became Edward's client, until he permitted the Danish ruler to leave with his followers for France in the summer of 916. In July 917 the Danish East Anglian army advanced to Tempsford and launched an attack to recover Bedford. The Danish army was defeated and put to flight. It was later incorporated into the enlarged Earldom of East Anglia in the early 10th century. The Danes of Huntingdon were allies with
2812-561: The Soke had its own county council , making it an autonomous district of Northamptonshire. In 1965, the ancient Soke of Peterborough was abolished by the Local Government Boundary Commission ; the city of Peterborough and the surrounding villages that were previously part of the Soke, were transferred to the newly created county of Huntingdon and Peterborough . The new county of Huntingdon and Peterborough
2888-687: The Vikings had previously overwintered in the nearby fortress of Torksey in Lindsey from 873 to 874. Lincoln probably surrendered in 918 following the capitulation of all the Danish territories on the border of Mercia and Wessex. As a former Roman legionary town, the burh probably based its walls on the old fortress of 41 acres ( c. 1300 hides). The Viking army under Ivar the Boneless and Halfdan Ragnarsson first occupied Nottingham in 868 and subsequently set up winter quarters there. Burgred and his West Saxon allies laid siege, but made peace and allowed
2964-519: The Vikings to retreat after little serious fighting in 869. Danish reoccupation and settlement began in 877, and lasted until the assault by King Edward of Wessex in the summer of 918. Edward constructed a second burh on the opposite side of the Trent in 920 to further fortify the area from Danish attack. Saxon Nottingham was known to have covered about 39 acres, which may have put the burh at c. 1300 hides. The West Saxon Ealdorman Aethelnoth invaded
3040-615: The alliance. The burh might have made use of the walls of the Roman Leicester ( Ratae Corieltauvorum ), of approx 7,800 ft (2,400 m) ( c. 1900 hides). The burh at Lincoln guarded the route between Wessex and York , and was protected from much of the Anglo-Danish fighting due to its isolated location. The Lincoln Danes settled the area formerly occupied by the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Lindsey , where
3116-480: The area around Stamford in the summer of 894, but the town was not besieged and Danish rule remained unaffected. The end came when King Edward assaulted Stamford in late May 918 and the burh soon fell to the army of Wessex. Later that year Edward built a second burh on the south side of the River Welland . From Roffe, the ramparts of the northern burh might have been of approx 3100 ft ( c. 750 hides), and
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3192-617: The average weather for Northamptonshire from the Moulton weather station. Between 1974 and 2021, Northamptonshire, like most English counties, was divided into a number of local authorities. The seven borough/district councils covered 15 towns and hundreds of villages. The county had a two-tier structure of local government and an elected county council based in Northampton , and was also divided into seven districts each with their own district or borough councils: Northampton itself
3268-499: The bare essential services. According to The Guardian the problems were caused by "a reckless half-decade in which it refused to raise council tax to pay for the soaring costs of social care" and "partly due to past failings, the council is now having to make some drastic decisions to reduce services to a core offer." Some observers, such as Simon Edwards of the County Councils Network , added another perspective on
3344-504: The cause of the financial crisis, the United Kingdom government austerity programme : "It is clear that, partly due to past failings, the council is now having to make some drastic decisions to reduce services to a core offer. However, we can't ignore that some of the underlying causes of the challenges facing Northamptonshire, such as dramatic reductions to council budgets and severe demand for services, mean county authorities across
3420-607: The combined force as the " Great Heathen Army ". In 871, the Vikings' campaign was reinforced when the Great Summer Army arrived from Scandinavia . In 874, following their winter stay in Repton (in present-day Derbyshire), the Great Heathen Army drove King Burgred of Mercia into exile and conquered Mercia; the Vikings replaced the exiled Mercian king with King Ceolwulf II of Mercia . According to Alfred
3496-561: The country face funding pressures of £3.2bn over the next two years." In early 2018, following the events above, Government-appointed commissioners took over control of the council's affairs. Consequently, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government commissioned an independent report which, in March 2018, proposed structural changes to local government in Northamptonshire. These changes, implemented on 1 April 2021, saw
3572-583: The county and provides a range of county-level music groups. There are seven colleges across the county, with the Tresham College of Further and Higher Education having four campuses in three towns: Corby , Kettering and Wellingborough . Tresham, which was taken over by Bedford College in 2017 due to failed Ofsted inspections, provides further education and offers vocational courses and re-sit GCSEs . It also offers Higher Education options in conjunction with several universities. Other colleges in
3648-984: The county are: Fletton House , Knuston Hall , Moulton College , Northampton College , Northampton New College and The East Northamptonshire College . Northamptonshire has one university, the University of Northampton . It has two campuses 2.5 miles (4.0 km) apart and 10,000 students. It offers courses for needs and interests from foundation and undergraduate level to postgraduate, professional and doctoral qualifications. Subjects include traditional arts, humanities and sciences subjects, as well as entrepreneurship, product design and advertising. The main acute National Health Service hospitals in Northamptonshire Northampton General Hospital , which also operates Danetre Hospital in Daventry, and Kettering General Hospital . In
3724-437: The county was described as "a county enjoying the reputation of being one of the healthiest and pleasantest parts of England" although the towns were "of small importance" with the exceptions of Peterborough and Northampton. In summer, the county hosted "a great number of wealthy families... country seats and villas are to be seen at every step." Northamptonshire is still referred to as the county of "spires and squires" because of
3800-634: The county was relatively settled, although Northampton was the location of engagements during the First and Second Barons' Wars and the Wars of the Roses , and during the First English Civil War Naseby was the site of a decisive battle which destroyed the main Royalist army. During the Industrial Revolution Northamptonshire became known for its footwear, and the contemporary county has
3876-517: The county, Northampton being the largest and most populous. At the time of the 2011 census a population of 691,952 lived in the county, with 212,069 living in Northampton. The table below shows all towns with over 10,000 inhabitants. As of 2010 there were 16 settlements in Northamptonshire with a town charter: Like the rest of the British Isles , Northamptonshire has an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification ). The table below shows
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#17327931911573952-417: The county. King Charles I was imprisoned at Holdenby House in 1647. George Washington , the first President of the United States of America, was born into the Washington family who had migrated to America from Northamptonshire in 1656. George Washington 's ancestor, Lawrence Washington, was Mayor of Northampton on several occasions and it was he who bought Sulgrave Manor from Henry VIII in 1539. It
4028-465: The enlarged Earldom of East Anglia under Æthelstan Half-King in the 930s. In 941, then in the hands of the Mercians, Northampton faced an unsuccessful siege by King Olaf of York. The 'army' of Northampton was still in existence in 984 when they were recorded witnessing the sale of land. The size of the Anglo-Danish burh at Northampton has been estimated to have ramparts 3,000 ft (910 m) in length (equivalent to c. 700 hides), making it one of
4104-434: The entire County Council were held every four years – the last were held on 4 May 2017 . The County Council used a leader and cabinet executive system and abolished its area committees in April 2006. Historically, Northamptonshire's main industry was manufacturing of boots and shoes. Many of the manufacturers closed down in the Thatcher era which in turn left many county people unemployed. Although R Griggs and Co Ltd,
4180-521: The existing county council and district councils abolished and two new unitary authorities created in their place. One unitary authority, West Northamptonshire , consists of the former districts of Daventry , Northampton and South Northamptonshire ; the other, North Northamptonshire , consists of the former East Northamptonshire district and the former boroughs of Corby , Kettering and Wellingborough . Northamptonshire returns seven Members of Parliament (MPs). As of 2024 , five are currently from
4256-415: The former Roman fort of Derventio . This 6-acre (24,000 m ) rectangular fort would have given the burh the equivalent of c. 500 hides. The Vikings had camped at nearby Repton in 874, and had abandoned it a year later after suffering significantly from disease during their stay (leading to the discovery of a grave containing 245 bodies). Leicester became one of the more formidable Danish burhs;
4332-504: The government is encouraging development in the South Midlands area, including Northamptonshire. The city and Soke of Peterborough were part of the historic county of Northamptonshire; from the time that formal county boundaries were established by the Normans in the 11th century, to 1965. The Church of England Diocese of Peterborough that covers Northamptonshire is still centred at Peterborough Cathedral . The city of Peterborough had its own courts of quarter sessions and, later,
4408-399: The local ruler combined his army with that of Northampton and raided the West Saxon territories of Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire in 913, and defied King Edward the Elder to besiege the West Saxon burh of Hertford . This provoked Aethelflaed to move her armies up to the fringes of Danish-occupied territory around Leicester in 914 and to construct a burh at Warwick . In July 917, as part of
4484-535: The manufacturer of Dr. Martens , still has its UK base in Wollaston near Wellingborough , the shoe industry has deeply declined as manufacturing has moved away from England. There were over 2,000 shoemakers in the region in the mid 19th century, today the number is over 30 left. Large employers include the breakfast cereal manufacturers Weetabix , in Burton Latimer , the Carlsberg brewery in Northampton , Avon Products , Nationwide Building Society, Siemens , Barclaycard , Saxby Bros Ltd and Golden Wonder . In
4560-442: The numbers of stately homes and ancient churches. Prior to 1901 the ancient hundreds were disused. Northamptonshire was administered as four major divisions: Northern, Eastern, Mid, and Southern. During the 1930s, the town of Corby was established as a major centre of the steel industry. Much of Northamptonshire nevertheless remains rural. Corby was designated a new town in 1950 and Northampton followed in 1968. As of 2005
4636-427: The parish of Little Bowden, a neighbourhood of Market Harborough, was transferred from Northamptonshire to Leicestershire . Until 1832 and 1835, Stamford Baron St Martin which forms the southern part of the town of Stamford in Lincolnshire was part of Northamptonshire as St Martin Without . It was later incorporated into the then Municipal Borough of Stamford under the then Parts of Kesteven . Northamptonshire
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#17327931911574712-449: The planned developments, two urban regeneration companies have been created: North Northants Development Company (NNDC) and the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation. The NNDC launched a controversial campaign called North Londonshire to attract people from London to the county. There is also a county-wide tourism campaign with the slogan Northamptonshire, Let yourself grow . Northamptonshire County Council previously operated
4788-405: The smaller Danish burhs. The Danish burh was first under threat from the advance of the West Saxon army in 914. In November that year Bedford was surrounded in a pincer movement by Edward, and the ruling Jarl Thurketel submitted with all of his followers. Edward returned in November 915 to the Danish-held fortress, this time taking direct control of it and building a second burh on the south bank of
4864-612: The south and Warwickshire to the west. Northampton is the largest settlement and the county town . The county has an area of 2,364 km (913 sq mi) and a population of 747,622. The latter is concentrated in the centre of the county, which contains the county's largest towns: Northampton (249,093), Corby (75,571), Kettering (63,150), and Wellingborough (56,564). The northeast and southwest are rural. The county contains two local government districts , North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire , which are both unitary authority areas . The historic county included
4940-446: The south-west of the county, the towns of Brackley, Towcester and surrounding villages are serviced by the Horton General Hospital in Banbury in neighbouring Oxfordshire for acute medical needs. A similar arrangement is in place for the town of Oundle and nearby villages, served by Peterborough City Hospital . In February 2011 a new satellite out-patient centre opened at Nene Park, Irthlingborough to provide over 40,000 appointments
5016-435: The statement. The result was Precaution , which was published anonymously and instead accredited to an English woman. The publisher, A. T. Goodrich, later surprised the public by revealing that Precaution was authored by a man from New York. Cooper later noted that, in writing Precaution , he "embraced a crude effort to describe foreign manners". He responded to critics who thought he should focus on American topics by using
5092-424: The territory of the Catuvellauni , a Belgic tribe , the Northamptonshire area forming their most northerly possession. The Catuvellauni were in turn conquered by the Romans in 43 AD. The Roman road of Watling Street passed through the county, and an important Roman settlement, Lactodurum , stood on the site of modern-day Towcester . There were other Roman settlements at Northampton , Kettering and along
5168-479: The water crisis. The gap in the hills at Watford Gap meant that many south-east to north-west routes passed through Northamptonshire. Watling Street , a Roman Road which is now part of the A5 , passes through here, as did canals, railways and major roads in later years. Major national roads, including the M1 motorway (London to Leeds) and the A14 (Rugby to Felixstowe), provide Northamptonshire with transport links both north–south and east–west. The A43 joins
5244-492: The west of the county is the Daventry International Railfreight Terminal ; which is a major rail freight terminal located on the West Coast Main Line near Rugby . Wellingborough also has a smaller railfreight depot on Finedon Road, called Nelisons sidings. This is a chart of trend of the regional gross value added of Northamptonshire at current basic prices in millions of British Pounds Sterling (correct on 21 December 2005): The region of Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and
5320-412: The winter. In 911 it was first threatened by Edward, who built an opposing burh at Hertford . With the fall of Huntingdon, it left Cambridge the last independent host on which Danish East Anglia could rely, however the tide had turned and the Danes of Cambridge submitted to Edward in late 917. Danish rule of the Five Boroughs was lost following the English reconquests under Æthelflæd of Mercia and Edward
5396-443: Was George Washington's great-grandfather, John Washington , who emigrated in 1656 from Northamptonshire to Virginia . Before Washington's ancestors moved to Sulgrave , they lived in Warton , Lancashire. In the 18th and 19th centuries, parts of Northamptonshire and the surrounding area became industrialised. The local specialisation was shoemaking and the leather industry and became one of Britain's major centres for these crafts by
5472-565: Was boasted that "not a single brook, however insignificant, flows into it from any other district". In the west of the county, the hills most commonly referred to as the Northamptonshire Uplands can be found, in this area, the highest point in the county, Arbury Hill , at 225 metres (738 ft), can be found, just to the south of Daventry . The boundary with Lincolnshire is England's shortest ceremonial county boundary, at 20 yards (18 metres). There are several towns in
5548-567: Was first recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (1011), as Hamtunscire : the scire ( shire ) of Hamtun (the homestead). The "North" was added to distinguish Northampton from the other important Hamtun further south: Southampton – though the origins of the two names are in fact different. Rockingham Castle was built for William the Conqueror and was used as a Royal fortress until Elizabethan times. In 1460, during
5624-477: Was further depleted when a number of Northampton Danes submitted to Edward at Bedford. With the loss of Derby and East Anglia and the advance of King Edward, their ruler, Jarl Thurferth, and the men of Northampton and Cambridge submitted to the West Saxons in 917. Thurferth remained the client ruler, and attested four charters of King Æthelstan dated between 930 and 934. Northampton was later incorporated in
5700-461: Was investigated and a European rabbit which had strayed into it, causing the problem, was found. About 250,000 residents were affected; by 14 July 2008, 13 cases of cryptosporidiosis attributed to water in Northampton had been reported. Following the end of the investigation, Anglian Water lifted its boil notice for all affected areas on 4 July 2008. Anglian Water revealed that it would pay up to £30 per household as compensation for customers hit by
5776-404: Was short lived; it was abolished in 1974. Upon its abolishment, the city of Peterborough and the other settlements that were once part of the former Soke, were transferred to the county of Cambridgeshire, instead of being transferred back to Northamptonshire. Additionally, the former historical county of Huntingdonshire , which had been abolished along with the Soke of Peterborough in 1965 to create
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