Northallerton, market town, par., and township,
North-Riding Yorkshire, on Sun Beck, affluent of the
AViske, 15 miles SE. of Darlington, 30 miles NAV. of
York, and 221 miles from London by rail—par., 14,364
ac., pop. 5640; town and township, 3650 ac., pop. 3692;
P.O., T.O., 3 Banks. Market-day, Wednesday. North-
allerton is the capital of the North-Riding. The industries
are not extensive, but include malting, brewing, tanning,
and brickmaking. There is a large trade in agricultural
produce, a cheese fair, and fairs for horses, cattle, and
sheep. Near the town, at the place called Standard Hill,
was fought the “Battle of the Standard” (1138), in which
the Scottish King David I. was defeated by Thorstan,
Archbishop of York. Northallerton returned 2 members
to Parl. from 1640 until 1832, and 1 member until 1885.

Northam.—par. and vil., Devon—par. (containing
Appledore), 4190 ac., pop. 4454; vil., 14 mile NAV. of
Bideford; P.O.; in vicinity are large golfing links called
Northain Burrows ; the entire par. is a local govern-
ment district.—2. Northam, eccl. dist. and ry. sta.,
Southampton St Mary par., Hants, within Southampton
borough, pop. 4178 ; P.O., T.O.

Northampton, parl. and mun. bor., and capital of
Northamptonshire, on river Nen, 21 miles NAV. of Bed-
ford and 674 miles NAV. of London by rail—mun. bor.,
1342 ac., pop. 51,881; parl. bor., 2406 ac., pop. 57,544;
3 Banks, 7 newspapers. Market-days, Wednesday and
Saturday. During Saxon times the appellation of the
place was Hamtune, Northafendon, &c., while in the
Domesday Book it appears as Northaneton. The dis-
tinguishing prefix North” was adopted to prevent
confusion with other places having similar names—
e.g., Southampton. The town has a high degree of
historical interest. In 921 it was a possession of the
Danes, by whom it was burnt in 1010. After the
Conquest it was a royal residence; and, beginning with
1179, was the meeting place of several parliaments, one
of which ratified the “ Treaty of Northampton,” which
acknowledged the independence of Scotland (1328).
Henry VI. was defeated and taken prisoner here in the
sanguinary battle of the 10th July 1460. The old castle
and walls, dating from the 11th century, were demo-
lished in 1662. Objects of considerable interest to
antiquarians are the Knights Templars’ church, one of
the four round churches in England, and a beautiful
Eleanor cross. All Saints Church was rebuilt (1680) by
AVren, after being burnt in the great fire which nearly
destroyed the town in 1675. The staple trade of North-
ampton is the mfr. of boots and shoes, an industry
which has made extraordinary progress during recent
years, and now shows an enormous output of work.
Leather mfr. is largely carried on; also brewing, malting,
iron and brass founding, and paper making. The town
has a canal from the Nen, uniting with the Grand
Junction system. The bor. returns 2 members to Parl.

Northamptonshire (or Northampton), south-mid-
land county of England, bounded N. by Leicestershire,
Rutland, and Lincolnshire, E. by Cambridgeshire,
Huntingdonshire, and Bedfordshire, S. by Bucks and
Oxfordshire, and AV. by AVarwickshire; greatest length,
NE. to SAV., about 70 miles; greatest breadth, E. to
AV., about 26 miles; area, 629,912 ac., pop. 272,555.
Although the surface appearance of the county is
generally hilly there are no elevations of consider-
able altitude, the highest being near Daventry, where
Arbury Hill reaches 804 ft. The NE. part of the
county belongs to the Fen district. In some localities,
particularly the AV. and SAV., the scenery is especially
attractive ; while here and there throughout the co.
rich woods and well-watered vales afford pleasing
aspects. The chief rivers are the Nen and the AVel-
land ; the Avon forms a part of the N. boundary of the
co., the Cherwell of the SAV. boundary, and the Leam
of the AV. boundary; the Ouse has its rise near Brackley
in the S. The canal system includes the Union and
Grand Junction Canal, besides other similar waterways.
On the uplands the soil is a fine brown loam, but the
richest portion is found in the black mould of the Fen
district. Throughout the whole co. farming is success-
fully prosecuted, all kinds of cereal and green crops
being raised; while upon the splendid pastures large
numbers of cattle are reared, principally for the London
market. (For agricultural statistics, see Appendix.)
Northampton is celebrated for its ash trees, old oaks,
and elm avenues. Lias and oolite are the prevail-
ing geological formations. Iron is largely found, and
although worked as early as the time of the Roman
occupation, its modern mfr. dates only from 1850, since
which year remarkable progress has been made by the

Gazetteer of the British Isles, Statistical and Topographical, by John Bartholomew, F.R.G.S.

Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1887. Public domain image from Gedcomindex.com