Northampton Market's treasures star in new QR code trail
Visitors to a market square can now follow a trail to discover where artefacts dating back to medieval times were found.QR codes have been installed at Northampton's newly-refurbished market which link to a map and detailed information about the treasure trove of finds.The objects include a decorated leather flask, part of a boot, and an archer's wrist guard.There is also evidence of a market hall which historians previously knew nothing about.
Northampton Market reopened in October 2024 after a £12m refurbishment project.New Italian-made market stalls were put in place, along with a water feature and a dedicated events space.
Work by the Museum of London Archaeology team took place before and during the refurbishment and unearthed a range of objects including: A decorated medieval leather flaskA medieval wrist guard for an archerThe upper part of a medieval bootPart of a medieval decorative leather strapMedieval leather offcuts of udders
There was evidence of several structures which had long disappeared including a fine stone building in the centre of the market square which may have been a previous market hall.There was also another stone building dating from the first half of the 12th Century and some evidence of the Great Conduit, a stone structure, which may have been built by Edward VI to bring water to Northampton Castle.There were signs of some of the structures on the west side of the market, which were visible on a map of the town by renowned cartographer John Speed and stood before the Great Fire of Northampton in 1675.
Dan Lister, West Northamptonshire Council's cabinet member for local economy, said: "We have quite a collection of fascinating artefacts which are still being studied by experts in a bid to shed even more light on the heritage of our Market Square. "We are intrigued to see if they manage to uncover anything else during the excavations, which are being carried out to bring a new and energised public space to Northampton town centre."
Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
'My husband is livid over my Father's Day mistake - his reaction is baffling'
A husband was left furious when his wife forgot the date that Father's Day was celebrated in his home country - despite the fact that the long-married couple had never marked that day before, leaving her totally confused Big days of celebration unfortunately often come with the odd bit of family tension. From arguments over Christmas roast dinner to passive aggression over birthday presents - sometimes the pressure to be having a good day, all day, can become too much for people, and the celebration itself becomes something of a lightning rod for a good old row. And one woman was left pretty baffled when her husband accused her of forgetting Father's Day - on the date it is celebrated in the country he grew up in. This was because, throughout their long marriage, they had never actually marked it before, always choosing to celebrate Father's Day with the rest of the UK in June. She took to Mumsnet looking for advice on whether her confusion over his reaction was valid - and what she should do to rectify things. The mum wrote: "We have lived in the UK for many years and not celebrated European mother's day or father's day. He is European but I am British and we did used to live in his country. He's been off with me since Wednesday and just let me know tonight that he's disappointed in me for not acknowledging his special day. "My response was sorry BUT we don't normally celebrate this so why would I now after 10 years suddenly realise that he wants me to organise a celebration for him?" The woman added, "I do always make a fuss of him on UK father's day, gift, special day out. Am I the worst wife ever? Should I cancel mother's day?" Her husband is Italian, she also explained, and in his country, Father's Day was celebrated on 20 March. Commenters were, for the most part, quick to throw their support behind the woman, saying she hadn't done anything wrong by not marking the day if the couple never usually did. "I'd just tell him that you'd planned to celebrate on UK Father's Day like you do every year, so get over it. You've probably got enough to do without pandering to his every whim," wrote one user. "We live in Germany. I buy cards for our UK-based parents on the relevant British dates," wrote another. "We celebrate the local dates for us because it fitted in with DC preparing cards in Kindergarten and school. Your DH should've told you that he wanted to celebrate on his home country's day instead, or is he assuming you're a mind reader!" They continued. Several commenters wondered whether the woman's husband was purposefully starting an argument right before British Mother's Day - to get out of having to do anything special for his wife. "The timing of this is really odd … right before Mother's Day. Does he have form for ruining your special days?" one asked. Another echoed these sentiments, saying: "Seems like he doesn't want to treat you on mother's day and pulled this trick out him he is being petty"
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Children's home in residential Northampton cul-de-sac approved
A five-bedroom home in a cul-de-sac will be turned into a small children's home despite objections from Northamptonshire Council approved the proposal to transform a home in Blossac Court, Duston, Northampton, into a residence that would care for three vulnerable children aged five to conversion, put forward by applicant Neil Verlander, received 76 objections from members of the public and there were calls at the planning meeting for its planning papers, the applicant Mr Verlander said the new home would be a "nurturing, warm and welcoming" environment for vulnerable young people. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, many objections have arisen from the perceived threat to the noise levels, parking issues and disturbances to other homes' on behalf of the applicant, social worker Kelly McFayden said: "I do understand, having looked at all of the feedback, that people are frightened about who's going to live next door- if they're going to be young offenders, if they're going to bring antisocial behaviour."We get to choose the young people and children that we offer opportunity to."The council's highways team also did not raise any objections to the number of parking spaces provided, stating that the four driveway spaces would be able to accommodate all staff members and would not have a significant impact on the local highway committee unanimously voted to approve the application last week, in line with the officer's recommendation. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Time Out
4 days ago
- Time Out
Bancone Covent Garden
Bancone is a sleek Italian restaurant in Covent Garden with a short, simple menu that's split into three sections: antipasti, pasta and dessert. Chefs in the front window roll out pasta dough almost all day: putting on a show for people passing by, frantically cutting and shaping for those patiently waiting for their pasta inside. There are generally around eight plates of pasta on the menu, and half of them are usually suitable for veggies. Proper al dente pasta is slightly undercooked, and hard to get right, but the chefs here nail it. Their best dish is the poetically named 'silk handkerchiefs' (it's technically called fazzoletti) with walnut butter and confit egg yolk. Simple, but delicious: soft sheets swimming in a rich sauce, with little chunks of walnut for texture. The restaurant itself is a little office-like (it looks like it used to be one), but no matter, you don't come here for the looks. You come to Bancone to devour cheap, delicious pasta at the bar, and to people-watch those around you doing the same thing. Time Out tip Check out the other branches of Bancone across the city, in Soho's Golden Square, Borough Yards and Kensington. Order this
