|
england
middlesex
norfolk
northamptonshire
northumberland
nottinghamshire
oxfordshire
rutland
shropshire
somerset
staffordshire
suffolk
surrey
sussex
warwickshire
westmorland
wiltshire
worcestershire
yorkshire |
-
Northamptonshire (Northampton, Peterborough, Corby, Kettering,
Wellingborough)
Northampton, situated on the River Nene,
the Normans built a castle here in the 11th century. This was
demolished in the 17th century but some of the medieval churches
still survive.
Northampton was destroyed by fire in 1675 and this gave the local
people to build a spacious and well-planned town. The market square
was one of the largest in the country. Boot, shoe and leather
manufacture became major industries in Northampton in the 18th
century. The prosperity of the town was improved by the orders from
the army and navy during the American War of Independence and the
Napoleonic Wars.
The town grew slowly in the 19th century until the opening of the
town's first canal in 1815. The census of 1831 shows that one-third
of the men living in the town were shoemakers (two-fifths in 1871).
The town developed a strong Radical movement and in 1880 elected
Charles Bradlaugh to represent them in Parliament.
Bradlaugh was not a Christian and asked
to affirm rather than to swear on the Bible. The Speaker of the
House of Commons refused this request and Bradlaugh was expelled
from Parliament. William Gladstone, the Prime Minister, supported
Bradlaugh's right to affirm, but he had upset a lot of people with
his views on Christianity, the monarchy and birth control and when
the issue was put before Parliament, MPs voted to support the
Speaker's decision to expel him.
England Bedfordshire,
Berkshire,
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire, Cheshire,
Cornwall Cumberland,
Derbyshire,
Devon Dorset,
Durham, Essex
Gloucestershire, Hampshire,
Herefordshire
Hertfordshire,
Huntingdonshire, Kent Lancashire,
Leicestershire,
Lincolnshire
Middlesex
Norfolk
Northamptonshire
Northumberland,
Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire Rutland,
Shropshire,
Somerset
Staffordshire, Suffolk,
Surrey Sussex,
Warwickshire,
Westmorland Wiltshire,
Worcestershire,
Yorkshire |
