Northampton on a Rellie Run

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It is possible to get the impression that they don't get a lot of tourists in Northampton, or perhaps that tourists are pretty insignificant in the scheme of things. Not for a moment did did we feel unwelcome and we were always treated well. There are some indications though. There are signs, for instance, to the Tourist Information Centre around the town area but actually finding it is difficult. You need to go into a theatre where there is no indication that there might be any information, wander about watching people practising for plays, past small groups having cups of tea and, as an afterthoutht, spot a desk and a stand that has the requisite title. No one about so go an have a poke about. After a while a lady comes up. A map of the town? Yes. Here it is. Half a dozen streets in the centre of town are shown.

We bought a map of the area at the local service station. Should have gone there first and will in future.

All of our prior information on Northampton had indicated that the place wasn't particularly inspiring. A bit of a hole in fact. We haven't seen much of England yet so perhaps that will explain why we actually thought that the area around Northampton, and even the place itself, was not too bad. Seems to have overcast skies as pretty much the standard and there are no obvious moves to make the place traveller friendly but we enjoyed it - possibly a bit more because of that.

There are famous people associated with Northampton. While we were there Jensen Button won the Formula 1 Drivers Championship. So what you might say. Well don't say it to someone from Northampton. Jensen Button's Brawn team headquarters are here and very proud was everyone. News about Jensen and the team led the news broadcasts for 4 days. I have a sneaking suspicion that, prior to the win, not too many locals knew anything about Formula 1. They do now.

We travelled up from London on a National Express bus, or rather, coach (not sure what turns a bus into a coach - possibly distance to travel?). There was a thought of catching a train but the difference in price was not enough to justify the faster travelling time on this occasion. The coach was cheap enough at GBP 18 for the two of us one way. For some reason a return ticket is more expensive. Perhaps most people want to ensure they have an escape route? Took us an hour or more just to get out of London, although we did seem to wander about a bit to pick up other passengers. The coach wasn't bad but possibly not up to the Turkish standard. No seat allocation, no cups of tea, no handtowels and definitely no conductor.

Northampton bus station at 4.30 in the afternoon is pretty much like most bus stations - busy, not particularly attractive and a little hard to work out. Unlike subways, undergrounds, tubes and the like, bus stations do not always run according to common patterns. Without us realising at the time, this one is used by the buses of a number of companies - we never worked out how many - that all work from the bus station on apparently separate timetables but on similar routes. It has the capacity to be confusing.

We needed a means of getting ourselves to the Sunley Management Centre at the University of Northampton. We knew that this place was not in the centre of town but beyond that all we had was an address. There were no maps about, after all why would you need a map? Everyone who lives there knows where things are. With a bit of help from the locals we boarded a bus - driver told us that we would get somewhere near there, eventually. Nice tour through residential areas for what seemed to be a long time. By the time we reached our stop, getting us to the right place had become a bit of a project for some of the other passengers. Most didn't know where the place was exactly. Neither did the driver. One woman did, however, and we were parked at the right stop.

Walking around the next day we did come to understand why some may not have know where this place might be, just on the basis of the information that it is 'part of the university'. This university, like many others, is spread all over town. But our place was in what seemed to be the main bit.

We have stayed at universities before and found them good quality and excellent value. Sunley was as good as they come. Helpful staff, very good rooms and an excellent breakfast, although variety was only achieved with different ways of cooking the eggs - and that on one day only. The only difficulty is that the place is a fair way from town. There was a pub in very easy walking distance and it served good quality food at good prices along with beer at an even better price. About a kilometre further down the road were a number of other eating establishments. We didn't make it past the pub on any night. Too tired, too cold and the pub was warm and inviting.

We had come to Northampton because it houses the County Records Office for Northamptonshire. We have, for some years, been researching the history of our families. Elements of both of our families had come from this county. One of mine had left in 1837 and the others a bit later. While a lot of records these days are available on-line, when you need to get back into the early 18s and earlier then you really need to get into parish records. We were also keen to have a look at the actual places that our ancestors had lived in and a number of the villages that they had been born and worked in were in the region.

The County Records Office turned out to be a little over 8kms from the place we were staying. We walked a little further than 8kms to get there on the first day. No map you see. We did have the Etrex though. Etrex is a wonderful little machine that guides those who believe in it with skill and accuracy. A little unfortunately, we didn't have much of an address for this County Records Office, and again, no one seemed to really know where it might be. Etrex guides best to an address or a specific place. Doesn't do so well to - Oh, about 3 miles up that way - but did much better when we were told that it was near the Police. That we could work with.

Very helpful staff at the CRO and we were into it. A few hours searching microfiche, registers and transcripts and it was time to walk home. Only 8 kms this time and a nice walk but it did take some convincing that we really did need to walk the extra few hundred metres to the pub for a beer and a feed.

Next morning we hired a car. Not, I hasten to add because the walking the day before had knocked us both out but because it would be more efficient to drive than to spend an hour and a half walking each way. The car had the added advantage that it allowed us to get out and around the villages.

Wellingborough is more a town than a village. My great-great-grandfather, Tom, left here in chains in 1836 on his way to a date with the ship the Mangles which took him, and a couple of hundred others, to Australia. My great-grandfather and great-grandmother followed in about 1861 but they left of their own accord and with the sponsorship and assistance of old Tom who had made a new life for himself in Australia. We found the address at which Tom was living at the time of his trial and the village where he - in the company of others - robbed a tailor's shop. No evidence of a tailor's shop now but Lowick is a very nice little village populated by people who would appear to be reasonably prosperous.

Eydon was the home of a key part of Pat's family about 150 years ago. It is a village about 25 miles from Northampton. We found the street where they had lived but it looks unlikely that the actual house has survived. The village now looks like a mixture of a farm workers and city commuters - if the vehicles are anything to go by. It would seem to be a pretty decent commute to London from here but we did notice 'Park and Ride' signs at a station in the area. On a good quick train it would probably be a bit over an hour so possibly not that bad as long as you could get a train to a place close to your workplace.

As with a lot of similar places in other countries, the CRO is closed on Mondays. We found the library instead. More hours of poring through microfilms, this time searching the local paper at the time. Not a lot went on back then and what did go on was much the same as does now. Husbands murdering wives, wives murdering husbands, politicians doing the wrong thing and, luckily, people fronting the courts for robbing other people. We found the newspaper report of the trial of Tom, his half-brother and a mate. Tom clearly broke the law and seems likely to have done so more than once. He received a death sentence for robbing a tailor's shop of a number of bolts of cloth. The prosecution had him in their sights for 7 other robberies but it looks, at this stage, like these weren't necessarily proven. Nevertheless, it was enough for the court and he was duly sentenced. Fortunately, for him his sentence was commuted to transportation for life. As far as we can tell he never ran foul of the law again - or at least was never caught.

We did a lot more checking on our remaining days but still have a lot more to do, so we will be back to Northampton. We are now getting back 7 and 8 generations on some lines and it is getting interesting and very difficult. It is necessary to do a lot more than just track names. We are increasingly needing to research more about life in the places our ancestors lived so that we can work out where they might have gone and what might have affected their decisions, or the decisions made about them. A return visit might have to wait until after we finish our run through Africa and possibly a few other places. But we will go back.

In the meantime it is back to London to experience the place more than we have had a chance to in the past and to try to chase down records of the British Army in Canada during a mutiny in 1835-1838 and to find a few other interesting skeletons in old dusty cupboards or very flash National Archives buildings.

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Photos

Pretty Typical
This doesn't look so bad. Gets a bit busier when all of the cars come home.

Frog and Fiddler
I am told that the practice of paintings such as this developed at the time when people couldn't read. It is good and I am pleased it has continued.

Grandeur
The Guildhall in Northampton. They have done a good job on the newer buildings next door. Maintained some consistency.

River Nene
flows through the town. Not a city although probably big enough. Doesn't qualify.

Queen Eleanor's stand
See the next photo. Her hubbie erected one for each of the places her cortege rested.

Potato Hall
Tom's place. One might assume he didn't own the whole place I suspect

Tom's backyard
This is where some of the loot was found

Broad Green
Home of the Barrons. Elizabeth was my great, great grandmother. Dead at 29 and never came to Australia

More Along Broad Green
Another possible abode

All Hallows Church
The local. The people were clearly pretty poor. Not so the local church.

Non-Conformists
This is in Finedon, once called Thingdon.

The Church
Up along the street there. Possibly the place where Tom's parents were married. Not sure yet. They don't allow easy access to their old records

Or Perhaps This One
The other church in Finedon. Very grand but much in need of repair. No wonder they charge to look at records

A Rellie
We think possibly an uncle back 7 generations

St Peters Church Lowick
Very grand and still very much in use. Very nice little town off the main roads.

Eydon
Home to the Presidges

Blacksmiths Lane
Last address of the Prestidges was either at this end.

Or This One
To stop traffic they had a barrier half way down. Worked.

Comments

[Darryl]

It sounds like you are having fun tracking down the rellies. What a different world it is!