New Fight over the Battle of Northampton
On July 10, 1460, Yorkist and Lancastrian armies met near the River Nene in Northamptonshire. This battle from the Wars of the Roses ended with the capture of King Henry VI. Now, 555 years later, partof the battlefield where this took place is under threat from a developer looking to build a parking lot.
Delapre Golf Club has made an application to the Northampton Borough Council to create a parking lot that would have room for 41 cars. Earlier this year they even began removing soil from the site, before the local council ordered them to stop.
While the golf club claims to have made an archaeological survey of the site, in which they made discoveries of "no importance", heritage groups and historians have criticized their actions and call local officials to deny the rezoning application.
The Northampton Battlefield Society has led the efforts against the parking lot. In a statement, they said:
The application claims that there no finds of archaeological importance, and this has been reported in the local press. This is contrary to the archaeological report, the key part of which has been strangely tucked away at the back of the photographs section of the documents. The broach is potentially of national significance as it is of high status with a French inscription and as the report admits, may be from the 1460 battle.
Crucially, the report clearly states there has been insufficient evidence found to date that can categorically discount the round shot from being from the 1460 battle. There has also been numerous finds of round shot of these sizes found elsewhere in England and dated to the medieval period (see Portable Antiquities Scheme database). The only way to determine the date of the shot is ‘uranium thorium lead isotopic analysis’ and this has not been carried out. If, the shot is proved to be from 1460, then this could not only be a crucial part of the battlefield but also of national significance in that it is the earliest known use of hand-gunnes in England, and be the oldest surviving small round shot in England too.
Until the whole registered battlefield has been archaeologically investigated and understood, the true significance of this area cannot be known. In the long term, this area might prove to be a part where a future battlefield trail etc. could be sited. It is therefore extremely short-sighted to allow any development of this sensitive area at this time.
They society is calling to have a "full archaeological survey before any planning permission can be considered." Other heritage groups, including Battlefields Trust, Tudor Society, and Richard III Society have also made objections.
The matter will be decided by the Northampton Borough Council in September.