| Brackley | |
|---|---|
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.svg)  Brackley Location withinNorthamptonshire | |
| Population | 16,195 (2021 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SP5837 |
| • London | 63 miles (101 km)SE[2] |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRACKLEY |
| Postcode district | NN13 |
| Dialling code | 01280 |
| Police | Northamptonshire |
| Fire | Northamptonshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Brackley Town Council |
| |
Brackley is amarket town andcivil parish in theWest Northamptonshire unitary authority area ofNorthamptonshire, England.[3] It is on the borders withOxfordshire andBuckinghamshire, 9 miles (14 km) east-southeast ofBanbury, 19 miles (31 km) north-northeast ofOxford, and 22 miles (35 km) southwest ofNorthampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the intersecting trade routes between London,Birmingham, theMidlands,Cambridge and Oxford. Brackley is close toSilverstone and home to theMercedes AMG PetronasF1 Team. In 2021 the parish had a population of 16,195.
The place-name 'Brackley' is first attested in theDomesday Book of 1086, where it appears asBrachelai. It appears asBrackelea in 1173 and asBrackeley in 1230 in thePipe Rolls. The name means 'Bracca's glade or clearing'.[4] Brackley was held in 1086 by Earl Alberic, after which it passed to theEarl of Leicester, and to the families ofDe Quincy and Roland.[5][6]
In the 11th and 12th centuries Brackley was in the Hundred of Odboldistow and in the Manor of Halse.Richard I (The Lionheart) named five official sites for jousting tournaments so that such events could not be used as local wars, and Brackley was one of these. The tournament site is believed to be to the south of the castle where the A422 now passes.
The town was the site of an important meeting between the barons and representatives of the King in 1215, the year ofMagna Carta. Magna Carta requiredKing John to proclaim rights, respect laws and accept that the King's wishes were subject to law. It explicitly protected certain rights of the King's subjects, whether freemen, serfs, slaves or prisoners—most notably allowing appeal against unlawful imprisonment. King John and the barons were to have signed Magna Carta at Brackley Castle, but they eventually did so atRunnymede.[citation needed]
Market day was on Sundays until 1218, when it was changed to Wednesdays.[7] It is now on Friday mornings.
The TudorantiquaryJohn Leland visited Brackley, where he learned 'a Lord of the Towne' named Neville had (at an uncertain point in the past) had the parish vicar murdered. This he had done by having the man buried alive. The writer Daniel Codd observed that in the grounds of St Peter's Church, a human-shaped stone effigy is sometimes pointed out as being connected with the event.[8]
In 1597 the town was incorporated byElizabeth I. It had a mayor, six aldermen and 26 burgesses.
In 1602, themetaphysical poetJohn Donne was elected as Member of Parliament for theconstituency of Brackley.[9]
Brackley used to be known for wool and lace-making.
It had 20 houses in the 18th century.[6] In August 1882 the Brackley Lawn Tennis Club organised theBrackley LTC Tournament, as part of the Brackley Show.[10][11]
In 1901 the population of the town was 2,467.
From 1974 to 2021 it was inSouth Northamptonshire district.
Brackley used the poor house atCulworth until 1834, when Parliament passed thePoor Law Amendment Act and as a result BrackleyPoor Law Union was founded.[12] Aworkhouse for 250 people was built in 1836, southwest of the town on Banbury Road. It was demolished in the 1930s.
Brackley Castle was built soon after 1086. Its earthwork remains lie between Hinton Road andTesco. It comprised amotte mound 10 feet (3.0 m) high and approximately 44 yards (40 m) in diameter with an outer bailey to the east. Archaeological excavation has revealed evidence of a ditch defining the perimeter of the bailey. Two fishponds originally lay outside the ditch but have subsequently been infilled – however south of St. James Lake may have formed a part of this. Brackley Castle may have gone out of use in 1147.[citation needed] It was destroyed between 1173[13] (when the then lord of the manor, the Earl of Leicester, Robert le Blancmain, fell out with Henry II) and 1217 (when the Earl of Winchester, Blancmain's heir, was on the losing side against Henry III during theFirst Barons' War.[14] The site was later granted to the Hospital of SS. James and John.
The oldest part of theChurch of England parish church ofSaint Peter at the eastern end of the town centre is an 11th-centuryNorman south doorway.[15] Both the four-bayarcade of the southaisle[16] and the west tower with its niches containing seated statues[15] were added in the 13th century. Next thechancel was rebuilt, probably late in the 13th century.[16] The north arcade and the windows in both the north and south aisles were probably added early in the 14th century, about the same time as theDecorated Gothic chapel was added to the chancel.[16]
In about 1150Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester founded the Hospital of St. James andSt. John.[17] Its master was a priest, assisted by a number of religious brothers. Its duties included providing accommodation and care for poor travellers.[17] In the 15th century there were complaints that successive masters were absentees, holding otherlivings at the same time as being in charge of the hospital.[17] The hospital was closed in 1423 for maladministration but re-established in 1425.[17] In 1449 a master was appointed who seems to have continued the practice of non-residence while holding parish livings elsewhere.[17] In 1484 the patron,Viscount Lovell granted control of the hospital toWilliam Waynflete,Bishop of Winchester, citing its failure to give hospitality and alms.[17]
Waynflete had foundedMagdalen College, Oxford in 1458 andMagdalen College School, Oxford in 1480. He made the former hospital part of their property and by 1548 it wasMagdalen College School, Brackley. St James' chapel became the school chapel, in which use it remains today. It is the oldest building in Great Britain in continuous use by a school. The oldest part of the chapel is the west doorway, which is late Norman.[16] Most of its windows are slightly later, beingEarly English Gothiclancet windows.[13] The trio of stepped lancets above the west doorway are late 13th century.[16] TheGothic Revival architectCharles Buckeridge restored the chapel in 1869–70.[16]
The Hospital ofSt. Leonard was a smaller institution, founded to care forlepers.[18] It was1⁄2 mile (800 m) from SS. James and John, apparently on the northern edge of Brackley.[18] It was in existence by 1280. After 1417 it shared the same master as SS. James and John and thereafter there is no separate record of St. Leonard's, so the larger hospital may have taken it over.[18] No buildings of St. Leonard's hospital have survived.
Thealmshouses were founded in 1633 by SirThomas Crewe of Steane.[13] They have one storey plus atticdormers.[13] They were originally six houses but by 1973 they had been converted into four apartments.[13]
BrackleyManor House was also a 17th-centuryJacobean building that also originally had one storey plus attic dormers.[13] In 1875–78 theEarl of Ellesmere had it rebuilt on a larger scale, in the same style but retaining only the doorway and one window of the original building.[13] It is now Winchester House School,[19] a coeducationalpreparatory school for children aged from 3–13. It used to be aWoodard School.[13]
Brackley Town Hall isGeorgian, built in 1706 by the4th Earl of Bridgewater.[13] The ground floor was originally open but has since been enclosed.[13] Market Place and Bridge Street feature a number of other early 18th-century houses and inns, mostly of brick and in several cases combining red and blue bricks in a chequer pattern.[13]
The town park belongs to theNational Trust and hosts the Folk in the Park[20] festival.
Brackley is close to theA43 road, which bypasses the town and links it toTowcester andNorthampton to the north-east and theM40 motorway to the west. TheA422 links it toBanbury andBuckingham.
The town has numerous bus services and is connected to other towns and cities includingBanbury (499, 500),Bicester (505),Buckingham (131, 132),[21]Towcester,Oxford andNorthampton (88).
There are no railways stations in Brackley - the nearest stations are atKings Sutton, about 6 miles (10 km) west of the town and Banbury, around 8 miles (13 km) away. A bus service links Brackley town centre to Banbury station.[23] Brackley had two railway stations but these were closed in the 1960s.
Brackley's first station, known in its latter years asBrackley Town, opened in May 1850 as part of theBuckinghamshire Railway'sBuckingham and Brackley Junction line betweenVerney Junction andBanbury Merton StreetviaBuckingham. TheLondon and North Western Railway operated the line from the beginning and absorbed the Buckinghamshire Railway Company in 1879.British Railways withdrew passenger trains from the line through Brackley Town station in January 1961 and closed the line to freight in 1966.
Brackley's second station wasBrackley Central, opened in March 1899 on theGreat Central Main Line, which was the last main line to be built between northern England and London. The GC Main Line includedBrackley Viaduct across theOuse Valley southeast of the town, which was 255 yards (233 m) in length, 62 feet (19 m) high, had 20 brick arches and two girder spans. British Railways withdrew passenger trains from the line through Brackley Central in September 1966. Brackley Viaduct was demolished in sections early in 1978.
Chiltern Railways is said to want to restore services betweenLondon Marylebone andRugby along the formerGreat Central Main Line.[24] This would haveBrackley Central railway station reopen with direct services to London,Aylesbury and Rugby. However, theDepartment for Transport has chosen part of the former Great Central route north-west of Brackley as part of the newHigh Speed 2 line between London and Birmingham.[25] A station at Brackley is not currently proposed.[26]
Brackley is near theSilverstone motor racing circuit, and has some industry related toFormula One racing, notablyMercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (formerlyBrawn GP,Honda,British American Racing andTyrrell) which is based in the town, and theAston Martin F1 team which operates awind tunnel on the former site of the north railway station yard. On the east outskirts of the town wasH. Bronnley & Co., makers of hand-made soaps who holdRoyal Warrants of Appointment for supplyingQueen Elizabeth II andKing Charles III.
Brackley has fourprimary schools:Bracken Leas,[27] Southfield Primary Academy,[28] The Radstone Primary School and Brackley Junior School. The town also has Waynflete Infants' School,[29] most of whose pupils progress to BrackleyChurch of England Junior School.[30] There is a private pre-prep/prep school for 3- to 13-year-olds, Winchester House.[31]Magdalen College School, Brackley is thecomprehensivesecondary school for the town and surrounding villages.
Local news and television programmes is provided byBBC South andITV Meridian. Television signals in the town are received from theOxford TV transmitter. The town is served by bothBBC Radio Oxford andBBC Radio Northampton. Other radio stations includingHeart South,Capital Midlands and 3Bs radio that broadcasts fromBuckingham. Local newspapers areBanbury Guardian andNorthampton Chronicle.
The Brackley Morris Men are one of only seven 'traditional Cotswold' sides remaining in England, and the only one to survive in Northamptonshire.[32] Their history dates back to the 1600s when a solid silver communion plate was given to the parish. The plate which is still in the possession of St Peter's Church is dated 1623, and is inscribed with the names of seven men, whom local folklore believes to have been the Morris dancers.[33] In 1725 the men were paid half a guinea to dance at the Whitsun Ale at Aynho House.[34] In 1766 their 'Squire' was arrested in Oxford for his insolence and committed to Bridewell as a vagrant.[35] In 1866 an article in theOxford Chronicle reported on their performance in Banbury, describing their 'many coloured ribbons and other gaudy finery', and the 'witless buffoonery' of their 'fool'.[36] The side still performs today.[37]
Brackley cricket Club run 2 Saturday Teams and a Midweek Team as well as a Kwik Cricket and Junior Teams. They play in the Cherwell Cricket League and play atBrackley Cricket Club Ground.
Brackley Town Football Club,[38] known as the Saints, play inNational League North. Its finest season was in 2013–14 when it reached theFA Cup Second Round having beaten League One sideGillingham 1–0 in a First round replay following a 1–1 draw. Brackley Town's ground is St James Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2018, this being the first time in the club's history.
Brackley Rugby Union Football Club[39] currently plays in theEnglish Rugby Union Midland Division'sCounties 2 Midlands East (South) League. It hosts two senior sides and a number of teams in the junior section.
Brackley Sports Football Club first team plays in theNorth Bucks and District League Premier Division and its reserve team plays in the North Bucks and District League Intermediate Division. It also has a ladies' team that plays in the Northants Women's League.[40]
Brackley Athletic Football Club[41] is a junior football club affiliated with the Northamptonshire Football Association. It plays in three leagues: the under 7s – 10s are in the Milton Keynes & District Junior Sevens League, the under 11s – 16s are in the Milton Keynes & Border Counties League and the girls' team is in the Oxford Girls' Football League.
Brackley has a tennis club,[42] a leisure centre and swimming pool,[43] a martial arts academy and a badminton club.[44]
South of the town is St. James lake, abalancing lake of almost 3 acres (1 ha) created in 1977.[45] Fishing in the lake is managed by a local angling club.[45] The lake is in a 5 acres (2 ha) wildlife park that is open to the public.[45]
Brackley is also the home of F1 teamMercedes AMG Petronas having hadBrawn GP, who were bought out byMercedes-Benz in 2009.Honda F1 andBAR, who were bought out byHonda in 2006 were previously based in Brackley.[46]
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