Great Fire of Northampton

The Great Fire of Northampton occurred on the 20th of September 1675 in Northampton in Northamptonshire, England. The blaze was caused by sparks from an open fire on St. Mary's Street, near Northampton Castle. The fire devastated the town centre, destroying about 700 of the town's 850 buildings, including All Saints church,^[1] in six hours. Three quarters of the town was destroyed, 11 people died and about 700 families were made homeless. Many people escaped the fire by going through Welsh House on the market square to safety.

Fire at Northampton
(Property Disputes) Act 1675

Act of Parliament
Parliament of England
Long title	An Act for the better and more easy rebuilding the Towne of Northampton.
Citation	27 Cha. 2. c. 1
Territorial extent	England and Wales
Dates
Royal assent	22 November 1675
Commencement	13 October 1675[a]
Repealed	30 July 1948
Other legislation
Repealed by	Statute Law Revision Act 1948
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

1610 map of Northampton, before the fire

Local people and businesses raised £25,000 towards re-building the town centre based around the Market Square. Streets were widened to help prevent a re-occurrence. King Charles II donated 1,000 tons of timber from Salcey Forest for the re-building.^[2] A commemorative statue of the king (dressed in a Roman toga) stands on the portico of the re-built All Saints church.

In 1724, the town's new appearance inspired author and traveler Daniel Defoe to describe Northampton as the "handsomest and best built town in all this part of England… finely rebuilt with brick and stone, and the streets made spacious and wide".

The fire received fictional treatment in the second book of Northampton native Alan Moore's 2016 novel Jerusalem.

See also

• Hazelrigg House – a historic Grade II listed house that escaped the fire.

Notes

1. Start of session.