Northampton's castle was favoured by a king

‘King John was not a good man, he had his funny ways, and sometimes no-one spoke to him for days and days and days.’

This picture, painted in words, was by the wonderful AA Milne, and history, of course, seems to agree that the monarch was not a very nice person. But I wonder just how nasty he really was.

We do know that he spent a good deal of time here in Northamptonshire.

Historians also tell us that he liked hunting, music, jewels, posh clothes, wine and that he was a passionate gambler.

In fact, while he was staying at his royal Northamptonshire hunting lodge in Kings Cliffe in 1207, he was at the table with the Earl of Salisbury when he lost four shillings and ten pence ha’penny. It was a huge sum, but he didn’t learn, later he lost more money in another game.

According to Whellan’s history of 1874, Place House in Whiston was once “a considerable mansion surrounded by entrenchments” which, tradition says, was also a seat of King John.

But why stay in Whiston when we know that “The favourite castle of King John”, was, according to The Friends of Northampton Castle*, right here in our county town.

He was a regular visitor, apart from the third and fourth years of his reign when he was mostly on the continent. He came here at least once a year and sometimes three or four times, some 30 visits totalling at least 64 days (Whellan).

It was while here in February 1215 that he granted a charter to the town empowering the burgesses to elect a reeve. That reeve – or first mayor – is recorded as Walter Tilly.

In 1209, the king held the Court of Exchequer here from Michaelmas to Christmas and then in 1212 he assembled a council in the castle for a ‘pow wow’ with the Papal Legates, Pandulph and Durand, to sort out the unhappy differences between him and the Pope.

Sadly, that ended in impasse and he was solemnly excommunicated by the two nuncios.

In May 1215, en route from Oxford to Northampton, John met the rebel barons at Brackley Castle, the seat of the Earl of Winchester.

They had organised themselves into a large army and had renounced their feudal ties to the king.

They marched to Brackley where they confronted John with their grievances, which he vehemently rejected.

Furious at this, they turned on Northampton and laid siege to the castle. Riots broke out and a great many of the townsfolk were murdered.

Northampton later became one of four castles the rebel barons held as security for the fulfilment of the conditions of what became Magna Carta.

So, there was every probability that, on June 15, 1215, Brackley Castle could have witnessed Magna Carta.

Another of the ‘ifs’ of history.

In his play entitled King John, Shakespeare set several scenes in Northampton Castle and for purely dramatic effect he has young Prince Arthur leaping to his death from the battlements.

If he tried it now, he would be pulverised by the 11.46 to Euston!

*www.northamptoncastle.com