How Northampton Caused the Norman Conquest

People tend to think the Norman Conquest began in 1066, on a battlefield.

But the fuse was lit a decade earlier, and rather closer to home.

It started in 1055, when Siward, Earl of Northumbria, died. His son Waltheof was still too young to inherit. King Edward the Confessor handed the earldom to Tostig Godwinson.

This wasn’t a popular move among the Northumbrians. At the time, people in the north weren’t particularly fond of being ruled from down south. Tostig had no family connection to the area; but he was the brother of one of the most important people in the kingdom: Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex.

Tostig was heavy-handed in his rule, and applied justice unfairly. He was also tax-hungry. But despite this, he didn’t spend much time in Northumbria. A lot of his ruling was carried out from his southern estates.

Then comes 1065, and everything goes a bit… Northants.

The Rebellion

By 1065, resentment had boiled over.

A rebellion broke out, led by Morcar of Mercia. He and his forces attacked Tostig’s capital of York, raiding the treasury and killing Tostig’s men.

Heading south toward Northampton, they caused as much devastation in the towns they passed through as they had in York.

As The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle delicately put it, “the northern men did much harm about Northampton.” The damage was so severe, it says, that nearby shires felt it “for many winters”.

These weren’t random thugs. They were men whose loyalty lay with their region, not with a distant earl imposed from the south. And their message was blunt: We will not accept Tostig as our ruler.

King Edward the Confessor panicked; this wasn’t just a riot, it was half the country threatening to tear itself apart. So he sent Harold Godwinson to Northampton to negotiate.

Why Northampton?

Whether or not Morcar was intending for Northampton to be the meeting point, it was the perfect part of England to do so.

Pre-Conquest England wasn’t neatly divided into north/south. Power blurred across Mercia, the old Danelaw, and Wessex, even when all three were ruled by the same king.

Northampton sat:

On or near the edge of Mercia and the former Danelaw
Close to a stretch of Watling Street
Far enough north to be relevant to Northumbria
Far enough south to be reachable by royal authority

In other words: a political frontier town, not a capital but a crossroads.

The Result

Harold listened to the rebels, weighed up the chaos already unfolding, and made a hard decision: peace mattered more than his brother’s job.

Tostig was removed, and Morcar was made Earl of Northumbria.

And just like that, Tostig went from powerful noble to furious exile.

He left England, nursing a sense of betrayal, and turned to Norway, where he found Harald Hardrada, a man very happy to invade England … with a little encouragement.

Hardrada probably wouldn’t have invaded without Tostig, or at least probably not at that time. And timing was a crucial element:

Edward the Confessor had died.
While he had named Harold Godwinson as his heir, there were already two other claimants. This meant there would already be a succession crisis to exploit.
Hardrada would probably have a support base in Northumbria, who not only didn’t like Harold Godwinson, but had prospered under Viking rule.

The Invasion That Northampton Built

To summarise:

The meeting in Northampton led to Tostig being deposed.

Which led to him meeting Harald Hardrada in Norway.

Which led to Hardrada starting his invasion of England.

Which led to the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

Which weakened Harold’s army ahead of the Battle of Hastings.

Which led to William the Conqueror’s victory.

So yes, technically speaking, The Norman Conquest was made in Northamptonshire.

You’re welcome, England!

My Books

More Local History