Tag: Kettering

The Kettering Conjuror – and Northamptonshire’s Secret Bibles

Long before Hogwarts (and even Harry Potter House) there was Thomas Fysh of Kettering – dragged before the dreaded Star Chamber for possessing what sounds like a wizard’s notebook. His crimes? Owning “a book of Coverdale’s making” (almost certainly one of the earliest printed English Bibles) and keeping “a paper drawen with fygures and circulls… Continue reading The Kettering Conjuror – and Northamptonshire’s Secret Bibles

Swing Riots in Northamptonshire

History is all around us, the past leaves footprints everywhere. You wouldn’t know it to look at them, but the stretches of farmland in Northamptonshire, a county which has long been prone to rebellion, were once almost battlegrounds of resistance… The Swing Movement When the fields of southern and eastern England were swaying in the… Continue reading Swing Riots in Northamptonshire

Pudding Bag Lane – Kettering

Between B&M and the old M&S building is an alley called Walkers Lane, which leads to the Wadcroft Car Park. But it wasn’t always called that… According to the key included with the Kettering Town Map from 1826, it was once named Pudding Bag Lane; so-called because if you went too far along it, you… Continue reading Pudding Bag Lane – Kettering

Cob Cottages of Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is home to several historic Cob Cottages. Cob is a mixture of sand, clay, and straw. It would be finished with a plaster mixture of lime and sand, often a year later to ensure the building had fully dried. Cob buildings are often recognisable by their deep-set windows, rounded or uneven corners, and thick,… Continue reading Cob Cottages of Northamptonshire

The Sunday Schools of Old Kettering

It might seem strange today that entire buildings were dedicated to Sunday Schools. But historically, they played a much different role than they do today. Sunday Schools were an important resource for working class families. They provided a basic formal education to children who had to work in the week, or were being taught at… Continue reading The Sunday Schools of Old Kettering

The Lost Schools of Old Kettering

History is all around us, the past leaves footprints everywhere. Sometimes a footprint is a hole in the ground, or a space where something once was. There’s a number of school buildings in Kettering which have disappeared over the years, for various reasons… Types of Schools + A Timeline of the Schooling System If you… Continue reading The Lost Schools of Old Kettering

The Former Schools of Old Kettering

History is all around us, the past leaves footprints everywhere. Scattered across Kettering are old buildings which were once schools… Types of Schools + A Timeline of the Schooling System If you want to skip this section, click here. 1530s onwards – Parish Instruction Parish priests or curates were expected to teach boys the catechism… Continue reading The Former Schools of Old Kettering