Brackley
Brackley is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. It lies on the borders with Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, east-south-east of Banbury, north-north-east of Oxford and south-west of Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the intersecting trade routes between London, Birmingham, the Midlands, Cambridge and Oxford. Brackley is close to Silverstone and home to the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. In 2021, the parish had a population of 16,195.
History
The place-name 'Brackley' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Brachelai. It appears as Brackelea in 1173 and as Brackeley in the Pipe Rolls in 1230. The name means 'Bracca's glade or clearing'. Brackley was held in 1086 by Earl Alberic, after which it passed to the Earl of Leicester, and to the families of De Quincy and Roland.In the 11th and 12th centuries, Brackley was in the Hundred of Odboldistow and in the Manor of Halse. Richard I 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 of Magna Carta. It required King 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 at Runnymede.
Market day was on Sundays until 1218, when it was changed to Wednesdays. It is now on Friday mornings.
The Tudor antiquary John Leland visited Brackley, where he learned 'a Lord of the Towne' named Neville had 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.
In 1597, the town was incorporated by Elizabeth I. It had a mayor, six aldermen and 26 burgesses.
In 1602, the metaphysical poet John Donne was elected as Member of Parliament for the constituency of Brackley.
Brackley used to be known for wool and lace-making. It had 20 houses in the 18th century. In August 1882, the Brackley Lawn Tennis Club organised the Brackley LTC Tournament, as part of the Brackley Show.
In 1901, the population of the town was 2,467. From 1974 to 2021, it was part of the South Northamptonshire district.
Brackley Poor Law Union
Brackley used the poor house at Culworth until 1834, when Parliament passed the Poor Law Amendment Act and, as a result, Brackley Poor Law Union was founded. A workhouse for 250 people was built in 1836, south-west of the town on Banbury Road. It was demolished in the 1930s.Notable buildings
Castle
Brackley Castle was built soon after 1086. Its earthwork remains lie between Hinton Road and Tesco. It comprised a motte mound high and approximately 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. It was destroyed between 1173 and 1217 (when the Earl of Winchester, Blancmain's heir, was on the losing side against Henry III during the First Barons' War. The site was later granted to the Hospital of SS. James and John.Parish church
The oldest part of the Church of England parish church of Saint Peter at the eastern end of the town centre is an 11th-century Norman south doorway. Both the four-bay arcade of the south aisle and the west tower with its niches containing seated statues were added in the 13th century. Next the chancel was rebuilt, probably late in the 13th century. 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 the Decorated Gothic chapel was added to the chancel.Medieval hospitals
In about 1150, Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester founded the Hospital of St. James and St. John. Its master was a priest, assisted by a number of religious brothers. Its duties included providing accommodation and care for poor travellers. In the 15th century there were complaints that successive masters were absentees, holding other livings at the same time as being in charge of the hospital. The hospital was closed in 1423 for maladministration but re-established in 1425. In 1449, a master was appointed who seems to have continued the practice of non-residence while holding parish livings elsewhere. In 1484 the patron, Viscount Lovell granted control of the hospital to William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, citing its failure to give hospitality and alms.Waynflete had founded Magdalen College, Oxford in 1458 and Magdalen College School, Oxford in 1480. He made the former hospital part of their property and by 1548 it was Magdalen 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. Most of its windows are slightly later, being Early English Gothic lancet windows. The trio of stepped lancets above the west doorway are late 13th century. The Gothic Revival architect Charles Buckeridge restored the chapel in 1869–70.
The Hospital of St. Leonard was a smaller institution, founded to care for lepers. It was from SS. James and John, apparently on the northern edge of Brackley. 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. No buildings of St. Leonard's hospital have survived.
Secular buildings
The almshouses were founded in 1633 by Sir Thomas Crewe of Steane. They have one storey plus attic dormers. They were originally six houses but, by 1973, they had been converted into four apartments.Brackley Manor House was also a 17th-century Jacobean building that also originally had one storey plus attic dormers. In 1875–78, the Earl 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. It is now Winchester House School, a coeducational preparatory school for children aged from 3–13. It used to be a Woodard School.
Brackley Town Hall is Georgian, built in 1706 by the 4th Earl of Bridgewater. The ground floor was originally open but has since been enclosed. 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.
The town park belongs to the National Trust, which hosts the Folk in the Park festival.
Transport
Roads
Brackley is close to the A43 road, which bypasses the town and links it to Towcester and Northampton to the north-east and the M40 motorway to the west. The A422 links it to Banbury and Buckingham.Buses
Brackley is served predominantly by Stagecoach Midlands and Red Rose Travel; they operate routes that connect the town with Banbury, Bicester, Buckingham, Towcester, Oxford and Northampton.Railways
The nearest railway stations to Brackley are at, about west of the town, and, around away. A bus service links Brackley town centre to Banbury station.Brackley had two railway stations, but these were both closed in the 1960s:
- opened in May 1850, as part of the Buckinghamshire Railway's Buckingham and Brackley Junction line between and, via. The London 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.
- opened in March 1899 on the Great Central Main Line, which was the last main line to be built between northern England and London. The line included Brackley Viaduct across the Ouse Valley south-east of the town, which was in length, high, had 20 brick arches and two girder spans. British Rail withdrew passenger trains from the line through Brackley Central in September 1966. Brackley Viaduct was demolished in sections early in 1978.