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Cobblers - life in Northampton & Northamptonshire

Discussion in 'Northamptonshire' started by Bob Spiers, May 13, 2013.

  1. Bob Spiers

    Bob Spiers LostCousins Superstar

    Being married twice -each time to a Northamptonshire girl – combined with a 10 year residence in the county during the 60’s – taught me a good deal about the county. Here are some of my personal recollections.

    My first wife was born in a small village in south Northants which came under the auspices of Towcester Rural District Council, so the Racecourse and Silverstone circuit were close by as was the Grand Union Canal and Stoke Bruerne. Northampton about 20 miles away.

    I found the local dialect and brogue totally bewildering. As a townie (Brummie born and bred) I had great difficulty in following conversations, and often needed my wife to translate. All the villages seemed to end in ‘anger’ (Deanshanger/Shutlanger) or ‘pury’ (Paulerspury/Pottersbury) but were spoken of in a rolled up way, such as “Shl’angr” or “Pls’pry.

    Then there were local words which I had never encountered before: I recall also being asked by my mother-in-law if I wanted the ‘noggy’? (Which turned out to be the crust of the loaf). I learned that too much clutter (for example in my shed) was ‘muckle & tackle’ and when working quickly I was ‘scrattin’ about.

    Most strange of all was that in the village I was known by the family into which I married. So I would be referred to as Jim Read’s son-in-law. As he was also known as ‘Big Jim’ another version would be “he married Big Jim’s daughter”. Even when my children came on the scene they became Jim & Tess’s grandchildren.

    I came to terms with country living in some ways and with the help of my father-in law –who affectionately referred to me as “Boy” – I learned an awful lot about gardening at which he was master.

    It helped that I actually worked in Northampton which was some 20 odd miles distant. To get there I had to leave the village at the crack of dawn (well in seemed like it) and cycle a couple of miles and park my bike at someone’s house for a small fee; then catch a bus to Northampton. An hour and half journey both ways. Northampton provided the townie existence I missed and so when my first marriage broke up, I met and later married a Northampton girl.

    I still had to contend with the Northants brogue but after mastering their rural equivalents, Northampton gave me no trouble at all. Even so it seemed strange to be addressed by men as “Duck” as in “how are you my old Duck?”

    Northampton is of course synonymous with the making of Boots & Shoes and had been since time the 17th Century so it came as no surprise when I found both my (new) in-laws were employed in the B&S trade - yes mother and father- and likewise many of my wife’s relations. Little wonder Northampton town football club are known as “The Cobblers”. The town is however more famous –sporting wise- for its Rugby Team known as “The Saints” getting its name from the town’s major church “The Church of All Saints”.

    The Church was originally known as All Hallows Church and was lost in the Great Fire of Northampton (yes they had one too). In 1675 King Charles II gave a thousand tons of timber for the rebuilding which when completed in 1680 was renamed The Church of All Saints. Another famous church is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (known locally as Holy Sep), the largest and best preserved Norman round church in the country.

    I learned that Northampton’s had many claims to fame one of which was it being the de facto capital of England for 200 years (because of its centrality and Norman Castle). It had its own Mint and was chosen for the trial of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1164.

    One of its most famous features was its vast open air Market Square enclosed on all sides by buildings and dating back to the 13th Century. Last but not least is The Guildhall (built in 1861) and cited as a splendid example of Gothic Architecture and complete with its own prison.

    Northamptonshire -"the Rose of the Shires"- and the county of Spires [sadly not Spiers] and Squires referring to its many churches and Landowners. You can learn more about it's history here Northampton
     
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