T his weekend sees the annual Battle Proms Concert taking place in the grounds of Althorp House. Large crowds will witness re-enactors playing out a variety of patriotic scenes through the ages, accompanied by an orchestra playing well known pieces of classical music. The percussionist will be able to trigger the firing of dozens of cannon rounds from the stage, such being the technology of the day.
Then on cue overhead (weather permitting), a unique Spitfire fighter plane will roar in to display, flown by a unique lady pilot – Carolyn Grace. Using nothing more than accurately synchronised stopwatches in the aircraft and on the conductor’s podium, woman and machine will soar above the heads of picnickers on the ground, accompanied by the evocative music of Sir Edward Elgar’s March Number 4 – Pomp and Circumstance. It all promises to be quite a spectacle with the now customary fireworks finale bringing the evening’s agenda to a close.
SNAPSHOTS OF THE PAST
Events like this are great when it comes to snapshots of the past. Stirring music and stirring sights get the blood pumping and a year on from the huge success of the Olympics and Paralympics, plus the news that the Ashes are going to be staying in the country once more only serves to heighten the sense of patriotism that is appropriate to the moment.
Our county has good cause to be as patriotic as any. At one stage the county town was not only a major seat of government and trade, it also rivalled London itself for size and value. Without the battles of Naseby and Northampton the country would not now have the style and form of government that it now has. Both battles played fundamental parts in the shaping of the future of the country – and yet neither has any kind of permanent visitor centre to tell either story. The Naseby Battlefield Project recently had to revisit plans to build such a venue because of concerns over finances and timing and although Delapre Abbey is close by as a historic site, the exact location of the Battle of Northampton is even today the subject of debate and conjecture.
NOT A FITTING TRIBUTE
Not too long ago I wrote in this column about there being no reference point that people could go along and visit to identify the site of the battle, pivotal as it was in bringing an end to the Wars of the Roses on the afternoon of the 10th July 1460.
I was wrong.
There are, in fact, a number of storyboards just off the banks of the River Nene which tell the story. Or at least they would if you could read them. I happened upon two sets of them during a recent walk adjacent to the Barnes Meadow roundabout. One set of boards is actually sited alongside the public footpath which links Barnes Meadow with the town centre. The other is buried so far into weeds and undergrowth that it is almost totally hidden from view. The condition of both is shameful, but perhaps unsurprising. Whoever first put them there looks to have long since abandoned them – but for them to now be left in such a state is hardly a fitting tribute to the lives of the hundreds of men that were lost on the day of the battle. Neither is it a positive advertisement of how Northampton welcomes visitors coming in search of the town’s history and who might otherwise be tempted to stay longer, bringing business to the restaurants, shops and hotels which make up our modern day economy.
Maybe there’s a different kind of battle to be fought there...