Which historical event or person from Northamptonshire has had the most impact on the evolution of Britain.?

Answer 1

The greatest person I can think of from Northamptonshire is my favourite poet: John Clare.

Born in Helpston in 1793 Clare had very humble beginnings and was not well educated so I think the fact that he managed to produce written material at all let alone a number of books of poetry is an inspiration to us all.

Clare's work: describes the Northamptonshire countryside (some of the words used are local dialect); tells of his love - often for a woman called Mary (the reasons for this are beyond this answer); talk of his own thoughts and mental condition; attack the enclosure of the countryside which Clare saw as the ruining of the countryside as he knew it by greedy men of power.

I enjoy all his works but most admire the political work - to me Clare is almost a revolutionary standing up for the common man against the tide of change (the sort of person we might call an anti-capitalist if they lived today).

John Clare has a continuing influence as his poetry has become more widely known in recent years both to promote a love and knowledge of the countryside and to remind us that the wrongs done by Britain weren't just slavery and empire but the wrongs done to its own people in the name of progress.

Answer 2

I have seen a suggestion that a meteorite exploded in the general region of Northampton in 441 AD (possibly late June 441 as there is always a meteorite shower at that time of year). An air explosion, like the Tungusta event in Russia in 1908, would not have left a crater, but it would have killed everybody beneath.

The suggestion is that this event explains why there are very few records of the years following the Roman withdrawal from Britain and evidence of the abandonment of many English towns: everybody within a hundred miles or more of Northampton would have been killed (but not East Kent, Northumbria, Scotland or Wales, where there appears to be more continuity of population).

I dare say you didn't expect anybody to take the idea of an impact on Britain centred on Northampton quite so literally!

Answer 3

Princes Diana.