Northampton

Northampton, city, England

Northampton, city (1991 pop. 154,172) and district, Northamptonshire, central England, on the Nene River. The city of Northampton is the county seat. Shoemaking has long been the chief industry; engineering is second (roller bearings, earth-moving equipment, and motor vehicle components). The city was an important settlement of the Angles and of the Danes, and its Norman castle was the scene of sieges as well as parliaments from the 12th to the 14th cent. In 1460, Henry VI was defeated by the Yorkists in Northampton (see Roses, Wars of the). In 1675 much of the town was destroyed by fire. Roman and ancient British relics are in the vicinity. The Church of St. Giles has a Norman doorway; All Saints' has a 14th-century tower; St. Peter's (12th cent.) has a Norman interior; and there is a Roman Catholic cathedral designed by A. W. Pugin (see under A. C. Pugin). The 12th-century St. Sepulchre's is one of the four round churches in England. St. John's Hospital was founded in 1138. One of the few remaining Eleanor Crosses (see Eleanor of Castile) is near Northampton, at Hardingstone.

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Northampton, city, United States

Northampton (nôrth'hămp`tən, nôr'thămp`tən), city (1990 pop. 29,289), seat of Hampshire co., W Mass., on the Connecticut River; inc. as a town 1656, as a city 1883. Brushes, wire, optical devices, and plastic products are made in Northampton. It is the seat of Smith College and Clarke School for the Deaf. President Calvin Coolidge was a former mayor of Northampton; his papers and mementos are preserved in the Forbes Library. Jonathan Edwards was pastor there, and Sylvester Graham lived and is buried in the city. Historic Deerfield is nearby.

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Northampton

Town and borough (pop., 2001: 194,477), administrative and historic county of Northamptonshire, in the Midlands region, England. Originating c. 1100 as a walled town with a castle, it was granted its first charter in 1189. In 1460, during the Wars of the Roses, King Henry VI was captured in Northampton by Yorkists. The town walls survived until the Restoration, when they were torn down under King Charles II as punishment for supporting the Parliamentarians. Now a retail and marketing centre, it also supports light industry.

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Northampton

1. a town in central England, administrative centre of Northamptonshire, on the River Nene: footwear and engineering industries. Pop.: 189 474 (2001)

2. short for Northamptonshire

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Northampton 

a city in Great Britain, on the Nene River. Population, 126,600 (1971). Northampton, a borough and county town of Northamptonshire, is a center of the shoe industry. Machinery for shoemaking is manufactured there, as are hoisting and transport machines, earthmovers, automobile and airplane parts, and radio-electronic equipment.