UON academic helps select four new notable Northamptonians

Public recognition has been secured for a quartet of notable Northamptonians thanks in part to a University of Northampton (UON) History academic.

Professor of History Matthew McCormack was a member of a panel tasked with ‘whittling down’ a list of local dignitaries and personalities of the past researched by local volunteers and historians.

Matthew and the panel selected the final four to receive a blue plaque linking them to a building associated with their personal and professional achievements and contributions to the town.

At a ceremony held at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) earlier this week, one of the plaques – to William Barratt – was officially unveiled outside the Barratt Maternity Home.

Barratt (1877-1939) was the Barratt Shoes industrialist, based in Kingsthorpe who had shops throughout the country.

He was also into ‘radical politics’ as a member of the Labour Party, interested in social justice, and a philanthropist who donated to good causes, including gifting funds to establish a maternity ward at NGH.

Generations of locals born in this facility refer to themselves as ‘Barratt Babies’. Barratt and his wife Alice helped improve maternal health in the town, establishing a gynaecology department at the Hospital.

The three other plaques* celebrate:

• Rose Scott (1857-1923) – Victorian education, housing and poverty campaigner. Scott was also Northampton’s first woman councillor, elected in 1919. Her plaque is located on a private residence on Birchfield Road, by the Collingwood Road junction.
• Joseph Gurney (1814-1893) – a ‘free-thinker’ and secularist who was also the Director of Freehold Society, concerned with property rights for workers. His plaque is located on a private residence on the corner of Elysium Terrace and Freehold Street.
• ‘Peter the Saracen (12th-13th centuries) – we know little about Peter other than that he as a skilled artisan and maker of crossbows based in Northampton Castle. He could have been of African origin, possibly Muslim, and is one of the earliest examples in historical records of Northampton’s Black community. His plaque is located in in the Chalk Lane carpark, close to the Northampton Castle mound.

Professor McCormack (pictured below, back centre, with some of the Panel, volunteers and Council staff) says: “Being part of the selection process for the blue plaques has been a great privilege. It’s wonderful they are now all in place for people to see and learn about these public figures. I learned a lot myself as my specialist area of history is the 18th Century, so this has been a real eye-opener.

“It’s important we know about the history and the people of our town and how they contributed to the Northampton of the past and, in some ways, to where we are now. I hope members of our community come and see the commemoration plaques and ‘get to know’ more about the local past.”

*The council is exploring the possibility of developing a wider blue plaque scheme covering the West Northamptonshire as part of Northampton Museum and Art Galley’s Histories of Northamptonshire Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation grant funded project, which will run from April 2023 until 2026. More information about the life and work of each plaque holder can be found on West Northamptonshire Council’s website.