Hazelrigg
house
Little of importance is known about
Hazelrigg house. It was built in Marefair not far from St
Peters church and dates back to 1662. It is the towns
oldest domestic building and its fame is in being one of
the few buildings to survive the Great Fire of 1675 in
Northampton. Although largely untouched by the fire, it
did lose two of its five bays. Legend also has it that
Cromwell slept here the night before his decisive victory
at the battle of Naseby in 1645 but the myth is blown
apart from the date of the building.
The house was named after the family who owned it. Robert
Hesilrige was the owner but the Hesilrige claim to fame
comes from the principal, Sir Arthur Heselrige. He was a
leading parliamentarian and a distinguished soldier.
Warned of Charles I intent to impeach him and four other
members of parliament, he fled the House of Commons. He
was a powerful figure during Cromwells protectorate but
at the restoration of the Monarchy, his life was spared
because he refused to sign Charles
I death warrant. Instead, he was commited to and
according to records, died shortly afterwards in the
Tower of London in 1661. And it's this story that the
myth is based on.
Listed by English Heritage, it has a two-star grading, which puts it in the top four per cent of listed buildings in the country. It is one of the town's only true examples of Elizabethan architecture and is also known as a Cromwell house due to the myth.