Northampton Medieval Heritage Regeneration Project Proposal

Great news! We’ve been working hard to put together a proposal for the regeneration of a part of Northampton that we feel is sadly overlooked and has huge potential. Our proposal is now available for download as a PDF. The Project encompasses a number of inter-linked initiatives together comprising the development of a Medieval Heritage Hub in Marefair, right in the heart of medieval Northampton.

The main aim of the Marefair Heritage-Led Regeneration Project is to revive Marefair in West Northampton, into a thriving, living space that promotes the rich heritage of the town. The numerous points of historic interest along Marefair are ideally suited to developing the street into a historic gateway leading towards the town centre from the train station.

The goals set out in the proposal are to:

• Restore Northampton Castle to public recognition and enjoyment. This will be achieved through community archaeology digs at the green-space beside St Andrews Road, uncovering and preserving the remnants of the Castle buildings which lie under this area and the development of a landscaped medieval garden to replace the unused tarmac car-park on Chalk Lane.

• Replace the vacant Castle House office block with a ‘Plaza’ to provide a social, cultural and leisure focus to the street, providing opportunities for community micro-enterprises to serve the space and for promotion of the arts through performance and open air exhibition space. The Plaza will be designed and developed to be sympathetic to the stunning medieval architecture of St Peter’s Church opposite and is a possible site for the relocation for the extant Castle Postern Gate during redevelopment of Northampton Station.

• Develop Hazelrig House or another venue on Marefair into a Medieval Heritage Resource Centre providing a focus for promotion of Northampton’s rich medieval history, educational opportunities and further employment and enterprise.

If you would like to read more, download our Project Proposal and get the complete picture.