Oundle
 Castles |
A delightful, small ‘old-world' town hemmed in on three sides by the River Nene, Oundle has been the market centre for the surrounding valleys since Saxon times. It has been described as the most charming town in Northamptonshire with its ancient stone-built houses of soft grey limestone, its noble church dominating the town centre, picturesque old inns and a famous public school, all complemented by a pleasant pastoral setting very close to the Fenlands. Oundle's streets remain spacious, bordered by dignified houses spanning three centuries - their ancient beams, steeply pitched roofs and dormer windows being typical of the town.
Of the four historic inns found in Oundle, the finest is the Talbot Inn, with its attractive grey stone frontage incorporating mullioned and transomed windows on two storeys; inside, there is a wonderful Jacobean staircase. The inn was built in 1626 incorporating stone brought from nearby Fotheringhay Castle, where Mary, Queen of Scots was executed in 1587. Sparse remains of this castle now survive, a grassy mound marks its site. The frontage of the White Lion, built in 1641, incorporates three striking gables as well as mullioned windows while the interior includes some very old beams. The Old Ship is best described as quaint with its winding stairs, low hanging beams that demand careful navigation and a delightful 17 th century panelled room. Finally, the Anchor Inn, oldest of the four, was rebuilt in 1637 and is surrounded by a cluster of low gabled cottages sited haphazardly about it in St Osyth's Lane - they probably all date from the 16 th century.
Oundle has three sets of old almshouses, the best being Parson Latham's two-storied building in North Street. Built in 1611 with gabled wings and two courtyards, the structure was intended as a school for boys and a home for poor women; it remains practically unspoilt to this day and contributes to the harmony of the town. Sir William Laxton's almshouses, built to provide shelter for seven poor men, have been meticulously rebuilt in Church Lane, while Paine's Almshouses remain in West Street, adapted as they were in 1802 as a Nonconformist Church.
Also in West Street is the charming private house ‘Cobthorne', a three-storied dwelling built by the Cromwellian soldier William Butler. Other private houses of note include the many gabled Berrystead House, an early 18 th century structure with dormer windows in its attics, and a similarly early 18 th century building, Branston House, adorned with pilasters and a balustraded parapet.
The invading Normans built a church in Oundle, as evidenced by masonry found in the walls of its medieval church, these date back to the 12 th century; only a portion of one Norman arch remains, in the north wall of the chapel. Equally revealing is the discovery of a fragment belonging to a Saxon church, a coffin lid carved with plaitwork; the site of the Saxon church is unclear.
Oundle's medieval church rises-up from amongst an old-world cluster of stone houses, divided by narrow yards and alleyways, its elegant spire atop a gloriously crenellated tower is a welcoming landmark far-and-wide. The splendid south porch, giving the appearance of a small building in itself, is two storied with battlements, pinnacles and gargoyles. Its finial, three-canopied niches and the carving in the spandrel of the doorway were all completed about 1485, financed privately by Robert and Joan Wyatt. With the exception of this porch and the 16 th century vestry, all the walls of the church are 13 th century and a few of the original windows remain with their magnificent tracery intact, a lasting testament to medieval craftsmanship. These latter include a fine lancet window in the south aisle and an impressive five-light window in the south transept incorporating three great wheels in its tracery, each wheel containing five large rings around a smaller one in its centre. The 15 th century lectern is one of the 50 brass eagles that have survived from medieval days, and there is a striking brass chandelier with a cherub on top.
So to the tower and steeple, which dominates Oundle. The tower was begun at the end of the 14 th century and completed about the time Joan of Arc was burned at Rouen. It is built in upright lines with buttresses diminishing as they approach the splendid battlements - the effect is to give a feeling of lightness and beauty to this great structure. From the battlements rise four imposing corner turrets out of which springs the spire - tall, slender, decorated, graceful with high slim window openings. The tower and spire rise more than 200ft above our heads and remain a masterpiece of building.
Oundle's famous public school began life when William Laxton, a citizen of the town and grocer in the days of Henry VIII, went to London, became Lord Mayor and in his prosperity endowed Oundle with this school in 1556. The old Laxton School, rebuilt in 1885, has a gabled end on the market-square and a front on the churchyard, where there is an open storey of four wide arches with a range of windows in the Tudor style and an oriel at one end. Built into the wall here is the bronze tablet from the original school with the arms of the City of London and the Grocers' Company (of which Sir William Laxton was a Master).