Long Buckby has a long history stretching back to at least 1066 when the Domesday book recorded quite a large village totalling 38 households. Shortly afterwards a small castle was built for the new Norman lord and his family and the earthworks can still be seen in the village today. Buckby has grown a lot since then and seen several different forms of industry come and go; in the 17th Century weaving featured strongly whilst by the 1800's a very strong boot and shoe manufacturing industry was shaping the village we live in today. Long Buckby became famous for it's very high quality cavalry boots and many of the larger houses and factories built during this time can still be seen today.
There is a direct link between the boot and shoe industry and our farm too as the farmhouse and land were bought by Thomas Sanders, a pioneering factory owner and one of the first to bring mass production techniques from America to shoe manufacturing to the UK. He also built housing for his workers (Sanders Terrace, close to his factory on the market square is named after him) and was responsible for employing a significant number of villagers.
Long Buckby has an active local history society and museum so if you are tracing your relatives or ancestors it's well worth making time to visit whilst staying with us. Our holiday cottages and farm also sit within a few miles of several important events in British history which have shaped the country we live in today.
The Gunpowder Plot was conceived and and plotted in 1605 just 5 miles away in Ashby St Ledgers. Robert Catesby and his fellow conspirators planned to blow up Parliament and kill King James I, an excellent summary of the events can be found on this BBC website.
The Battle of Naseby was fought in 1645 9 miles from the farm when King Charles and his Royalist army were crushed by Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army. The Royalists had camped at Daventry before moving off towards Market Harborough with our farm lying on a direct line for this march. We've found quite a number of musket balls from this era on the farm which we'd like to think shows our own little part in the drama surrounding the climax of the English Civil War.
St Mary's Church in Great Brington (2 miles from the farm) is the final resting place of both the Spencer family (Lady Diana is buried on the nearly Althorp Estate) and their cousin Lawrence Washington. Lawrence was the great - great - great grandfather of George Washington, the first President of the United States of America; on his stone tomb in the church you can see the Washington coat of arms which formed the basis of the Stars and Stripes flag.
More information about Long Buckby, Daventry and our local area, including upcoming events and places to visit can be found on the LoveDaventry website.