Would you like to meet earlier inhabitants of your town or village in the documents they left behind? Would you like to find out more about the wealth of records at Northamptonshire Archives and meet others with similar interests?
Our series of workshops is continuing in Spring 2026. All will take place at the Society’s Library in the building we share with Northamptonshire Archives at Wootton Hall Park, Northampton, NN4 8BQ.
Numbers are limited, so please do book your place by sending an email to
The format is:
10.00 am - Meet at the Record Society library for an introduction and explanation
11.00 am - Coffee and biscuits
11.15 am - Original documents on display and available in the search room
Saturday 7th February 2026
Bill Franklin: A brief history of English maps and how to read them
This session will look at English maps from the 16th century to 1900. All the examples used will be Northamptonshire maps, mostly from the county archives. We’ll look at Estate Maps, Enclosure Maps, Planning Maps (e.g. railways), Town Maps and Ordnance Survey Maps, and there will be some information on surveying and reading maps. Examples of the different types of map will be available to view and explore.
(Bill Franklin is the General Editor of the Northamptonshire Record Society and co-wrote the definitive book The Enclosure of Northamptonshire, 1485 – 1901).
Saturday 7th March 2026
Wendy Raybould: Looking at the manorial records of Northamptonshire
A survey of the very patchy survival, and even original existence, of manorial records across the county. We will be looking at examples of the different types of document generated by the administration of a manor from different parts of Northamptonshire and the light they throw on the lives of people in the past.
(Wendy Raybould has an MA in English Local History and a PhD in Industrial Archaeology, both from Leicester and has extensive experience of teaching local history adult education classes in the county).
POSTPONED TO 3 OCTOBER 2026
Deborah Hayter: 18th-century Poor Law and Settlement records
Last time we looked at how the Old Poor Law worked in the 17th century, with each parish responsible for its own poor, and raising the funds to support them. The pressures on the system grew through the 18th century as the population became more mobile, which produced a raft of fascinating documentation as parishes tried to work out who belonged to which parish. Lots of documents to look at in the archives.
(Deborah Hayter has an MA from the University of Leicester and has taught courses in Local and Landscape History for Oxford University for the last 20 years.)
Cost of each event - £10 per person.
Venue - The Northamptonshire Record Society library is within the Archives Service building, Wootton Hall Park, Northampton, NN4 8BQ.
How to book - Please send an email to