Page 13 - Oundle Life January 2023

Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded in 1587. It’s believed that Mary descended these very stairs on the way to her execution, and those of a more vivid imagination have claimed her ghost still haunts the staircase.
The Ship Inn in West Street is another hostelry that has been serving since the 16th Century and, like several other buildings in town, it features an entranceway large enough to accommodate a coach and horses.
The Elizabethan and early Stuart periods played a great part in shaping Oundle into
the beautiful stone town it is today, with the remodelling of medieval town houses (such as those in North Street) and the building of new ones, many of which still stand today.
Amongst the finest is Cobthorne House in West Street. It was built in 1656 by William Butler, a Major-General in Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army. Since 1945, Cobthorne has been the home of the head of Oundle School.
Oundle Bookshop, with its distinctive colonnade (which allowed for an upstairs extension without the lower part of the building protruding onto the street) is another 17th Century building still in use today.
As the Age of Enlightenment gave way to the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era, Oundle continued to prosper and develop, but its style had been set, its grandeur assured. The town was built in stone and built to last, and the ravages of the Industrial era and two world wars thankfully did not adversely impact what is one of England’s finest stone towns.
Stuart Barker is a professional writer and author. He has a keen interest in local history and likes nothing better than riding round Northants visiting historical sites on his motorcycle.
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