University of Northampton (13th century) Information

The University of Northampton was based in Northampton, England, from 1261 to 1265.

The university was established by royal charter after approval from King Henry III in 1261. It was the third university in England, after Oxford and Cambridge, and the 22nd in Europe. After being advised by bishops and magnates that Northampton was a threat to Oxford, Henry III dissolved the university in 1265, and signed a Royal Decree that banned the establishment of a university in Northampton.

In 2005 the decree was repealed by the Privy Council, allowing the then University College Northampton (founded in 1924) to gain university status and become the University of Northampton.

Northampton was, in the 13th century, a far more important town than is evident today, so it is not particularly surprising that a university was established there. The town was also, briefly, the Kings seat.

The University of Northampton was founded in the reign of King Richard I (the ‘Lion-heart’) as a school. Richard patronised the institution and, according to at least one historian, between 1176 and 1193 the school at Northampton ‘rivalled or even eclipsed the Oxford schools’ The school lost a powerful supporter with the death of King Richard. However, it still enjoyed the patronage of Simon de Montfort through the reign of King John and his son Henry III.

There were violent town and gown confrontations in Cambridge in 1249, and again in 1260, when there was major rioting resulting in the execution of 16 townsmen and the severe punishment of many more. Following this, several scholars fled seeking sanctuary in Northampton. In 1261 Henry III was requested to give, and granted, permission for the settlement of a university in the town.

The existence of the University was brief. Four years after it was established, during the siege of Northampton, the scholars resisted the entry of the King’s forces, which resulted in Henry III revoking the town’s licence to have a University.

Some sources suggest an alternative motive for the closure of the University. As one writer put it"... an interesting proclamation from Henry III suggests a more parochial and self-interested reason for the folding of the town’s 13th century university. On 1 February 1265, Henry wrote to the mayors and burgesses of Northampton:

This suggests that academic rivalry played a part in the Kings decision as evidenced by the advice he received from professors at Oxford on the matter.

The universitys name was revived in 2005 when the then University College Northampton, itself an amalgam of earlier institutions, was upgraded to full university status and renamed the University of Northampton. Other than the name and the location in the town, there is no link between the medieval university and the modern university.

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