The earliest stories of Hazelrigg House come from around 1620 when it was the home of John Reading, upholder of the king’s rights here in Northampton. Oliver Cromwell spent the night here in 1645 on his way to the Battle of Naseby, where his army of parliamentarians thrashed the main royalist army of Charles I. 

 

In 1675, the house was one of only a few buildings to survive the great fire of Northampton, which caused extensive damage to the town. 

The building was then bought by Robert Hesilrige, an important figure on the parliamentary side in the Civil War. Staying in the family for many years, the house and family changed their name to Hazelrigg in 1818. 

 

Around the turn of the century, the house became a school, then passed through the hands of George Baker, a local historian, and James Mold, a timber merchant, until 1913, when it became occupied by the Northampton Women’s Institute and the Northants Architectural and Archaeological Society. 

 

After becoming an architect’s office in 1963, Northampton Borough Council took on the building in the 1980s, during which time it stayed mostly empty. English Heritage then became tenants in 1994, leaving the house in 2004. Since then, it has been occupied by children’s nurseries and the Looking Glass Theatre Company until falling empty. We were thrilled to take on the lease in February 2024.