Daventry's history trail receives a great welcome
It's been two years in the making
A trail tracing the history of Daventry through a series of blue plaques has been launched.
It also takes in a host of grade 1 or grade 2 listed buildings in the town and has been the brainchild of Lawrence Wheeler, who's been an entertainer and local entrepreneur for many years.
Lawrence had the idea and saw its success at nearby Brixworth, so plans were put in motion to start a trail for Daventry, telling stories in a path around plaques and historic sites.
Grace Magee of Discover Daventry says they unearthed some stories dating back at least 500 or so years:
"Charles the first stayed at the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Daventry, on his way to the Battle of Naseby. That is now Wheatsheaf Court which is a nursing home, so we hear that detail.
"There's also talk of William Shakespeare staying here whilst he was working on one of his renowned theatre productions too."
She goes on to add that it's met with great initial response:
"We've had really good feedback so far, so we are hopefully planning perhaps quarterly guided walks around the stops."
A leaflet showing the trail is available from the Sheaf Street Health Store.