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Quintessentially Haselbech:

A Portrait of a Northamptonshire Village

Haselbech is a small village with a remarkably rich history. It may look timeless as one passes through, but scratch below the surface and we quickly see the extraordinary changes in this part of rural Northamptonshire down the centuries.

The story of this delightful village is the subject of a new book, Quintessentially Haselbech, to be published in December. We learn how the residents of Haselbech became rioters in 1607, fed up with their landowners booting them off the land in favour of sheep; how the Squire demolished most of the village and built anew; and how the rural poor in this part of Northamptonshire endured the grinding poverty of the early Victorian era. The 1850s heralded the arrival of Viscountess Milton, a formidable woman who clashed with all and sundry as she remoulded the village in her own image.

The future Edward VII passed by for a drink in 1863. In the 1880s Haselbech Hall was the home of the dashing Bay Middleton, who rode alongside Empress Elisabeth of Austria when she rented Cottesbrooke Hall. In 1907 Haselbech became the home of Bower Ismay: his elder brother Bruce ran the family shipping line and was on board their ship, Titanic, on its maiden voyage in 1912.

The book is packed with photos galore of life at the Hall in the 1930s. Then came the War, the Hall was requisitioned, and Haselbech was transformed by the presence of the military.

Since the passing of Mrs Ismay in 1963, Haselbech has evolved from a traditional estate village to the gentrified place we pass through today. The story of this small Northamptonshire village will fascinate all those who live in the surrounding parishes and who cherish our local history.