Discover Long Buckby

The history of Long Buckby is reflected in buildings and named places from different centuries. A ringwork, a parish church with later additions, High Street houses and features along the Grand Union Canal each mark a different period. If you are looking for a hotel in Long Buckby, this focus offers a clear starting point: you might be interested in early history, local architecture or the history of building along the canal. The timeline stretches from the 12th century to examples from the 19th century; some buildings were extended over several centuries.

The ringwork and medieval connections

Long Buckby Castle ringwork is in the village centre and is locally known as The Mounts. The ringwork and bailey are protected as a Scheduled Monument. They are believed to have been built in the 12th century by the de Quincy family. This brings together a designated protection status and a cautiously worded historical attribution: the protection applies to the monument, while the de Quincys’ role in its construction is a possible interpretation.

The church, museum and High Street

The parish church of St Lawrence in Long Buckby dates from the 12th and 13th centuries and also includes elements from later centuries. It therefore represents a building history with several layers from different periods, rather than a single date of construction. The Long Buckby Museum offers a different historical connection: it opened in 2000 with the help of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The museum’s beginnings are therefore much later than the medieval connections of the church and ringwork. The church provides a way to trace development over several centuries, while the museum’s opening gives a precisely dated point of reference.

The High Street also combines a listed row of houses with a specific architectural detail. The row at numbers 5a, 7, 9 and 11 is listed Grade II; it includes a prominent 19th-century shopfront at number 7. The listing of the group and the highlighted shopfront detail offer two different scales for looking at the local architecture.

By the Grand Union Canal

At Long Buckby Wharf on the Grand Union Canal stands Bridge No. 12, an early 19th-century structure made of cast iron, brick and stone. Also at the wharf is an early 19th-century cast-iron milestone with raised lettering. Both examples belong to roughly the same period and feature cast iron, but differ in other respects: the bridge combines three building materials, while the milestone is distinguished by its raised lettering. One draws attention to a structure’s combination of materials, the other to a designed detail on the milestone.

Landscape and walking routes

Long Buckby Pocket Park, also known as Mill Park Reserve, is a large water-meadow on the edge of the village near Murcott. This adds a distinct landscape aspect to the historic buildings. Scenic walking routes also run along the Grand Union Canal in Long Buckby. If you are planning walks by the canal, check access and path conditions before setting out, as both can change.

Discover more destinations: Harpole, Kettering, Church Stowe, Staverton, Nassington, Blisworth, Brackley, Wollaston

For the regional travel overview: Northamptonshire.