South Northamptonshire offers many places of interest to discover, from the excitement of Silverstone Circuit to the historic splendour of Sulgrave Manor, a wonderful Tudor manor house which was home to George Washington's ancestors. To make the most of your visit, contact our Tourist Information Centre for details of places to see and special events which are taking place in the area.
You can contact us for more info about:
Lawrence Washington came to the county of Northamptonshire in about 1529 as steward to Lord Parr (uncle of Henry VIII's sixth wife Catherine Parr).
He married Amy Pargiter, heiress to Stutchbury and Greatworth, whose fortunes were founded in the wool trade. They bought Sulgrave from Henry VIII and built the present house.
The Washington family sold Sulgrave and later emigrated to America in 1657. Their great grandson was George Washington, first President of America.
In the parish church of St James the Less you can see their coat of arms showing the mullets and bars of the Washingtons or the stars and stripes of the United States! You can experience 'living history' re-enactments of life in the 17th and 18th centuries at Sulgrave Manor.
Visit the Sulgrave Manor website.
The gardens surrounding this Elizabethan Mansion are by Capability Brown. The house itself is not open to view, but it is available for weddings, conferences and other private events. Visit the Castle Ashby website.
Close to the house is Castle Ashby shopping yard. Go to our pages on shopping for more information (insert link to shopping pages)
The two pavilions, dated 1630, attributed to Inigo Jones, formed part of the first Palladian country house built in England by Sir Francis Crane. The central block, which linked to the pavilions by a quadrant of colonnades, was burnt down in 1886. Extensive gardens and fountains overlook the former park, now farmland. Open August daily 3-6pm
Here are some great attractions which may not be in South Northamptonshire but are nearby – and well worth a visit:
Long known for the beauty of its setting and a fine collection of paintings, furniture and porcelain, Althorp became the focus of the world's attention on 6 September 1997 when Diana, Princess of Wales was laid to rest there after her tragically early death. The estate's famous stable block of honey-coloured stone houses the exhibition dedicated to her life. Open each year for the months of July and August. For more information visit Althorp website.
A National Trust property, with a 16th century manor house, once the home of the Dryden family, and a church which once formed part of a 13th century Augustinian priory. The house offers the interest of Elizabethan wall paintings and Jacobean plaster work. There are also delightful gardens, a small park and the "Old Brewhouse" tearoom. For details of opening times and further information, visit the National Trust website.
Originally built in 1677, Stowe House was extensively remodelled in the 18th century by Lord Cobham. The House is now part of a major public school and is owned by Stowe House Preservation Trust. The landscape gardens, now owned by the National Trust, were one of the foremost 18th century gardens, with work by Vanbrugh, Gibbs and Kent. You can walk through the gardens, enjoying lovely views of their temples and lakes, and there is both a tearoom and gift shop.
For further details on Stowe House and its opening times, visit Stowe House website. For more information on Stowe Landscape Gardens, visit the National Trust website.
An interesting, unspoilt 17th century house in the Cherwell Valley with formal 18th century landscaped gardens. The gardens are open daily year round and the house is open to pre-booked groups from May to September. For further information visit Rousham Park House and Gardebns page on Information Britain website.
Other historic houses in the wider area include Blenheim Palace, Warwick Castle, Holdenby House, Upton House and Farnborough Hall.
You can walk for miles on footpaths, or ride along ancient byways and bridle paths in the quiet, unspoiled countryside. Long-distance footpaths such as the Knightley Way, Grafton Way, Midshires and Jurassic Way are sign-posted across the county.
A number of walks leaflets - some free of charge, others at a small cost - are available from Brackley Tourist Information Centre.
The Grand Union or Oxford canals are of interest not only for boaters, but also wildlife enthusiasts, photographers, anglers, and walkers.
At Cosgrove the 18th-century engineers joined two halves of the canal with a 31m long iron aqueduct carrying the canal 10m above the River Ouse. The Cosgrove Leisure Park features fishing lakes and a water sports area offering windsurfing, water and jet skiing and pitches for 900 touring caravans.
Visit the picturesque village of Stoke Bruerne with its Canal Museum, pubs and restaurants, and walk along the towpath to Blisworth Tunnel, the longest navigable tunnel in England.
Almost every village has a historic church, many with Northamptonshire's famous spires, such as Kings Sutton, Greens Norton and Middleton Cheney. There are medieval wall paintings at Slapton, Croughton and Passenham.
William Campiun, a 14th-century stone mason, is shown at work in a window of the parish church of St Mary Magdalen at Helmdon, where the old yew in the churchyard is said to be 2000 years old. Stone from Helmdon was used in great houses such as Easton Neston, Woburn, Blenheim and Stowe.