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Brackley is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. It is on the borders with Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, east-southeast of Banbury, north-northeast of Oxford, and southwest of Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the intersecting trade routes between London, Birmingham, the English Midlands, Cambridge and Oxford. Brackley is close to Silverstone and home to the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. In 2021 the parish had a population of 16,195.
In the 11th and 12th centuries Brackley was in the Hundred of Odboldistow and in the Manor of Halse. Richard I (The Lionheart) named five official sites for jousting tournaments so that such events could not be used as local wars, and Brackley was one of these. The tournament site is believed to be to the south of the castle where the A422 now passes.
The town was the site of an important meeting between the barons and representatives of the King in 1215, the year of Magna Carta. Magna Carta required King John to proclaim rights, respect laws and accept that the King's wishes were subject to law. It explicitly protected certain rights of the King's subjects, whether freemen, serfs, slaves or prisoners—most notably allowing appeal against unlawful imprisonment. King John and the barons were to have signed Magna Carta at Brackley Castle, but they eventually did so at Runnymede.
Market day was on Sundays until 1218, when it was changed to Wednesdays. It is now on Friday mornings.
The Tudor Antiquarian John Leland visited Brackley, where he learned 'a Lord of the Towne' named Neville had (at an uncertain point in the past) had the parish vicar murdered. This he had done by having the man buried alive. The writer Daniel Codd observed that in the grounds of St Peter's Church, a human-shaped stone effigy is sometimes pointed out as being connected with the event.
In 1597 the town was incorporated by Elizabeth I. It had a mayor, six aldermen and 26 burgesses.
In 1602, the metaphysical poet John Donne was elected as Member of Parliament for the constituency of Brackley.Colclough, "Donne, John (1572–1631)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, October 2007 oxforddnb.com. Retrieved 18 May 2010
Brackley used to be known for wool and lace-making.
It had 20 houses in the 18th century. In August 1882 the Brackley Lawn Tennis Club organised the Brackley LTC Tournament, as part of the Brackley Show.Routledge's Sporting Annual (1883) Lawn Tennis Tournaments of 1882. George Routledge and Sons. London. England. p.116.
In 1901 the population of the town was 2,467.
From 1974 to 2021 it was in South Northamptonshire district.
Waynflete had founded Magdalen College, Oxford in 1458 and Magdalen College School, Oxford in 1480. He made the former hospital part of their property and by 1548 it was Magdalen College School, Brackley. St James' chapel became the school chapel, in which use it remains today. It is the oldest building in Great Britain in continuous use by a school. The oldest part of the chapel is the west doorway, which is late Norman. Most of its windows are slightly later, being Early English Gothic . The trio of stepped lancets above the west doorway are late 13th century. The Gothic Revival architect Charles Buckeridge restored the chapel in 1869–70.
The Hospital of St. Leonard was a smaller institution, founded to care for Leprosy. It was from SS. James and John, apparently on the northern edge of Brackley. It was in existence by 1280. After 1417 it shared the same master as SS. James and John and thereafter there is no separate record of St. Leonard's, so the larger hospital may have taken it over. No buildings of St. Leonard's hospital have survived.
Brackley Manor House was also a 17th-century Jacobean building that also originally had one storey plus attic dormers. In 1875–78 the Earl of Ellesmere had it rebuilt on a larger scale, in the same style but retaining only the doorway and one window of the original building. It is now Winchester House School, a coeducational preparatory school for children aged from 3–13. It used to be a Woodard School.
Brackley Town Hall is Georgian, built in 1706 by the 4th Earl of Bridgewater. The ground floor was originally open but has since been enclosed. Market Place and Bridge Street feature a number of other early 18th-century houses and inns, mostly of brick and in several cases combining red and blue bricks in a chequer pattern.
The town park belongs to the National Trust and hosts the Folk in the Park festival.
The town has numerous bus services and is connected to other towns and cities including Banbury (499, 500), Bicester (505), Buckingham (131, 132), Towcester, Oxford and Northampton (88).
Brackley's first station, known in its latter years as Brackley Town, opened in May 1850 as part of the Buckinghamshire Railway's Buckingham and Brackley Junction line between and via . The London and North Western Railway operated the line from the beginning and absorbed the Buckinghamshire Railway Company in 1879. withdrew passenger trains from the line through Brackley Town station in January 1961 and closed the line to freight in 1966.
Brackley's second station was , opened in March 1899 on the Great Central Main Line, which was the last main line to be built between northern England and London. The GC Main Line included Brackley Viaduct across the Ouse Valley southeast of the town, which was in length, high, had 20 brick arches and two girder spans. British Railways withdrew passenger trains from the line through Brackley Central in September 1966. Brackley Viaduct was demolished in sections early in 1978.
Chiltern Railways is said to want to restore services between and Rugby along the former Great Central Main Line. This would have Brackley Central railway station reopen with direct services to London, and Rugby. However, the Department for Transport has chosen part of the former Great Central route north-west of Brackley as part of the new High Speed 2 line between London and Birmingham. A station at Brackley is not currently proposed.
Brackley Sports Football Club first team plays in the North Bucks and District League Premier Division and its reserve team plays in the North Bucks and District League Intermediate Division. It also has a ladies' team that plays in the Northants Women's League.
Brackley Athletic Football Club Brackley AFC is a junior football club affiliated with the Northamptonshire Football Association. It plays in three leagues: the under 7s – 10s are in the Milton Keynes & District Junior Sevens League, the under 11s – 16s are in the Milton Keynes & Border Counties League and the girls' team is in the Oxford Girls' Football League.
Brackley Cricket Club run 2 Saturday Teams and a Midweek Team as well as a Kwik Cricket and Junior Teams. They play in the Cherwell Cricket League and play at Brackley Cricket Club Ground.
Brackley Rugby Union Football Club currently plays in the English Rugby Union Midland Division's Counties 2 Midlands East (South) League. It hosts two senior sides and a number of teams in the junior section.
Brackley has a tennis club, a leisure centre and swimming pool, a martial arts academy and a badminton club.
South of the town is St. James lake, a balancing lake of almost created in 1977. Fishing in the lake is managed by a local angling club. The lake is in a wildlife park that is open to the public.
Secular buildings
The were founded in 1633 by Sir Thomas Crewe of Steane. They have one storey plus attic . They were originally six houses but by 1973 they had been converted into four apartments.
Transport
Roads and buses
Brackley is close to the A43 road, which bypasses the town and links it to Towcester and Northampton to the north-east and the M40 motorway to the west. The A422 links it to Banbury and Buckingham.
Railways
There are no railways stations in Brackley - the nearest stations are at , about west of the town and Banbury, around away. A bus service links Brackley town centre to Banbury station. Brackley had two railway stations but these were closed in the 1960s.
Industry
Brackley is near the Silverstone motor racing circuit, and has some industry related to Formula One racing, notably Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (formerly Brawn GP, Honda, British American Racing and Tyrrell Racing) which is based in the town, and the Aston Martin F1 team which operates a wind tunnel on the former site of the north railway station yard. On the east outskirts of the town was H. Bronnley & Co., makers of hand-made soaps who hold Royal Warrants of Appointment for supplying Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III.
Schools
Brackley has four primary schools: Bracken Leas, Southfield Primary Academy, The Radstone Primary School and Brackley Junior School. The town also has Waynflete Infants' School, most of whose pupils progress to Brackley Church of England Junior School. There is a private pre-prep/prep school for 3- to 13-year-olds, Winchester House. Magdalen College School, Brackley is the comprehensive secondary school for the town and surrounding villages.
Media
Local news and television programmes is provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian. Television signals in the town are received from the Oxford TV transmitter. The town is served by both BBC Radio Oxford and BBC Radio Northampton. Other radio stations including Heart South, Capital Midlands and 3Bs radio that broadcasts from Buckingham. Local newspapers are Banbury Guardian and Northampton Chronicle.
Morris dancing
The Brackley Morris Men are one of only seven 'traditional Cotswold' sides remaining in England, and the only one to survive in Northamptonshire. Their history dates back to the 1600s when a solid silver communion plate was given to the parish. The plate which is still in the possession of St Peter's Church is dated 1623, and is inscribed with the names of seven men, whom local folklore believes to have been the Morris dancers. In 1725 the men were paid half a guinea to dance at the Whitsun Ale at Aynho House.Northamptonshire Record Office, Cartwright papers, Josh Burton 1722–35 In 1766 their 'Squire' was arrested in Oxford for his insolence and committed to Bridewell as a vagrant. In 1866 an article in the Oxford Chronicle reported on their performance in Banbury, describing their 'many coloured ribbons and other gaudy finery', and the 'witless buffoonery' of their 'fool'. The side still performs today.
Sports and leisure
Football
Brackley Town Football Club, Brackley Town Football Club known as the Saints, play in National League North. Its finest season was in 2013–14 when it reached the FA Cup Second Round having beaten League One side Gillingham 1–0 in a First round replay following a 1–1 draw. Brackley Town's ground is St James Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2018, this being the first time in the club's history. In the 2024-25 season they were crowned champions of the National League North and will play in the National League for the first time in the 2025-26 season
Motorsport
Brackley is also the home of F1 team Mercedes AMG Petronas having had Brawn GP, who were bought out by Mercedes-Benz in 2009. Honda F1 and BAR, who were bought out by Honda in 2006 were previously based in Brackley.The Brackley App It was also the home of the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team.
Other clubs and facilities
Brackley Netball Club has 2 teams in the Milton Keynes league and 1 team in the Cherwell league. The 1st team, known as “Falcons”, play in the prem league and the 2nd team, known as “Eagles”, play in division 3. They also have a junior side, with all teams training at the local Magdalen School.
Closest cities, towns and villages
Further reading
External links
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