Brackley is one of the many historic towns in Northamptonshire, a county known for its extremely old and significant cities. What sets Brackley apart from the pack, however, is the fact that it has held on to so much of its rich history throughout the years without succumbing to outside pressures such as suburban sprawl or heavy infrastructure. Thus, a trip to Brackley is not unlike walking around in a living, breathing history book.
Little is known about Brackley before the tenth century because those days were a time of tumult and upheaval. The period before Medieval times is often referred to as the Dark Ages for a reason: There is very little light shed on the actions that occurred in those few centuries after the collapse of Rome. Before its fall Rome was a shining example of education and historical research but once the Dark Ages set in reading was a past time usually reserved only for monks. Thus, there is very little information as to the day to day life of England and Western Europe in those days. What we do know is that Brackley was already a thriving town when it was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Brackele. Brackley soon garnered the attention of many powerful individuals including Richard I, who liked to hold jousting competitions in the town. The events were held at the gorgeous castle that once stood in Brackley but sadly is no longer with us. In the greatest of ironies, the historic castle was destroyed in 1173 by Henry III, a self-proclaimed fan of the first King Richard.
Brackley managed to keep its name in the history books from that point forward and its greatest claim to fame may have came in the year 1215. By that time Brackley was well established and it became the meeting place for a group of barons that would enact the Magna Carta. The signing of that famous document was one of the first instances in history when a nation would call its King into check and it forever changed the way Europe would be ruled from then on. The rumor goes that King John had signed the Magna Carta in Brackley but this was later proven to be untrue: The real site of the historic event was the town of Runnymede. At any rate, Brackley was most assuredly the spot where the Magna Carta was formally declared and thus the town will forever be a part of history. These days Brackley has a population of around fifteen thousand people and most of these residents couldn't be happier to be a part of this lovely slice of earth. There are of course all of the modern amenities that make life in the twenty first century such a wonderful time to be alive but there are also plenty of stark reminders of the many generations that have come before in Brackley. Thus, Brackley may be less of a living history book than a living almanac that includes not only the past but the present and future as well.
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