Northamptonshire is a county in the English Midlands, bounded on the north by Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, on the east by Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, and Bedfordshire, on the south by Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, and on the west by Warwickshire. Its total area is 998 square miles.
In the west and southwest, the country is broken and hilly. In this region the rivers Cherwell, Avon, Leam, Welland, and Nene have their sources. The capital of the county is Northampton.
Early earthworks and camps are found at Arbury, Borough Hill, and Rainsbury. Watling Street and Ermine Street cross the county, and there are other Roman remains. Northamptonshire was anciently part of Mercia. During the War of the Roses, Henry VI was defeated at Northampton in 1460. In the Civil War (17th century), the county was the scene of the Battle of Naseby.
