Things you didn't know about... Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is bonkers for conkers

The World Conker Championships are held every year in Northamptonshire. The tournament was conceived in 1965 and takes place on Ashton village green—which, aptly enough, is surrounded by conker trees.

There's no business like shoe business

Northamptonshire has been the centre of shoe-making for centuries because of its abundance of cows for leather and clay for tanning. King John was one of its first high-profile clients way back in the 13th century.

The police are quick off the mark here

In 1899, PS Hector Macleod, a Northamptonshire officer, was the first police officer in the world to capture a criminal after a car chase.

Gnome is where the heart is

Northamptonshire was the first place in Britain to encounter the garden gnome. In 1874, British eccentric Sir Charles Isham decorated his rockery at Lamport Hall with German gnomes. Only one survives—Lampy, who is now insured for ?1 million.

Northamptonshire invented the theme park

The first leisure park in the UK opened in Northamptonshire. Wicksteed Park was founded by Charles Wicksteed in 1913 so that families with no gardens could play away from the streets. The water chute he designed is now nearly 80 years old and still in operation.

Remember, remember...

5 November 1605 would have seen the death of Protestant King James I and his government if a dastardly plan first concocted in Northamptonshire had been successful. The Gunpowder Plot is believed to have been hatched in a manor in the Northamptonshire village of Ashby St Ledgers.

What the Dickens?

Author Charles Dickens was a regular visitor to Northamptonshire. He stayed in Towcester at The Saracen's Head, which features in The Pickwick Papers. Dickens was also a guest at Rockingham Castle, the inspiration for Chesney Wolds in Bleak House.

Northamptonshire has seen royals come and go

Not much is left of Fotheringhay Castle but the site witnessed many important pieces of royal history. Richard III was born there in 1452, while Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded in the Great Hall in 1587.

Northamptonshire man cracks "secret to life"

In 1953 Francis Crick and his American colleague James Watson announced that they had found the "the secret of life". Crick, who was born in Northamptonshire and studied at Northampton Grammar School, had co-discovered the very structure of DNA.