Northampton Market Square
Restoring Northampton Market Square as the heart of the town
Northampton, UK
Northampton Market Square, one of Britain’s oldest and longest-running markets, had suffered from declining footfall and a diminished role in the town. Through transformative public realm design by Gillespies, it has been reimagined as a vibrant civic and commercial heart once more.
Reclaiming the Heart of Northampton
Northampton Market Square has been the heart of the town since 1235. Like many town centres nationwide, it has suffered from declining footfall and reduced spending. Its outdated appearance, limited seating, and lack of events or play spaces left it underused and uninviting for residents.
To reverse this decline, West Northamptonshire Council, in partnership with Gillespies, led a £12.4 million heritage-led regeneration, supported by £8.4 million from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund. This transformation has revitalised Market Square into a vibrant, flexible space—providing a permanent home for traders while creating a dynamic hub for community events.
The historic square is now a multi-functional event space, featuring new paving, 18 permanent custom-designed market stalls, tiered seating, tree planting, updated lighting and an animated water feature that celebrates Northampton's rich shoemaking heritage. The square has been designed to re-activate the town centre, providing flexible, engaging spaces for community use and cultural gatherings while also offering generous spill-out spaces for local businesses.
The square’s design features a simple yet elegant zoning of spaces, using materials that reflect the site’s rich heritage. Reclaimed cobbles have been thoughtfully preserved and repurposed to accentuate key pathways, while exquisite natural porphyry stone has been chosen to harmonise with the warm, varied colour palette of the surrounding architecture and new market stalls. The early decision to introduce a water feature has enhanced the square, ensuring the space remains lively and engaging outside of market trading hours.
As well as the design of the square, Gillespies has led the design and implementation of the bespoke market stalls tailored to each local traders' needs. Crafted in Italy from heavy-duty steel with durable cladding, these stalls feature utilities such as power, lighting, and water, along with automated shutters for added security. A range of semi-permanent stalls provide a mix of options for traders with different needs and encourage a greater variety of products and services for customers.
Visitors to Northampton Town Centre can now enjoy improved connectivity, with the newly redesigned Market Square providing direct access to the Grosvenor Centre from Abington Street, which is also undergoing public realm enhancement work by Gillespies. These enhancements facilitate a smoother flow through the town’s central areas, making the square a more inviting and accessible space for all
The regeneration of Northampton Square has been a transformative journey for the local community, who played an integral role in shaping its future.
The Concept
Project details
Title
Northampton Market Square
Client
West Northamptonshire Council
Status
Complete
Project team
Gillespies,DSA, Fountain Workshop, Blueprint Services, Prestige, Stepnell and Turquoise Thinking
Gillespies team
Tom Walker, Peter Livings, Katie Hodgson, Mathew Cockburn, Yingming Hu, Bethany Keel, Rob Hazeldine, Reema Khan, Sahil Unkule, Alfie Hiscock
Photography
Rob Parrish