Daventry Moot Hall

Today's blip shows Daventry's Moot Hall. A moot hall is a meeting or assembly building, traditionally to decide local issues.

In Anglo-Saxon England, a low ring-shaped earthwork served as a moot hill or moot mound, where the elders of the hundred would meet to rake decisions. Some if these acquired permanent buildings, known as moot halls. However, many moot halls are in relatively new sites within later settlements.

There are moot halls in only twelve locations in England, so Daventry is quite unusual!

Daventry's moot hall was built in 1769, and has had many uses over the years, including use as the mayor's parlour! My own great-great grandfather was mayor twice, and he would've spent a lot of time in this very building.

Also, when mum and dad were 'courting' (there's an old-fashioned word!) I think mum used to wait somewhere around here for dad's bus to arrive ;-) That was a little more recently though, as we're only going back to the 1960's...

Sadly, it's unoccupied at the moment. I hope they'll find a use for it. A building as nice as this one should be used!