History
The first Charter of 1251 was due to a far-sighted Lord of the Manor, William de Ferrers, who created the Borough in order to promote a prosperous community at the gates of his castle, where people had begun to settle in numbers and to trade in the ancient market.
Henry Chichele (c. 1364 – 12 April 1443) was born in Higham Ferrers. He was Archbishop of Canterbury and founded All Souls College, Oxford.
The second Charter was granted in 1556 in the reign of Mary Tudor. For many years the town provided a safe seat for a supporter of the Crown nominated by the Duchy of Lancaster, the biggest landowner. When James I came to the throne the opportunity was taken to obtain a confirmation and further extension of civic powers and liberties by the Charter of 1604. Again after the Restoration of Charles II to the throne and the passing of the Corporations Act of 1662 the liberties were confirmed and extended.
The town was a rotten borough and sent one MP to the unreformed House of Commons until it was stripped of its representation by the Reform Act 1832.
After the Municipal Corporations Act of 1882, the modern Charter of Queen Victoria re-organised the composition of the Corporation on modern lines to conform to the pattern of local government laid down in that act. This Charter is the only one of the town's charters written in English: the earlier charters were in Latin.
The castle is thought to have been built not long after the Norman Conquest in 1066. However towards the end of the 15th century the castle suffered years of neglect. It was finally demolished in 1523 and the stone removed to build Kimbolton Castle. A grass bank and a pond are all that remain of the defensive earthworks and moat. In the garden of the Green Dragon Inn, formerly within the area of the outer ward of the castle, are the remains of a rectangular dove-house.
Higham Ferrers is twinned with Hachenburg in Germany.
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