Sunday 29th May – Sunday 30th October
11am-4pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays
Entry included in the price of general admission (£8 adults, under 18s go free)
‘I must gather the strength of a lion for the campaign.’ Joan Wake, Jan 1956
This new temporary exhibition details the story of one woman’s tireless fight to rescue the county’s archives from destruction and to save Delapré Abbey from demolition. Joan Wake was a fierce and dedicated individual and was distraught at the thought that Delapré Abbey would be demolished by the council in 1954. What came next was years of fundraising, campaigning, and anxiety, right until the last stroke of midnight on the day of the deadline for raising funds to save the Abbey.
Discover Joan Wake’s personal story in which she broke free from the confines of her upbringing; her passion for history and the preservation and publication of archival material which led her to establish the Northamptonshire Record Society, and the creation of the Northamptonshire Record Office to house the growing collection.
See records and images lent by the Northamptonshire Record Office, follow the journey of how Delapré Abbey is still standing today, and find out more about the Northamptonshire people that shared and supported Joan Wake’s passion for protecting and celebrating the county’s history.
‘Joan Wake could be very irritating. So too, of course, could Winston Churchill. People do not achieve great things by being constantly and smilingly subservient…had there not been a Joan Wake there would almost certainly have been no Delapré Abbey.’ Lou Warwick, editor of Northampton Town & County Independent, 1974.
This exhibition is presented by Northamptonshire Record Society and marks their 100th anniversary which occurred in 2020 whilst the country was in lockdown.
