Welcome

to the

Rothwell Preservation Trust

We are the Charity dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the historic buildings in the English town of Rothwell, Northamptonshire. Our Trust was launched at a Public Meeting in Rothwell on 24 October 1985.

The proposal to formally establish the Trust received enthusiastic local support. The ultimate goal of our Trust is the preservation and restoration of the beautiful historic buildings of Rothwell.

In particular, the Trust has responsibility for Rothwell’s iconic Market House. It is more than 450 years old and is unique to our town. As it stands at the centre, everyone in Rothwell knows and loves it. Currently, the Trust is very concerned about the condition of its roof, which leaks and needs replacing. Given that the Market House is a Grade I listed building, this is an expensive and time-consuming task. In June 2024, the building was formally granted ‘Heritage at Risk’ status and added to the UK’s ‘At Risk Register‘.

The Trust is determined to ensure that our iconic Market House is restored to a condition to ensure it lasts (at least) another 450 years and is currently undertaking applications for Grants and considering a series of local fundraising events. See our Latest News page and subscribe below to be kept up to date with our progress.

Our Properties

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Take a bird’s eye tour of the Market House!

Our Trustees

The Trust would be nothing without its Trustees and they give their time freely and are unpaid. Everyone on the Board is local to Rothwell and knows the town and its history well.

A Word from our Chair, Matt Garner

“Rothwell is one of the most attractive towns in Northamptonshire”. While those are not my words, but of one of the country’s most distinguished architectural historians, I wholeheartedly endorse what he says – and so, I guess, do most of you. I am Chair of the Rothwell Preservation Trust, formed by our townsfolk some years ago to look after and preserve our architectural heritage.

In particular, the Trust owns and conserves the Market House, the pride and joy of Rothwell, and Grade 1 listed. It is one of a number of buildings in the area that were the work of Sir Thomas Tresham, and dates from 1578 – that’s ten years before the Spanish Armada! Its roof is causing us some concerns at the moment, but we are determined to do whatever is necessary to keep the building in good shape, and we shall keep you posted on developments. As well as owning other properties, including the Manor House (dating from the time of Queen Anne), the Trust keeps a weather-eye open on developments to try to preserve the town’s unique character.

For the future, I have in mind that we should expand our role as ‘conservation watchdog’, working closely with Rothwell Town Council and others to achieve this. The Trustees themselves comprise a number of people from all sorts of backgrounds whose unifying factor is that they all share a love for our town. If you would like to be one of them, I should be delighted to hear from you – we are not an exclusive bunch, just ordinary townsfolk. The sole qualification is that you, like us, want to preserve our heritage as one of the county’s most attractive towns.”