Parliament has been firmly established in the Palace of Westminster, but once it met frequently in other parts of the country. As 'advisers' to the King, the earliest parliamentarians met wherever the King was. It was by the end of the fourteenth century that Westminster became the usual, then the exclusive meeting place.In Kenilworth there is an area of land known as 'Parliament Piece', now a local nature reserve, so named because it is believed that a parliament of Henry III met there in 1266. The 'Parliament of Merton' is the name given to the meeting of Parliament in Merton Priory, 1236, where the basis of English common land was set down in statute. Other places where Parliament met were Oxford; York; Lincoln; Carlisle; Winchester and Northampton.
Today's picture is a drawing of Northampton Castle - today its site is covered by the railway station.
