Editing Towcester (section)

==Facilities and notable sites==

[[Saint Lawrence]]'s C of E Church stands in the middle of the town. It has a 12th-century [[Norman architecture|Norman transitional]] ground plan and foundation, probably laid over a [[Anglo-Saxon architecture|Saxon]] 10th-century stone building. Its ecclesiastical heritage may well relate back to Roman times as St Lawrence was patron saint of the [[Roman legions]]. The building was reconstructed in the [[Perpendicular style]] 1480–85 when the church tower was added. The tower contains 12 bells generally accepted by ringers across the country to be one of the finest sets in the Midlands. The bells were moved in 1994 from [[Todmorden]] in Yorkshire. Permission to quarry stone for this restoration from [[Whittlewood Forest]] was granted by [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]] and later confirmed by [[Richard III of England|Richard III]] on his way towards [[Leicestershire]] and his death at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]]. The church contains a [[Bible errata#The Great Bible|"Treacle" Bible]], a table tomb and cadaver of Archdeacon Sponne, Rector 1422–1448. The Archdeacon started the second oldest [[grammar school]] in Northamptonshire but the oldest one in the [[United Kingdom]], which was merged with the old [[secondary modern school]] in Towcester to produce Sponne School. It is also claimed<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/tdlhs/People/PopeBoniface/index.html|title=Pope Boniface VIII|first=David|last=Wilcock|access-date=1 February 2014|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191608/http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/tdlhs/People/PopeBoniface/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> that [[Pope Boniface VIII]] was a rector of the church before his elevation to the position of [[pope]]. The church tower contains a peal of 12 bells and a chime of 9 bells.

Towcester Mill in Chantry Lane was recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, but the oldest extant part of the building is just over two hundred years old. The mill's working gear was powered by water, and was used to grind corn into flour and to mix animal feed, and is believed to be the only water mill in Northamptonshire with a working turbine.

Just outside the town in [[Slapton, Northamptonshire|Slapton]] are [[St Botolph's Church, Slapton#The Slapton Wall Paintings|The Slapton Wall Paintings]], a noted collection of 14th and 15th century wall paintings, in the [[St Botolph's Church, Slapton|Church of St Botolph]]. 

The town has an [[Air Training Corps|Air Cadet]] squadron, 1875 (Towcester) Sqn ATC located near to [[Sponne School]] and the 1st Towcester scouts and guides group.

The Towcester Museum has exhibits tracing the community's prehistory and history. The town has a wetland park, two [[pocket park]]s and a main park, The Recreation Ground, which is known locally as “The Rec”.