This imposing building that stands dominant in the centre of Brackley was once home to Col. William Cartwright. Cartwright was the son of Thomas Cartwright of Aynhoe Park and his wife Mary Catherine Desaguilliers.

He was elected Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire in 1797 and held the seat until boundary changes in 1831. In the 1832 general election, he was elected MP for the new South Northamptonshire constituency and held the seat until he resigned in 1846.

Cartwright was Lieutenant-Colonel in the local militia during the Napoleonic wars, and was responsible for the Brackley Battalion.

The house stopped being a private residence and had many uses thereafter from municipal offices, a hotel and a retirement home before being converted into apartments in 2000.

War Effort

What is less well known, however, is the part this magnificent building played in World War II. In 1939, due to the importance of the Bakelite company to the war effort, they evacuated their London Office and Brackley House became its wartime base. Brackley became the home of many of the staff and their families. Single staff were billeted at Oatleys Hall, Turweston and were bussed into town every day. The manufacturing base of their products (telecommunication equipment casing and other “plastic” like material was extensively used in motor vehicles and aeroplanes) was at “shadow” factories in the Midlands.