1145 - The Abbey of St Mary De-le-pre (St Mary in the Meadow) was built by the son of Simon de Senlis, 2nd Earl of Northampton, during the reign of King Stephen. Delapre Abbey is one of only three Cluniac convents ever built in England, and was home to around a dozen to twenty nuns resident at any one time during the 13th & 14th centuries. The Cluniac order was a branch of the Benedictines and was directly under the rule of the great Abbey at Cluny in Burgundy. Over the next few centuries the life of the Abbey was a fairly uneventful affair with the nuns going about their normal business.

1232 - Henry III is reported as giving 'Ten Beams' towards the repair of the church. 1258 - Henry III is reported to give a further 'Five Oaks' for work on the Refectory.

1290 - The death of Queen Eleanor - Queen of England On 28th November 1290, Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I, died at Harby in Nottinghamshire. Her body was embalmed at Lincoln, and on December 4th a procession began to Westminster Abbey accompanied by the King. The procession travelled through the town of Northampton and over South Bridge, they then turned left into the convent at Delapre for the night, while the King stayed at Northampton Castle. The following day the procession left Delapre and at the top of the hill the ground was consecrated for the future erection of Queen Eleanors Cross.

1291 - Queen Eleanor cross built on Delapre Hill, where it is one of only three crosses remaining to this day.  1460 - The Battle of Northampton at Delapre meadows between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians. Henry VI was captured and spent the night of 10th July 1460 at the Abbey church along with many other prisoners. The nuns tended the wounds of those injured during the Battle, and many of the battle-dead are buried in the nun's graveyard, (now the walled garden). 1538 - Under the dissolution Henry VIII forced the Abbey to agree to a Deed of Surrender to the Crown. 1543 - The estate was sold to John Mershe of London, a property speculator. 1546 - The site was purchased by Sir John Tate, former Lord Mayor of London & City businessman for his son Bartholomew Tate. 1548 - Bartholomew divorces his wife and she remarries Andrew Wadham and takes ownership of Delapre Abbey, (probably as a gift for provision for their son). 1651 - Zouch tate dies after carrying out extensive alterations to Delapre Abbey.

1749 - Mary Tate marries a sailor named Charles Hardy. Mary dies 18 months later, and Charles Hardy was rarely seen at Delapre from then on. Charles Hardy rose to Rear Admiral of the British Navy and became Governor of New York. 1756 - An advertisement was carried in the Mercury and Herald offering Delapre for let. 1762 - Rented by two surgeons. who used it for their patients during inoculations. 1764 - Estate sold by Sir Charles Hardy, Governor of New York, husband of Mary Tate, to Edward Bouverie for £22,000. The house remained in the Bouverie family until 1946. 1890's - When alterations were made to the buildings and grounds many medieval tombstones were discovered. It was thought that one was of Earl Simon de Senlis himself.

1905 - Abbey let by the Bouverie family to John Cooper, Northampton boot and shoe manufacturer. 1906 - John Cooper died so his family vacated Delapre. 1914 - Miss Bouverie lived in Hardingstone until the spring of 1914 when she returned to the Abbey. 1940 - The war office commandeered Delapre Abbey and Miss Bouverie moved to Pond House, Duston. 1941 - Miss Bouverie told her bailiff that she wanted to die at Delapre. So he had rooms prepared for her in the stable block, where she died on 20th January 1943.

1946 - Delapre Abbey with 586 acres sold to the Northampton Corporation for £56,000. 1948 - War Office relinquished the house. 1954 - Town Council voted to demolish the Abbey. Dr Joan Wake campaigns to save the Abbey and use the building for the County Records Office. 1959 – Delapre Abbey repaired and adapted for use by Northampton record office. 1968 - The house saw some fairly extensive alterations before being listed as Grade II*. 1992 - Records office and staff moved to Wootton Hall. Abbey used for storage.

The Present Buildings - The Abbey today consists of four ranges based around an almost square courtyard; this is probably all that remains of the earlier cloisters, with the passage around the north, west and east sides being the former cloister walks. The thicker walls found in the northern part of the building are probably part of the walls of the aisleless church of the nunnery. Very little of the original medieval buildings remain apart from two small recesses found in the cloister walk which were probably used to keep night lights in. What is seen today is the result of work that started with the passing of the house to the Tate family after the dissolution. The stables, found at the northern end of the property date, date from around 1750 and were renovated in 1971 by John Goff, the then County Architect.

2001 - Friends of Delapre Abbey founded to prevent sale to a property developer. 2004 - Friends of Delapre Abbey lease rooms in the stable block from Northampton Borough Council. 2005 - Plans to form Delapre Abbey Trust set in motion by Northampton Borough Council 2006 - Friends of Delapre abbey gain Charitable Status 2006 - Conservation Plan & Options Appraisal are sought by NBC to decide best way forward for the Abbey 2007 - Friends of Delapre Abbey open the Abbey Tea Room & Souvenir shop in the Stable Block.