Why are we called Northampton Exiles CC?
The club was founded in 1897 as one of several sports sections of the Northampton Polytechnic Institute, Clerkenwell. This Institute took it's name from its Patron, the Marquis of Northampton, who presented the land on which it was built, and its sports facilities were available to social members as well as full and part time students. For just over sixty years the Club played on the Institute's grounds in Palmers Green as Northampton Polytechnic, making its way into the top flight of North London club cricket.
In 1957, however, under the national reorganisation of higher education, the Northampton Polytechnic became the Northampton College of Advanced Technology (subsequently The City University), in which social membership had no place, and the Club, which was composed mainly of social members, was ordered by the College authorities to close down at the end of the 1958 season. Not unnaturally, the members refused to accept that the Club should simply cease to exist and through strenuous efforts of the Officers and Committee it survived as an independent organisation with permission to continue using the College grounds on a temporary basis. The College authorities would not, however, permit the use of the word Polytechnic and so the Club emerged in 1959 under its new name of Northampton Exiles.
The temporary use of the College grounds continued for five years until the end of the 1963 season. In the meantime negotiations had been opened with the then Southgate Borough Council for the use of a large ground a mile or so away in Winchmore Hill and the Club moved to its present headquarters in April 1964 when the Clubhouse, owned jointly with Southgate Olympic Amatuer Football Club, was opened.