[3] Tōfe refers to the River Tove;[4] Bosworth and Toller compare it to the "Scandinavian proper names" Tófi and Tófa.

[3] The Old English ceaster comes from the Latin castra ("camp") and was "often applied to places in Britain which had been Roman encampments.

[7] A stone female head, that mixes Celtic and Roman styles, was found on Watling Street outside the town and was given to the British Museum in 1903.

By 1866 however, Towcester was linked to the national rail network by the first of several routes which came together to form the Stratford and Midland Junction Railway.

The latter line however was an early casualty, closing to passengers in March 1893 although it continued to be used by race specials up until the outbreak of the Second World War.

Goods traffic lingered on until final axing in February 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts.

[citation needed] During the Second World War, Towcester received many evacuees from London as the Government felt the town was far enough away from any major settlements that could be a target.

The resulting pollution has led to the town centre being designated an air quality management area.

Improvements to the links to the A43 and Watling Street roundabout took place in the first half of 2015 and including traffic light controls.

Buses to Northampton, Milton Keynes, Brackley, Potterspury, Deanshanger, Silverstone and Biddlesden operate, but these are infrequent.

[21] Towcester Rural District Council initially met at the workhouse on Brackley Road, but bought the previously privately-owned Town Hall in 1935 to serve as its headquarters.

The district council chose to base itself in Towcester, initially using the Town Hall as its headquarters.

The tower contains 12 bells generally accepted by ringers across the country to be one of the finest sets in the Midlands.

Permission to quarry stone for this restoration from Whittlewood Forest was granted by Edward IV and later confirmed by Richard III on his way towards Leicestershire and his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field.

The church contains a "Treacle" Bible, a table tomb and cadaver of Archdeacon Sponne, Rector 1422–1448.

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.

Towcester Racecourse, originally part of the Easton Neston estate, is located on the east side of the town.

The town's rugby union club, Towcestrians R.F.C., play in the London & South East Premier League.