Castlethorpe is a village and civil parish with a population of about 1000 in the

unitary authority area A unitary authority is a local government, local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the ...

of the City of Milton Keynes,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, England. It is about north-east of

Stony Stratford Stony Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Historically it was a market town on the important route from London to Chester (Watling Street, now the A5). It is also the name of a civil parish with a town cou ...

, north-west of

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. It is separated from the rest of the urban ...

and north of Central Milton Keynes. It is separated from the county of Northamptonshire by the

River Tove A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

History

The village is relatively more recent than those around it, and it started out in life as a castle belonging to the lord of the manor of nearby Hanslope.'Parishes : Hanslope with Castle Thorpe'

Victoria History of the Counties of England The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...

, A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 4 (1927), pp. 348-362. A settlement of

servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

s and manual workers grew up around the castle and this became the village of Castlethorpe (''thorpe'' is an Old Norse language (particularly Danish) word for ''homestead'', and it is not unreasonable to assume that there may well have been a Danish settlement nearby as the area was, if not part of, certainly close to, the Danelaw). The castle was damaged in 1215 in a feud between Foulkes de Brent who had been sent by

King John King John may refer to: Rulers * John, King of England (1166–1216) * John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237) * John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314) * John I of France (15–20 November 1316) * John II of France (1319–1364) * John I o ...

and William Mauduit, the castle's owner. Mauduit was reputedly in rebellion against the King. Although Mauduit returned to claim his seat after the King's death, the castle was demolished shortly afterward. All that is left today are the grassy mounds of the former Motte-and-Bailey castle.

Listed buildings and structures

The parish has one scheduled ancient monument, one grade I listed building, and twenty grade II.

Ecclesiastic parish

Church of St Simon and St Jude Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, the parish church, is dedicated to St Simon and

St Jude Jude ( grc-gre, Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Thaddeus ( grc-gre, Θαδδαῖος; cop, ⲑⲁⲇⲇⲉⲟⲥ; ...

, and possibly dates back to

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

times: although no evidence of a pre-Norman building survives, its existence has been conjectured from the structure of the north arcade. In 1350, the nave was widened and the chancel rebuilt. The church at Castlethorpe was originally superior to that of Hanslope but Bishop Grosteste changed the precedence in about 1250. Castlethorpe has grown up around the church and some traditional old stone

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

s at the centre of the village which is designated a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

Rail and canal

Castlethorpe station, site geograph-3298512-by-Ben-Brooksbank

The West Coast Main Line runs alongside the west side of Castlethorpe, and the village had its own railway station until September 1964 when, to the outrage of the village, it was closed down.Castlethorpe Station Closure - 6 September 1964
- Milton Keynes Heritage Association The Grand Union Canal also runs by on the outskirts of the village, and it is a short walk along the towpath to the neighbouring village of Cosgrove in Northamptonshire.

References

External links

Parish Website for the village of Castlethorpe in Milton KeynesCastlethorpe Village Historical Records & Photographs
{{authority control Villages in Buckinghamshire Areas of Milton Keynes Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire