Great Brington is a village in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, England, in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

of Brington, which at the 2011 Census had a population of about 200. St Mary the Virgin's church is the parish church. The villages name means 'Farm/settlement connected with Bryni'. In 1508, John Spencer from

Wormleighton Wormleighton is a village in Warwickshire on top of Wormleighton Hill overlooking the River Cherwell, England. The population taken at the 2011 census was 183. The original village was by the banks of the Cherwell and can still be seen as a ...

in Warwickshire purchased the estate of

Althorp Althorp (popularly pronounced ) is a Grade I listed stately home and estate in the civil parish of Althorp, in West Northamptonshire, England of about . By road it is about northwest of the county town of Northampton and about northwest of ...

outside Great Brington with its moated house and several hundred acres of farmland.H. Gawthorne/S. Mattingly/G. W. Shaeffer/M. Avery/B. Thomas/R. Barnard/M. Young, Revd. N. V. Knibbs/R. Horne: "The Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Great Brington. 800 Years of English History", published as "Brington Church: A Popular History" in 1989 and printed by Peerless Press. He had grazed sheep here from the 1480s. In 1508, impressed by the quality of the land, he eventually bought it and rebuilt the house.Sir John Spencer 1455–1522 (access date 20 July 2013) In 1511 he made further purchases to acquire much of the surrounding countryside, including the villages of Little Brington and Great Brington as well their parish church of St Mary the Virgin, from

Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset (22 June 1477 – 10 October 1530) was an English peer, courtier, soldier and landowner of the House of Grey. Early life Grey was the third son and heir of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (1455–1501), ...

. Just outside the village is

Althorp House Althorp (popularly pronounced ) is a Grade I listed stately home and estate in the civil parish of Althorp, in West Northamptonshire, England of about . By road it is about northwest of the county town of Northampton and about northwest of c ...

, the home of the Spencer family and

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, Prince of Wales, ...

. Several members of the Spencer family are buried at Great Brington church, including Diana's father the 8th Earl Spencer, who died in 1992. The death of Diana had an effect on the village – the

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

was renamed from The Fox and Hounds to the Althorp Coaching Inn and the

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

gained currency exchange facilities following the large increase in tourism to the area. The

Macmillan Way The Macmillan Way is a long-distance footpath in England that links Boston, Lincolnshire to Abbotsbury in Dorset. The route's distance is . It is promoted to raise money for the charity Macmillan Cancer Relief. The fully waymarked route fol ...

long distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exce ...

passes through Great Brington.

Geography

Great Brington church from the west - geograph

Nearby settlements include Little Brington,

Nobottle Nobottle is a hamlet in West Northamptonshire in England. The population is included in the civil parish of Brington. It borders the Althorp estate, which owns much of the property. Nobottle used to have a 600yd rifle range (the only one in ...

and

Long Buckby Long Buckby is a large village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. In 2020 the parish of Long Buckby, which includes the hamlet of Long Buckby Wharf, was estimated to have a population of 4,303. Long Buckby is hill top village, l ...

Notable people from Great Brington

* Lawrence Washington (1602–1653), the great-great-grandfather of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of t ...

, first president of the United States, is buried in the chancel of the Church at St Mary's in the village. (reference link needs updating as it is also suggested that he rests at All Saints Church, Maldon, Essex) * Betsy Baker (1842–1955), a supercentenarian who was born in Great Brington and recognized as the world's oldest living person until she died at the age of 113 on 24 October 1955. * The

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

and television presenter

Jo Whiley Johanne Whiley-Morton (born 4 July 1965), better known by her professional name Jo Whiley, is an English radio DJ and television presenter. She was the host of the long-running weekday later weekend '' Jo Whiley Show'' on BBC Radio 1. She curre ...

is from the village.

References

External links

BBC feature on Great Brington churchGreat Brington Parish Church websiteGreat Brington Store and Post Office website
* Villages in Northamptonshire Burial sites of the Spencer-Churchill family West Northamptonshire District {{Northamptonshire-geo-stub