Moreton Pinkney is a village and
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 authority ...
in
West Northamptonshire
West Northamptonshire is a unitary authority area covering part of the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, created in 2021. By far the largest settlement in West Northamptonshire is the county town of Northampton. Its other signif ...
, about north of
Brackley
Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the inters ...
. The
2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 371.
The villages name means 'Moor farm/settlement'. It was held by the family of Pinchengi from 1199. In the 13th century, it was known as Geldenmortone, from
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
'gylden' meaning, 'golden', probably because of its especial wealth.
Manor
In the reign of
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.
Edward was the son of Æth ...
one Leuric held the
manor of Moreton "freely",
''i.e.'' without a
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
overlord. He was dispossessed after the
Norman Conquest of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...
and the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086 records that one Geoffrey held the manor of Gilo, brother of
Ansculf de Picquigny
Ansculf de Picquigny (c. 1014 – c. 1084) was a French baron who followed William the Conqueror to England.
Biography
Ansculf de Picquigny, born around 1014, was the son of Guermond de Picquigny, Picquigny being a village near Amiens in Picardy ...
.
[ In the 12th century Henry de Pinkeny ''(sic)'' held the manor. In both surveys the manor was assessed at one and a half hides.][
]
Parish church
The earliest evidence of Christianity in the parish is a fragment of an 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- ...
stone cross in the churchyard of the Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...
of St Mary the Virgin. The church itself was built in the 12th century, which is the date of its Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
north door and three-bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...
northern arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
.[ The ]piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman ...
and west tower date from about 1300.[ St Mary's is a ]Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.[
The ]Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
Canons Ashby Priory
Canons Ashby Priory was an Augustinian priory at Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire, England.
History
The Priory was founded by Stephen la Leye on a site to the south of the present church between 1147 and 1151 in the reign of Henry II.
In 1253 ...
had appropriated "the spirituality" of St Mary's by 1254. John Dalderby
John Dalderby (or Aldberry or d'Aldreby; died 1320) was a medieval Bishop of Lincoln.
Life
Dalderby was rector of Dalderby in LincolnshireGreenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 3: Lincoln: Bishops of Lincoln'' before holding t ...
, Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.
The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...
, sanctioned this retrospectively in 1309.[
The ]chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ove ...
was rebuilt in 1846 in a Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
of a 13th-century style.[
St Mary's has a ]ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
of six bells. Hugh II Watts, who had foundries in Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
and Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
, cast the tenor bell in 1629. The Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells a ...
cast the other five bells in 1996.[
St Mary's parish is a member of the ]Benefice
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
of Culworth
Culworth is a village and civil parish about north of Brackley in West Northamptonshire, England. Culworth is also about northeast of the north Oxfordshire town of Banbury.
The village stands on the brow of a hill about above sea level. The ...
with Sulgrave
Sulgrave is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, about north of Brackley. The village is just south of a stream that rises in the parish and flows east to join the River Tove, a tributary of the Great Ouse.
The village ...
and Thorpe Mandeville
Thorpe Mandeville is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England about northeast of Banbury in neighbouring Oxfordshire. The hamlet of Lower Thorpe is just north of the village.
The village's name means 'Outlying farm/settlem ...
and Chipping Warden
Chipping Warden is a village in Northamptonshire, England about northeast of the Oxfordshire town of Banbury. The parish is bounded to the east and south by the River Cherwell, to the west by the boundary with Oxfordshire and to the north by f ...
with Edgcote
Edgcote is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Chipping Warden and Edgcote, on the River Cherwell in south-west Northamptonshire, England. The parish was bounded by the river to the north and by one of its tributaries to the ...
and Moreton Pinkney.
Social and economic history
Moreton Pinkney village is a mixture of traditional houses in grey stone and brown ironstone.[
The parish school was built in 1822 and enlarged in 1876.][ Moreton Pinkney Manor was built in 1859 and altered in 1870.][ The entrance arch designed by the architect E.F. Law of Northampton, built in 1859 and bears the arms of ]Lord Sempill
Lord Sempill (also variously rendered as Semple or Semphill) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in circa 1489 for Sir John Sempill, founder of the collegiate Church of Lochwinnoch. Sempill was killed at the Battle of Flodden ...
.[
]
Public Houses
Moreton Pinkney once had three public house
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 was ...
s: The Red Lion and The Dun Cow on Upper Green, and The Crown Inn on Brook Street.
The Red Lion was more recently named England's Rose, a reference to 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 and Harry. Her ac ...
, which suddenly closed in 2004 due to serious structural failure. After being closed and remaining derelict for 12 years, the historic Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
public house dating back to 1604 was fully and sympathetically restored as a pub and restaurant which was subsequently renamed The Four Candles by public vot
The Four Candles which is set within a protected conservation area is now the only pub left in the village and re-opened to the public on 26 May 2016 after a 10 month renovation.
The Four Candles was repossessed from the leaseholders by administrators after the freeholder declared bankruptcy in the summer of 2017. The pub and restaurant freehold was subsequently purchased in February 2019 and is currently under minor renovation and retrofit before being re-opened to an as-yet, undisclosed date.
Railways
The parish had two railway stations. The East and West Junction Railway
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
(later the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway
Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-wes ...
) was built through the parish with Morton Pinkney railway station being opened in 1873 north of the village on the parish boundary with Canons Ashby
Canons Ashby is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The population of the village is included in the civil parish of Preston Capes.
Its most notable building is Canons Ashby House, a N ...
.
The Great Central Main Line
The Great Central Main Line (GCML), also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), is a former railway line in the United Kingdom. The line was opened in 1899 and built by the Great Central Railw ...
from to London Marylebone
Marylebone station ( ) is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network it is also known as London Marylebone an ...
was built through the parish in the 1890s and opened in 1899. Its nearest station was , which was actually in Moreton Pinkney parish about southwest of the village on the road to Culworth
Culworth is a village and civil parish about north of Brackley in West Northamptonshire, England. Culworth is also about northeast of the north Oxfordshire town of Banbury.
The village stands on the brow of a hill about above sea level. The ...
. In 1900 the Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...
added a branch line from Culworth Junction in the parish to in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
.
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
ways closed Morton Pinkney station in 1952 and Culworth station in 1958. The 1963 '' The Reshaping of British Railways'' report recommended that BR close the Great Central main line, which it did in 1966.
References
Sources and further reading
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External links
Moreton Pinkney
The Four Candles
{{Authority control
Civil parishes in Northamptonshire
Villages in Northamptonshire
West Northamptonshire District