Moulton, Northamptonshire
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Moulton is a large village 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 signific ...
. The population of 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 ...
at the 2011 Census was 3,454. The villages name origin is uncertain. 'Mula's farm/settlement' or ' mules' farm/settlement'.


Education

There are many pre-school facilities in the village including playgroups and nurseries. Primary education in the village is provided by Moulton Primary School, although it is not uncommon for children to attend other primary schools in the local area, for example Overstone, Pitsford or Parklands primary schools. Moulton School and Science College is a comprehensive school providing education for 11- to 18-year-olds, not only to those from Moulton but also to students from the surrounding villages. Moulton is home to Moulton College, an agricultural and trade orientated college.


Church

The
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
parish
church 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 * C ...
is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. It is within the Conservative Evangelical
tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
of the Church of England, and it has passed resolutions to reject the ordination of women. There has been a small church building in Moulton since the early 7th century, built of wood, but this was burnt down by invading Danes, was rebuilt, but again suffered the same fate. The invading Normans erected a building of stone, the beginning of today’s building. During the 19th century, during church renovation, the shaft of a stone Saxon
preaching cross A preaching cross is a Christian cross sometimes surmounting a pulpit, which is erected outdoors to designate a preaching place. In Britain and Ireland, many free-standing upright crosses – or high crosses – were erected. Some of these c ...
was discovered under the floor, which is now displayed in the south aisle. Moulton has a peal of twelve bells, one of three others within Peterborough Diocese, and one of about only one hundred or so in the world. During the 15th century there were four bells and in the succeeding centuries more were added, the latest two making up the twelve in 1993. Two of Moulton’s peal, hung in 1934, commemorate William Carey's pastorate and residence in the village 1785-1789.


Notable residents

John Sanderson (1578/9-c.1653) was living at Moulton in 1606/7. He purchased a substantial quantity of land in the parish in 1629 and apparently remained there for much if not all of the rest of his life. The village was the 18th-century home of William Carey. The church where he ministered, and the cottage in which he lived, are located at the west end of West Street. The village also has links with
John Jeyes John Jeyes (1817–1892) was a chemical manufacturer, most famous for a disinfectant liquid, Jeyes Fluid. His name is also given to an award for chemistry in relation to the environment which is awarded every two years by the Royal Society of Che ...
(of
Jeyes Fluid Jeyes Fluid is a brand of disinfectant fluid for external use only. It is predominantly used for removing bacteria, while gardeners have found it effective at cleaning paths, patios, greenhouses, driveways, and drains - particularly of moss. Wit ...
fame) as Holly Lodge is found on the road from Moulton to Boughton (a building associated with the family). Holly Lodge has the 'Implement gate' (c. 1955), which is iconic of the rural beginnings of Moulton.


Amenities

The stone-built Gothic Revival style
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
Chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
of 1835 with arched windows is next to the old school of 1878, now used by the Moulton Theatre. Moulton hosts an annual village festival (held in May) and is home to the Moulton
Morris Dance Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may ...
rs. The Moulton Village Hall is also home to the Parish Council and also contains a cafe. The centre of Moulton houses the parish church, a shop and a number of parks, "The Public Gardens", "Busby's Meadow" and "Crow Fields Common" , a nature reserve managed by Moulton Parish Council. The latter being a popular dog-walking route. The local
Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
store was run by the
Moulton Co-operative Society The Moulton Co-operative Society Limited, or simply Moulton Co-op, was a small regional consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. The society was formed in 1861 and operated a single supermarket in Moulton, Northamptonshire. In January 2009, me ...
, an independent society and one of Britain's smallest until its merger with Midlands Co-operative Society in 2009. Moulton is home to a number of pubs including the iconic ''Cardigan Arms'', ''The Telegraph'', ''The Artichoke'', a
working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class ...
. Moulton also contains, on its fringe, the Northampton Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters.


Geology

The geology of Moulton is based on sedimentary rocks known as Oolite.
Cornbrash The Cornbrash Formation is a Middle Jurassic geological formation in England. It ranges in age from Bathonian to Callovian, the uppermost part of the Middle Jurassic. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the form ...
, Inferior and Great Oolite rocks have dictated that the soils of Moulton are predominantly sands and clays, but small quantities of ironstone may be found.Martin, R.A. & Osborn, G. 1976. ''An Outline of the Geology of Northamptonshire'', Northamptonshire Natural History Society and Field Club. This ironstone was used extensively for construction of buildings in and outside of Moulton. Moulton's elevation lies at 400–600 ft above sea level and the nature of the soil means that it is relatively free of flooding and drains well without becoming too dry. The
alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. All ...
nature of the soil means that it is fertile and can be used to grow a wide range of plants.


Geography

Moulton has a population of over 3,000. It is situated about north of central Northampton. Moulton has been affected by the expansion of Northampton yet retains a village identity. It is thought that the village has its origins in Saxon times, although the main features of the present church are Norman or later. Moulton is a village of narrow winding lanes, lined by stone-built cottages and
houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
, nowadays with traffic calming and one-way systems. In the area of Moulton Leys in the south, the Kettering Road takes residents from Moulton to Northampton town centre. The boundaries of Moulton extend from Pitsford reservoir in the north to Moulton Lane in the south. In the east, the A43 (Kettering Road) is the border, with a small quantity of land that adjoins the east side of the A43 near Ashley Lane. The western fringe corresponds with all land east of Spectacle Lane. The topography of Moulton is generally flat, but the gradient of land runs from a higher southern elevation in towards lower parts, in the village centre, and then elevates again in a northern direction. At the northern boundary the lower elevations of the reservoir are separated from the village by a strip of high ground. In the village centre, a tributary of the Nene river flows from the east of the village in a westerly direction where it joins the Nene near Chapel Brampton. Medieval fish ponds in the village were fed from this tributary. Crowfields Meadow is part of Moulton village and boasts a range of wildlife and plants. Boughton Lane Pocket Park on the Southern end of Moulton is another source of animal and plant biodiversity. The A43 Moulton Bypass provisionally opened on 6 February 2020, removing through traffic from the village.


References


External links


Parish CouncilMoulton FocusMoulton Secondary SchoolMoulton Primary SchoolMoulton MagpiesMoulton Parish Church

Carey Baptist Church, Moulton
{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District Civil parishes in Northamptonshire