Wadenhoe 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
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
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 ...
. The population (including Pilton and Stoke Doyle) of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 244. It is on the
River Nene
The River Nene ( or : see below) is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in Northamptonshire.OS Explorer Map sheet 223, Northampton & Market Harborough, Brixworth & Pitsford Water. The river is about long, about of w ...
, approximately 4 miles from
Thrapston
Thrapston is a market town in North Northamptonshire, England. It was the headquarters of the former East Northamptonshire district, and at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, had a population of 6,239.
The town's name mea ...
and 10 miles from
Corby
Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of 5 ...
. The
Nene Way
The Nene Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath in England running through the English counties of Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. It generally follows the course of the River Nene.
Distance
The Nene Way runs for .
The r ...
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 the village.
History
The village's name means 'hill-spur of Wada'.
There is evidence of prehistoric occupation by way of earthworks. The original
Domesday
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 ...
village was located north east of the church; the area surrounding the church is now a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
.
There is extensive evidence of Roman occupation and encampment within the village, with finds of coins and pottery recorded. The ancient sites are not protected.
The manor and lands have changed ownership many times over the centuries, the position of the current village is near to its position in the Saxon period.
Manor
The manor of Wadenhoe was held by a half a knight's fee or through the Honour of Winchester, whilst other holdings were direct from the King. At the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066 Wadenhoe became part of Rockingham Forest.
The village was named 'Wadenho' in 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 ...
in 1086, and was within an area named the Hundred of Navisford, one of eight Hundreds held by the Abbey of Peterborough granted by
Richard I
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
consisting of
Titchmarsh,
Catworth
Catworth is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England.
Catworth lies approximately west of Huntingdon. The civil parish covers an area of . Catworth village has two parts, Catworth, at the top of the hill, and Little Catworth, at t ...
,
Clopton,
Achurch
Achurch (formerly Asenciran sometimes referred to as Thorpe Achurch) is a village in the civil parish of Thorpe Achurch, in North Northamptonshire, England. Situated on a small rise above the River Nene, 5 miles South of the market town of Ound ...
,
Thrapston
Thrapston is a market town in North Northamptonshire, England. It was the headquarters of the former East Northamptonshire district, and at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, had a population of 6,239.
The town's name mea ...
Pilton and
Stoke Doyle
Stoke Doyle is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire in England, two miles south-west of Oundle. The population of the village at the 2011 Census was included in the civil parish of Wadenhoe.
The village's name means 'Outlying f ...
. The Tenant in Chief was
Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances and the Lord at that time
Aubrey De Vere, the population was recorded as 31 households.
The manor remained property and in full possession of the de Vere family until 1229.
By 1236 the manor was subinfeudated to
John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
. He was succeeded in 1241 by his son
Edmund
Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector".
Persons named Edmund include:
People Kings and ...
, who obtained livery of his father's lands by 1249 and in 1254 granted the manor to
Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln
Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln (c. 1251February 1311), Baron of Pontefract, Lord of Bowland, Baron of Halton and hereditary Constable of Chester, was an English nobleman and confidant of King Edward I. He served Edward in Wales, France, and Sc ...
, for life. On Roger's death in 1264, it reverted to the
Lacy's and was held in dower by Edmund's widow Alice.
The son and heir of Alice Lacy was
Henry, 3rd Earl of Lincoln after his death in 1311, by 1312, the manor passed to his daughter and heir
Alice de Lacy, 3rd Countess of Lincoln
Alice de Lacy, ''suo jure'' Countess of Lincoln, ''suo jure'' 5th Countess of Salisbury (25 December 1281 – 2 October 1348) was an English peeress.
Life
Born on Christmas Day 1281 at Denbigh Castle, Alice was the only daughter and heir of ...
, then wife of
Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster
Thomas of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl of Derby, ''jure uxoris'' 4th Earl of Lincoln and ''jure uxoris'' 5th Earl of Salisbury (c. 1278 – 22 March 1322) was an English nobleman. A member of the House of Pl ...
. After Lancaster's execution in 1321, Alice Lacy married
Sir Ebulo Lestrange and they obtained a grant of the manors for life from
Edward II
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
, with remainder to Hugh le Despencer, the younger. A 1249 grant of free warren obtained by Edmund de Lacy was claimed in 1330 by Baron Strange and Alice Lacy, they obtained a grant from
Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
of the manor for themselves and their heirs. On the death of both Ebulo and Alice, the manor should have passed to Ebulo's nephew Roger Lestrange of Knokyn, on whom it had been settled in 1336, but in 1337 he had granted the reversion to Nicholas de Cantilupe for life, he died in 1356.
After 1356 the manor again passed the heir of the Lestrange estates. His descendants held it till the death of John Lestrange in 1477 the manor next passed to a daughter and heiress Joan, the wife of George Stanley, the manor was then sold.
By 1532 the manor was property of
William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy
William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy (8 November 1534), KG, of Barton Blount, Derbyshire, was an extremely influential English courtier, a respected humanistic scholar and patron of learning. He was one of the most influential and perhaps the weal ...
. His son and successor
Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy
Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy (28 June 151610 October 1544) was an English courtier and patron of learning.
Life
Charles Blount was born on 28 June 1516 in Tournai, where his father, William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, was governor. Charles ...
, sold it to
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
in 1543, and in 1550
Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
granted it to Princess Elizabeth, who later became
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
.
In 1551, however, an exchange was made with
Sir Walter Mildmay
Sir Walter Mildmay (bef. 1523 – 31 May 1589) was a statesman who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer to Queen Elizabeth I, and founded Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Origins
He was born at Moulsham in Essex, the fourth and youngest son of Tho ...
and in 1617 the manor passed by exchange to the
Earls of Westmoreland. By 1668,
Charles, Earl of Westmoreland, sold it to John Stanyan, who sold it sixteen years later to Brooke Bridges on his death in 1702 the manor then passed to his great-nephew John Bridges, the historian, who in turn sold the manor in 1714 to Sir Edward Ward, Chief Baron of the Exchequer. The descendant Edward Hunt of Oundle, a merchant, had a son Thomas, who inherited to the manor of Wadenhoe, he left no surviving issue. The manor passed to his brother Rowland, who married Frances Welch, and from him to his son Thomas Welch Hunt. Thomas Welch Hunt left Wadenhoe to his aunt, Mary Hunt (d. unm. 1835), with remainder to his cousin, Mary Caroline Hunt (d. unm. 1847), daughter of Rev. Edward Hunt, younger son of Thomas Hunt of Boreatton, and with ultimate remainder to Rev. George Hunt (d. 1853), son of Rowland, son of the last-named Thomas.
George Hunt was succeeded by his son the Right Hon. George Ward Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Lord of the Admiralty. His son George Eden Hunt succeeded him in 1877 and died in 1892 leaving a son George Ward Hunt, captain in the Northamptonshire regiment, who was killed in action in 1915. His son George Edgar Ward Hunt, born 1911 became owner.
A water-mill and free fishery are mentioned in 1356 and two mills are referred to in 1656 and again in 1818.
Governance
The Parish council is Pilton, Stoke Doyle & Wadenhoe.
There are three
Oundle
Oundle () is a market town on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 5,735 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. It is north of London and south-west of Peterborough ...
district councillors who represent the village on East Northamptonshire District Council. The village is represented through the Oundle county councillor on Northamptonshire County Council. The parliamentary constituency is
Corby
Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of 5 ...
.
Listed buildings and structures
There are a number of listed buildings and structures within the village, all of which are grade II status, these include;
* 1 to 12, Wadenhoe Lane,
* 16, Main Street,
* 21 to 24, Pilton Road,
* 27, 31 to 34 Church Street,
and Caroline Cottage,
* Barn Approximately 30 Metres West of Manor Farmhouse
* Barn Approximately 50 Metres South West of Home Farmhouse
* Church of St Michael and All Angels
* Dovecote Approximately 15 Metres West of Dovecote House, Pilton Road,
* Dovecote House, Pilton Road,
* Garden Lodge and Attached Stables Approximately 30 Metres North West of Wadenhoe House
* Group of 3 Chest Tombs and 3 Headstones Approximately 3 Metres North of North Porch of Church
* Group of 3 Chest Tombs and One Coffin Slab, Approximately 12 Metres North of North Aisle of Church
* Home Farmhouse
* K6 Telephone Kiosk (telephone Number Clopton 221) Main Street,
* Kitchen Garden Walls Approximately 20 Metres West of Wadenhoe House and Attached Outbuilding to East
* Manor Farm House and Attached Outbuilding
* Mill Farm Cottage
* South Lodge
* Stables Attached to South of Home Farmhouse
* The Cottage, Mill Lane,
* The Kings Head Public House and Attached Outbuilding
* The Mill, Mill Lane,
* The Old Rectory, Glebe Court
* Wadenhoe House, Pilton Road,
* Wadenhoe Post Office
Demography
At the time of the
2001 census, Wadenhoe civil parish had 124 inhabitants.
Religion
Church of St. Michael and All Angels
![Wadenhoe Church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Wadenhoe_Church.jpg)
The church of St. Michael and All Angels is within the
Oundle
Oundle () is a market town on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 5,735 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. It is north of London and south-west of Peterborough ...
Deanery
A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...
, in the
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
.
The church consists of chancel 27 ft. by 16 ft. with a modern vestry on the south side,
clearstoried nave 36 ft. 6 in. by 19 ft., north and south aisles each 12 ft. 6 in. wide, north porch, and west tower with
saddleback roof
A saddleback roof is usually on a tower, with a ridge and two sloping sides, producing a gable at each end.
See also
* List of roof shapes
* Saddle roof
A saddle roof is a roof form which follows a convex curve about one axis and a concave cur ...
15 ft. by 14 ft. 6 in., all these measurements being internal.
The tower is all that is left of a late 12th-century church (c. 1195–1200), the chancel and nave of which were rebuilt some time in the next century. The nave arcades are of this period, that on the north being the earlier, but the aisles appear to have been rebuilt and widened in the 14th century. In 1901 there was an extensive restoration of the fabric when the floors of the nave and aisles were lowered to their original level and the tower was underpinned to a solid foundation. The roofs are all modern, those of the nave and aisles being leaded and the chancel roof tiled. The parapets throughout are plain.
The ground falls rapidly from west to east and the chancel stands high above the level of the churchyard: on the north side there are two steps down to the porch and five from the porch to the floor of the church. The chancel has an east window of two lights with a circle in the head, originally c. 1250, and there are single lancets in the north and south walls. The vestry is of brick and is five steps below the chancel level. The 13th-century arch to the nave is of two chamfered orders, the inner one resting on moulded corbels supported by grotesque heads.
The windows of the north aisle are all of 14th-century date, that at the east end being of three trefoiled lights with modern reticulated tracery, the others of two lights with quatrefoil in the head. On each side of the east window is a moulded corbel for a statue. In the south aisle the east window is of three tall trefoiled lights, with slight piercings, c. 1280, and near it, in the usual position, is a pointed piscina with fluted bowl and inner trefoil arch on plain corbels. The other windows are later and of two cinquefoiled lights. Both doorways have continuous moulded head and jambs, and there is a pseudo-Gothic plaster ribbed ceiling to the porch. At the west end of the south aisle is a stone wallbench. The clearstory windows are square-headed and of two trefoiled lights.
There are 17th-century tombs and headstones in the churchyard, and on one of the buttresses on the south side are three
scratch dials.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) all entries 1559–1648, and births 1654–81; (ii) baptisms 1695–1812, marriages 1695–1754, burials 1683–1812; (iii) marriages 1754–1812. The second volume contains entries of penances between 1719 and 1763.
The Church was used as the backdrop for the opening scenes of the 1999 version of ''
A Christmas Carol
''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...
'' starring
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...
.
Wadenhoe Church Interior
The church contains a 13th-century font, being a circular bowl moulded round the lower edge and ornamented at the top with lunettes of foliage, below each joint of which are rosettes,
dogtooth and masks in relief set vertically on the face of the cylinder. The font has been reset on an octagonal stone step.
The early 18th-century oak pulpit was re-arranged during the restoration. The seating is modern, but in the aisles are some carved and traceried bench ends, perhaps of 16th-century date. There is a brass plate in the floor of the nave to John Andrewe (d. 1629), and in the chancel a mural monument to Brooke Bridges (d. 1702).
There are six bells in the tower, the first cast by Tobie Norris, of Stamford, in 1603; the second a mediæval bell inscribed 'Ave Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum'; the tenor dated 1607. The tenor alone is rung, the others being cracked.
The plate consists of a silver cup and cover
paten
A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium.
Western usage
In many Western liturgical denominations, the p ...
of 1755, a flagon of 1776, and a silver dish with the mark of Jacques Cottin, of Paris, c. 1726, inscribed 'To the Pious Memory of ye Revd. Mr. Nat. Bridges who was 33 years Rectr. of this Church 1747.'
Gallery
File:Wadenhoe Village Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1377969.jpg, Wadenhoe Village Hall
File:Church Street, Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 309826.jpg, Church Street, Wadenhoe
File:Sundial at Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 796089.jpg, Sundial at Wadenhoe
File:Cottages at Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 796059.jpg, Cottages at Wadenhoe
File:Path to Wadenhoe Church - geograph.org.uk - 796069.jpg, Path to Wadenhoe Church
File:Wadenhoe Lock and sluice gate - geograph.org.uk - 1194106.jpg, Wadenhoe Lock and sluice gate
File:Wadenhoe Church from the car park - geograph.org.uk - 1218708.jpg, Wadenhoe Church from the car park
File:River Nene, Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 796076.jpg, River Nene, Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk
File:Church Street, Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 795926.jpg, Church Street, Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk
File:Milk Churn Stand, Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 714481.jpg, Milk Churn Stand, Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk
File:Footpath from Achurch to Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 322805.jpg, Footpath from Achurch to Wadenhoe
File:The Nene Way near Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 1377970.jpg, The Nene Way near Wadenhoe
File:Mill pond and Mill Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 1340276.jpg, Mill pond and Mill Wadenhoe
File:Wadenhoe Mill on the River Nene - geograph.org.uk - 309828.jpg, Wadenhoe Mill on the River Nene
File:Footpath bridge between Achurch and Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 1340246.jpg, Footpath bridge between Achurch and Wadenhoe
File:Trees in a parkland setting, Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 1340319.jpg, Trees in a parkland setting, Wadenhoe
File:Mooring on the River Nene at Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 1218701.jpg, Mooring on the River Nene at Wadenhoe
File:Footbridge on the Nene Way between Aldwincle and Wadenhoe - geograph.org.uk - 1377972.jpg, Footbridge on the Nene Way between Aldwincle and Wadenhoe
Music
Composer and poet
Trevor Hold
Trevor Hold (21 September 1939 – 28 January 2004) was an English composer, poet and author, best known for his song cycles, many of them setting his own poetry.
Biography
Born in Northampton, Hold suffered an attack of polio at the age of seven, ...
, born in
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
, lived at Dovecote House in Wadenhoe from 1969 until his death in January 2004. He composed ''The Wadenhoe Preludes'' for organ in 1969, ''The Wadenhoe Clavichord Book'' in 1987, and ''The Dovecote Suite'' for bassoon and piano in 1990, five movements evoking the family home.
Foreman, Lewis. Trevor Hold catalogue of music
/ref>
References
External links
Details of the lock on the Nene with some information on the village
A walk featuring, Wadenhoe
Aldwincle
Aldwincle (sometimes Aldwinkle or Aldwinckle) is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, with a population at the time of the 2011 census of 322. It stands by a bend in the River Nene, to the north of Thrapston. The name of the ...
and Achurch
Achurch (formerly Asenciran sometimes referred to as Thorpe Achurch) is a village in the civil parish of Thorpe Achurch, in North Northamptonshire, England. Situated on a small rise above the River Nene, 5 miles South of the market town of Ound ...
Wadenhoe Local History Group
*
{{authority control
Villages in Northamptonshire
Civil parishes in Northamptonshire
North Northamptonshire