Wappenham is a

linear village Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship (''function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear r ...

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 ...

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. It is south-west of

Towcester Towcester ( ) is an affluent market town in Northamptonshire, England. It currently lies in West Northamptonshire but was the former administrative headquarters of the South Northamptonshire district council. Towcester is one of the oldest ...

, north of

Syresham Syresham is a village and civil parish in the English district of West Northamptonshire. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 855. It is near Brackley town and close to Silverstone Circuit. It is surrounded by villages and hamlets ...

and north-west of

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

and forms part of

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 ...

. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 266 people, increasing to 294 at the 2011 Census. The village's name means 'homestead/village of Waeppa' or 'hemmed-in land of Waeppa'.

Buildings

Wappenham has some of the earliest architectural works by Sir

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

The red-brick vicarage, east of the church, built in 1833 as a home for his father Reverend Thomas Scott who was vicar of Wappenham at the time, was Gilbert Scott's first work, built while he was still an assistant architect. Pevsner describes it as ''"...only remarkable for being Sir George Gilbert Scott's first building"''. The village also contains four other houses designed by Gilbert Scott, and on the village green there is a still-functional red K6 telephone box designed by Gilbert Scott's grandson

Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and d ...

The

Manor House A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

Wappenham west of the church is dated 1704. St Mary the Virgin, Wappenham

The church is 13th century and dedicated to St Mary. There are several monuments located there to various individuals, including Thomas Lovett of

Astwell Castle Astwell Castle is a manor house in Northamptonshire, England about south-west of Wappenham. It is a Grade II listed building and part of the parish of Helmdon, a village west. History The De Wauncys were amongst the earliest possessors of th ...

(d.1492),

Thomas Lovett III Thomas Lovett III (23 September 1473 - 16 December 1542) was High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1505, and was the King's Escheator in Northamptonshire in 1528 and 1533. Lovett was born at Astwell Castle, Northamptonshire, England. His father, Tho ...

(d.1542), Constance Butler (d.1499), and Sir

Thomas Billing Sir Thomas Billing (died 1481) was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Early life and career Billing is said by Fuller to have been a native of Northamptonshire, where two villages near Northampton bear his name, and to have ...

(d.1481), Chief Justice, of

Biddlesden Abbey Biddlesden was a Cistercian abbey founded in 1147 by Arnold de Bosco (de Bois), steward to the Earl of Leicester. Abbot William Wibert was deposed in 1198 for fraud, gross immorality and bribery. In the 14th to 15th centuries there was a long run ...

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 ...

. Wappenham had its own railway station until 1951, on the former

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

line between

Helmdon Helmdon is a village and civil parish about north of Brackley in West Northamptonshire, England. The village is on the River Tove, which is flanked by meadows that separate the village into two. The parish includes the hamlets of Astwell and F ...

and Greens Norton Junction. The last train on the line ran on 12 July 1953.The Unofficial SMJ Society
/ref>

References

External links

Village website
* Villages in Northamptonshire Civil parishes in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District {{Northamptonshire-geo-stub