Whilton is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire. The population (including Slapton) at the 2011 Census was 271. The village is in West Northamptonshire. Whilton is northwest of London, west of

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; ...

and southeast of Rugby. The village lies east of the nearest town of Daventry. The nearest railway station is at Long Buckby for the Northampton loop of the West Coast Main Line which runs between Rugby, Northampton and London. The nearest airport is Birmingham Airport. Whilton gives its name to the nearby

Whilton Locks Whilton Locks is the name of a flight of seven locks on the Grand Union Canal near Daventry, in the county of Northamptonshire, England. They are also referred to as Buckby Lock Flight. History The Grand Junction Canal was authorised by an Act o ...

and Whilton Marina on the Grand Union Canal.

History

The village's name means '

Wheel A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction wi ...

farm/settlement', either alluding to the circular hill on which the village stands or the bending course of the stream here. Whilton is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1068, where it is listed under the name of ‘Woltone’. The main tenant landowner was

Robert, Count of Mortain Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastin ...

who was the half-brother to William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy and later king William I of England. Whilton gives its name to a book described as a Social-Legal Study of Dispute Settlement in Medieval England, called 'The Whilton Dispute, 1264 to 1380', written by Robert C Palmer, in which the Whelton family was engaged. The Mortimer & Montgomery families were also involved.

The Parish Church of Saint Andrew

The Parish Church of

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

is constructed from the local Northamptonshire Ironstone and was built between the 12th and 13th centuries, although very little remains of this original, having been restored in late 18th century. The tower had a ring of 6 bells, which had been given in 1777 by the patron of the time William Lucas Rose, who also paid for their installation and the building work. Three of these original bells and three newer replacements were recast and, with added metal, were made into a ring of eight bells in 1994. They were cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The tenor (heaviest) bell weighs and bears the inscription: CANON J.J. RICHARDSON, PRIEST /HAROLD HAYNES, JANET C. BOWERS CHURCHWARDENS /WHITECHAPEL 1994. The church clock is unusual as it was originally a one handed clock divided into ¼ hours and therefore does not have 60 minutes. In 1779 William Lucas Rose also gave a gift of communion vessels which are still in use today. The Church’s east window, the only stained glass in the building, portrays the crucifixion of Jesus and dates from 1878.

Amenities

The nearby Whilton

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

is close to

on the Grand Union canal. It was dug out in 1971 by the Steele family who still own and operate the business. The marina has over 200 moorings. The village also has a

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...

track nearby called Whilton Mill.Whilton Mill
/ref> Whilton Northamptonshire 39 03 08 (1)

References

External links

Whilton Village website
{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire Civil parishes in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District