Woodford is a large 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 authorit ...

located in

North Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire is one of two local authority areas in Northamptonshire, England. It is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area forming about one half of the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Northampto ...

, England. At the time of the 2011 census, the parish's population (including Woodwell) was 1,461 people. The village's name means 'wooded ford', referring to woodland near a shallow fording place 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 ...

. It is in two distinct parts, the easterly, lower, part being alongside the

and the westerly, upper, part is on the through road out of the Nene valley. Its parish church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin and has the nickname "the Cathedral of the Nene". Inside the church can be found a number of curiosities. Within a niche cut into a pillar, there is a mummified human heart wrapped in coarse cloth. This was discovered during restoration work in 1867. A framed newspaper cutting depicts a photograph of an alleged ghost taken in the church in 1964. A further display shows reproductions of photographs and newspapers from a time capsule concealed in the roof by the Reverend Smythe during the 1867 repair works, and rediscovered during further repairs in 1995. An unusual carving (particularly for places of Christian worship) can be found at the top of one of the pillars to the rear of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, depicting a

Green Man The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every Spring (season), spring. The Green Man is most commonly depicted in a sculpture, or other representation of ...

, with vines growing out of the mouth. Finally, the combination of rounded and pointed arches in the nave indicate different periods of reconstruction in the Norman and Gothic styles respectively. Woodford House, an early 19th-century mansion, was the home of the

Arbuthnot family Clan Arbuthnott is a Lowland Scottish clan. History Origin of name The name Arbuthnott is of territorial origin from the lands of the same name in the county of Kincardineshire. Early documents refer to these lands as ''Aberbothenoth'' which ...

and scene of the death of the diarist

Harriet Arbuthnot Harriet Arbuthnot ( née Fane; 10 September 1793 – 2 August 1834) was an early 19th-century English diarist, social observer and political hostess on behalf of the Tory party. During the 1820s she was the closest woman friend of the hero of ...

in 1833. The property was purchased in 1880 by Charles Henry Plevins from Arthur Arbuthnot, son of General

Charles Arbuthnot Charles Arbuthnot (14 March 1767 – 18 August 1850) was a British diplomat and Tory politician. He was Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire between 1804 and 1807 and held a number of political offices. He was a good friend of the Duke of Welling ...

. The house was altered between 1899 and 1910 and had a new garden created in 1909. The Arbuthnots owned iron ore

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

on the estate which were dug from circa 1851, an early date for what was later to become a large industry in Northamptonshire. The Arbuthnot's quarry appears to have been short-lived but a sample of the ore was exhibited at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, London, in 1851. There was a further experiment in commercial quarrying from about 1860 and again in 1866. The early attempts suffered from a lack of transport facilities and the ore must have been taken away by horse and cart but in 1866 the Kettering to Thrapston railway opened and a connecting tramway was constructed from close to Woodford House to the railway at Twywell. The quarrying (and some adit mining) lasted from 1866 to 1886, starting near Woodford Lodge and extending north of the road later on. There were also quarries south west of Twywell Station on the north side of the road between 1881 and 1883. There was also a brickworks near there. The main tramway (standard gauge) had steam locomotives from the start but some of the quarries were connected to it by narrow gauge lines and these were worked by hand or by horse until 1883. There were some visible remains of the quarries and buildings at least until 1986. Part of the ground north of the road near Woodford Lodge was reworked between 1914 and 1926 when quarries in Twywell Parish were extended. The ground here was landscaped and returned to cultivation in 1965. These quarries were to the west of Woodford village. Another quarry to the north of the village operated from 1867 but was closed by 1892. This quarry was connected to a tipping dock on the railway east of Twywell Station by a horse operated 4 foot gauge tramway. No landscaping was undertaken until 1970 and there were still some traces of the quarry as at 1986

Heritage assets

The following buildings and structures are listed by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

as of special architectural or historic interest. *Three Hills Round Barrows (Scheduled) Bronze Age *Bowl Barrow north of Woodford Mill (Scheduled) Bronze Age *Remains of Manor House and Garden (Scheduled) Unknown date *Medieval settlement remains (Scheduled) 9th century *Church of St Mary (Grade I) from 12th century onwards *Glebe Farmhouse (Grade I) 13th century *Wall with Finial south of Church of St Mary (Grade II) 14th century *Dovecote south of Manor Farmhouse (Grade II) 17th century *Manor House Farmhouse (Grade II*) 17th century *Woodford Rise (Grade II) 17th century with additions of the early 19th century and 1930s *50, 52 and 54 High Street (Grade II) 17th century *84 High Street (Grade II) 17th century *Daventry Farmhouse and attached Outbuilding (Grade II) 17th century *Cheyham Cottage (Grade II) 17th century *Club Lane (Grade II) 18th century *Woodford Mill (Grade II) 18th century *82 and Part of Number 84 over Carriage Arch (Grade II) 18th century *Woodford House, attached Cottages and Outbuildings (Grade II) 18th century *Olde Ways (Grade II) 18th century *Chest Tomb south of Church of St Mary (Grade II) 18th century *The Rectory (Grade II) 19th century (1820) *72 and 74 High Street (Grade II) 19th century *The Round House and attached Barn (Grade II) 19th century *70 High Street (Grade II) 19th century *War Memorial at Church of St Mary (Grade II) 20th century *War Memorial on The Green (Grade II) 20th century St Mary's Church was begun in the 12th century and has 13th,14th and 19th century features. The tower was complete by 1400. The Manor House, although a 16th-century house has buttresses and a doorway of the 13th or early 14th century. The Round House is dated 1815 and commemorates the Battle of Waterloo Woodford House was enlarged between 1813 and 1826 and in 1902.Pevsner :Buildings of England page 467

Demography

*In 1801 there were 491 inhabitants *In 1831 there were 639 inhabitants *In 1841 there were 680 inhabitants *In 2011 there were 1,461 inhabitantsOffice for National Statistics

Notes

References

Northamptonshire County Council, Record office
retrieved 9 May 2007.

retrieved 9 May 2007

External links

Sargents FC
Est 1994, a football team who play their home games in Woodford and are currently in Division One of the Rushden & District Sunday League.
Comprehensive village website
{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire Civil parishes in Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire