Courteenhall is a village south of the county town of Northampton, in the

shire county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...

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, and about north of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. 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 ...

was 122 at the 2011 census. The village is located in a cul-de-sac.

Governance

The village is in

South Northamptonshire South Northamptonshire was, from 1974 to 2021, a district in Northamptonshire, England. Its council was based in the town of Towcester, first established as a settlement in Roman Britain. The population of the Local Authority District Council in ...

, and is part of

Blisworth Blisworth is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire, England. The West Coast Main Line, from London Euston to Manchester and Scotland, runs alongside the village partly hidden and partly on an embankment. The Grand Union Canal ...

and

Roade Roade is a village in Northamptonshire, England. Currently in West Northamptonshire, before local government changes in 2021 it was represented by South Northamptonshire District Council, falling within the two-member Blisworth and Roade ward. ...

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. It is within the

Northamptonshire County Council Northamptonshire County Council was the county council that governed the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire in England. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888, recreated in 1974 by the Local Government Act 19 ...

area. From the 2010 general election it is in the new parliamentary constituency of

(previously Northampton South).

Location

The

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...

between junctions 14 and 15 passes to the northeast of the village, and junction 15 is just 1 mile distant. The main part of the village is on a no-through route. Courteenhall Parish has its own independent Parish Meeting which usually meets twice a year. It shares a rector with Roade, Ashton, Collingtree and Hartwell.

Facilities

The parish had a population of less than 100 in 2003, has no facilities other than a church and relies on the nearby village of

for shops, schools and other services. The post office in Courteenhall, which opened in 1883, closed in February 1996.

History

The villages name origin is uncertain. 'Corta's/Curta's nook of land' or 'nook of the enclosed piece of land'. Courteenhall Church Northants UK

Church of St Peter and St Paul

The church dates from the 12th century. It is now part of "The Five Parishes" group of local churches together with

Collingtree Collingtree is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England. It is part of the Northampton built-up area. Location and context The village is about from Northampton town centre, close to the ...

, Ashton and

Hartwell Hartwell may refer to: Places * Hartwell, Victoria, a neighbourhood of Camberwell in Melbourne, Australia ** Hartwell railway station England * Hartwell, Buckinghamshire * Hartwell, Northamptonshire, a village * Hartwell, Staffordshire, a l ...

. The former Rectory is next to the south side of the church. The church has some memorable tombs. The 1851 ecclesiastical census revealed that 100 people, out of a total population of 127, attended Courteenhall Church on census day. The Rectory next to the church dates from 1805.

The Hall

The village has developed around the

Courteenhall House Courteenhall House, Courteenhall, Northamptonshire, England is an 18th-century country house built for Wake baronets, Sir William Wake, 9th Baronet. Wake's architect was Samuel Saxon. The architectural style of the house is Neoclassical architect ...

estate. The landscaped park covers about , with formal gardens close to the house.Parks and Gardens UK - based on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest
The estate was purchased from Richard Ouseley by Samuel Jones, the son of a London merchant, in 1647. Samuel was knighted in 1660, was

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respo ...

for 1652–53 and died in 1673. His estates were inherited by his great-nephew Samuel Wake, a younger son of Sir William Wake, 3rd Baronet of Piddington. The

Wake family Wake or The Wake may refer to: Culture *Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies *Wakes week, an English holiday tradition *Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron sa ...

is reputedly descended from

Hereward the Wake Hereward the Wake (Traditional pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/, modern pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɪ.wəd/) (1035 – 1072) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resista ...

, a Saxon hero of resistance to the Norman conquest of England. The park was designed in 1791 by

Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...

sic The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...

'' for Sir William Wake, 9th Baronet. The Hall, like the park, dates from 1791 on a site selected by Repton and is by a little-known architect Samuel Saxon. It is private property but may be viewed in the distance from Courteenhall village church. Although sheep graze over the grounds of the main park, they are kept out of the Hall's garden by a

ha-ha A ha-ha (french: hâ-hâ or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view ...

. Courteenhall House is still occupied by the Wake family, the head of which being Sir Hereward Charles Wake, 15th Baronet.

The Stables and School House

Built around 1750 in the

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

style and contrast with the house. There is also in the grounds the former Free Grammar School House of about 1680, under the will of Sir Samuel Jones containing its original school furnishings including a raised seat for the school master.

Visitors

The venue is rarely open to the public but is available for private hire. It is at the end of a narrow '' cul-de-sac'' road and has very limited parking. Visitors are advised to park outside the village and use one of the many public footpaths for access. Parking during the fête is via the main drive from the A508 Northampton to Milton Keynes road only.

Biennial fête

A large biennial fête is held during June in even-numbered years, which is an opportunity to see the house (exterior only), and grounds including an extensive arboretum. The event raises several thousand pounds for the upkeep of the church, parts of which are over 800 years old.

Notable people

* Sir Richard Lane (1584–1650)

Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pre ...

and

Lord Keeper of the Great Seal The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This position evolved into that of one of the Great Officers of S ...

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

Joan Wake Joan Wake CBE (29 February 1884 – 15 January 1974) is best known as a historian who led a successful campaign to save Delapré Abbey from destruction. Background Joan Wake was born at Courteenhall, a daughter of Sir Hereward Wake, the 12th ba ...

(1884–1974), historian

References

External links

South Northants District CouncilNorthamptonshire County Council
{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire Buildings and structures in Northamptonshire History of Northamptonshire Tourist attractions in Northamptonshire Country houses in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District