Culworth is a village and civil parish about north of Brackley in West Northamptonshire, England. Culworth is also about northeast of the north

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

town of Banbury. The village stands on the brow of a hill about above sea level. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 445.

History

Toponymy

The villages name means 'Cula's enclosure'.

Roman coin

A third-century Roman coin from the brief reign of the Roman emperor Quintillus was found in the parish before 1841.

Manor

Berry Hill, just north of the parish church, is a medieval ringwork, built probably late in the 11th century. It is a scheduled monument. On its southwest side, part of its circular ditch was cut away in the 19th century to make the garden of the Old Rectory, but otherwise it survives intact. There are similar ringworks at Sulgrave,

Weedon Lois Weedon Lois (or Lois Weedon) is a village in Weston and Weedon civil parish, about west of Towcester, Northamptonshire, England. The villages name means 'Heathen temple hill'. There is a well in the parish, named after St. Loys or Lewis, wh ...

and Weston. William de Culworth was

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

and Constable of Hertford Castle in 1230 and 1234. The D'Anvers family held the

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

of Culworth by 1643, when Samuel D'Anvers (1611–1683) was created a baronet. The D'Anvers Baronetcy became extinct with the death of Sir Michael D'Anvers, 5th Baronet, in 1776. The Old Manor is a 17th-century courtyard house, enlarged in the 18th century. Sir John D'Anvers, 3rd Baronet (1673–1744) had a large mansion built, but it has not survived. There is a newer Danvers House that is reputed to include materials from the mansion, and certainly includes window frames that may date from about 1700.

Church and chapel

The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

Saint Mary the Virgin Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

has north and south

aisles Aisles is a six-piece progressive rock band originally from Santiago, Chile. The group was formed in 2001 by brothers Germán (guitar) and Luis Vergara (keyboards), and childhood friend Rodrigo Sepúlveda (guitar). Later on, it expanded to incl ...

with three-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

arcades dating from about 1200. Late in the 13th century the arcades were lengthened and the lower part of the west tower was built. The upper part of the tower is

Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...

and therefore was built later. The chancel was rebuilt in 1840 and the building was altered and refitted in 1880 to designs by the architect E.F. Law of Northampton. The church is a Grade II* listed building. By 1254 the

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

Canons Ashby Priory held "the spiritualities" of St. Mary's parish. Early in the 14th century there was a dispute between Roger de Mussynden and Prior Adam of the Priory for possession of the advowson, which was settled in 1325 in favour of the Priory. A marble monument inside the church to the D'Anvers baronets was erected in 1790. Graves in the churchyard include that of Charles Bacchus, an African servant who died in 1762 at the age of 16. The tower has a

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

of five bells. One of the Newcombe family of bell-founders of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

cast the oldest bell in 1612. Henry I Bagley of Chacombe cast the tenor bell in 1636. Other bells were cast by Edward Hemins of Bicester in 1741 and John Briant of

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, ne ...

in 1806. John Taylor & Co of Loughborough cast the treble bell in 1931. St. Mary's has also a sanctus bell that was cast by an unidentified founder in about 1700. St Mary's parish is a member of the

Benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

of Culworth with Sulgrave and

Thorpe Mandeville Thorpe Mandeville is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England about northeast of Banbury in neighbouring Oxfordshire. The hamlet of Lower Thorpe is just north of the village. The village's name means 'Outlying farm/settlem ...

and

Chipping Warden Chipping Warden is a village in Northamptonshire, England about northeast of the Oxfordshire town of Banbury. The parish is bounded to the east and south by the River Cherwell, to the west by the boundary with Oxfordshire and to the north by f ...

with Edgcote and Moreton Pinkney. The

Rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

is a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

house built in 1854. It was enlarged and altered in 1869 to designs by E.F. Law. East of Danvers House is a Moravian Chapel that was built in 1810.

Social and economic history

The parish's common fields were enclosed by agreement in 1612. Most of the ridge and furrow pattern of the common fields is still visible. The village has shrunk, leaving earthworks at its northwest and southeast ends marking the sites of former houses. On the stream south of Culworth house is a pond with a dam high. It was a mill pond, but the watermill has been lost. After the extinction of the Danvers baronetcy Meriel Danvers, a spinster of the family, endowed Danvers Free School in 1789 and it was built in about 1795. It is now Culworth Church of England Primary School. Westhill House is 17th-century with 18th-century additions, and has a 17th-century barn and granary. The

Great Central Main Line The Great Central Main Line (GCML), also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), is a former railway line in the United Kingdom. The line was opened in 1899 and built by the Great Central Railw ...

from to London Marylebone was built through the neighbouring parish of Moreton Pinkney. In 1899 a station was opened in Moreton Pinkney parish, from Culworth and only from Moreton Pinkney village. However, there was already a

Morton Pinkney railway station Morton Pinkney (also known as Morton Pinkney for Sulgrave) was a railway station on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJ) which served the Northamptonshire village of Moreton Pinkney between 1873 and 1952. It was situat ...

so the Great Central Railway called the new station . In 1900 the Great Central opened a branch from Culworth Junction on the main line just over a mile north of the station to . It passed through Culworth parish just west of the village and in 1913 the Great Central opened a halt for the village. As the company already had a Culworth railway station it called the new halt .

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

ways closed the halt in 1956 and Culworth station in 1958. The 1963 ''

The Reshaping of British Railways The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...

'' report recommended that BR close the line through Eydon Road, which it did in 1966.

Amenities

Culworth has one public house, the Red Lion.The Red Lion, Culworth
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References

Sources

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External links

Culworth Village
{{Authority control Civil parishes in Northamptonshire Villages in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District