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Helmdon is a village and civil parish about north of Brackley in West Northamptonshire, England. The village is on the
River Tove A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
, which is flanked by meadows that separate the village into two. The parish includes the hamlets of Astwell and
Falcutt Falcutt (or Fancote) is a hamlet in the English county of Northamptonshire. With Astwell, it forms part the civil parish of Helmdon and is south of the village of that name. Historically, Falcutt and Astwell were part of the Wappenham Wappe ...
and covers more than . The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 899. The villages name means 'Helma's valley'. Alternatively, 'Helma (= helmet)' may be the name of a nearby hill. Early spellings also reflect confusion with
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
'hamol' meaning, 'maimed'.


Manor

Helmdon's toponym is probably derived from
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
''Helman denu'' "Helma's valley"; ''Helma'' is an unrecorded Old English masculine name. In the reign of
Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...
two Saxons, Alwin and Godwin, held the manor "freely", ''i.e.'' without a feudal over lord. They were dispossessed after the
Norman Conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...
and the Domesday Book of 1086 records that
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 ...
held a
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 ...
at ''"Elmedene"''. In the 12th century on William de Torewelle (
Turville Turville is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, west of High Wycombe, east-southeast of Watlington, north of Henley-on-Thames and 2 miles (3 km) from the Oxfordshire border. The name is Anglo-S ...
) held the manor of ''"Helmendene"'' of the fee 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 ...
. On both occasions the manor was assessed at four hides. The toponym continued to evolve: in about 1340 it was recorded as ''Helmydene''. William's descendants continued as the lesser lords of Helmdon until the 16th century. In 1317 Nicholas de Turville granted 97
acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...
s at Helmdon to his daughter Sarah and her husband Robert Lovett. In 1562 George Lovett sold Helmdon to Lancelot Wilton of Brackley, who 16 months later sold it on to
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
. The college remained Helmdon's largest landowner until at least the 18th century, by which time
Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...
also held a significant estate in the parish. Helmdon's main manor house, Overbury, seems to have been at the southern end of the village, south of the parish church. Slight earthworks suggest the position of not only the manor house but also other houses and three former ponds that may have been manorial
fish pond A fish pond or fishpond is a controlled pond, small artificial lake or retention basin that is stocked with fish and is used in aquaculture for fish farming, for recreational fishing, or for ornamental purposes. Fish ponds are a classical g ...
s.


Church and chapel


Church of England

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 ...
of Saint
Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...
is predominantly Decorated Gothic. English Heritage dates the earliest building work to the 14th century but local opinion holds the nave and
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 ...
to be 13th century. It is a Grade II* listed building. Until the
English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...
the church was dedicated to
Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...
. The oldest parts are the nave and 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 ...
south aisle, which may be early 13th-century. The south aisle includes a tomb recess with a
Purbeck Marble Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone. Geology Strat ...
slab and foliated cross. The arcade of the north aisle is of a different style that suggests a later date, possibly late 13th-century. Authorities agree that the chancel is 14th-century. It has an ornately cusped, ogeed and crocketted piscina and three-bay sedilia, plus a low-side window on each side. The clerestory of the nave was added later, possibly in the 15th century. The clerestory's timber roof ties and purlins may be 15th-century originals. The original west tower was probably 14th-century, but was rebuilt in 1823 reusing elements of the original Decorated Gothic masonry. The church was
restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...
in 1841, and again under the direction of EF Law in 1876. During the restoration an Early English Gothic piscina was found under some pews in the north aisle, and was set in the wall near the north door. Small sections of
Medieval stained glass Medieval stained glass is the coloured and painted glass of medieval Europe from the 10th century to the 16th century. For much of this period stained glass windows were the major pictorial art form, particularly in northern France, Germany and ...
survive in the heads of some of the windows. One in the north-east window of the north aisle depicts a stonemason at work. It gives his name, William Campiun, and has been dated to 1313. This suggests that he was a benefactor, at least paying for the window and probably contributing to the building of the north aisle. Such a medieval representation of a craftsman or tradesman is unusual, and one giving his name and so precisely datable is particularly rare. However, stone-quarrying was by then a significant industry in Helmdon, it supplied most or all of the stone for the church, and leading local masons would have had considerable economic standing. Taxation records show that in 1291 the Hospital of St John Baptist and St John Evangelist, Northampton held the rectory of Helmdon. It is now part of the parish of St Mary Magdalene, Helmdon with Stuchbury and
Radstone Radstone is a hamlet and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, about north of Brackley. The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 54. At the 2011 Census the population of the hamlet remained less than 100 and was included in the civil p ...
, which in turn is part 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 the Astwell Group of Parishes. 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 six bells. Henry II Bagley of Chacombe cast the fourth, fifth and tenor bells in 1679. 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 ...
cast the treble bell in 1797. The
Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Plac ...
family of
bellfounders Bellfounding is the casting and tuning of large bronze bells in a foundry for use such as in churches, clock towers and public buildings, either to signify the time or an event, or as a musical carillon or chime. Large bells are made by castin ...
of Loughborough cast the third bell in 1834, the second bell in 1855 and recast the fourth bell in 1890. Gillett & Johnston of Croydon recast the fifth bell in 1951. The church has also a Sanctus bell that was cast by an unidentified founder in about 1816. The old Rectory may have been 16th-century or earlier. In 1856 the then Rector, Rev. Charles Milman Mount, had it demolished and replaced with a new one (now Helmdon House). In the porch of the 1856 rectory is the wooden
lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...
of a Tudor fireplace bearing a carved dragon, the year 1533 (or 35) and a set of initials.


Baptist

Helmdon Baptist chapel in Wappenham Road opened in 1841. In 1953 a schoolroom was added. The building became unsafe and was closed as a place of worship in 2004. Baptists from Helmdon now worship at Weston Baptist chapel, about away.


Economic and social history


Building stone

Helmdon Stone is a pale limestone of the
Middle Jurassic The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations co ...
Taynton Limestone Formation. It is a freestone, ''i.e.'' it can be sawn in any direction to make
ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
. The quarries were on the north side of the Tove Valley, on the low ridge just beyond the northern edge of the village. There were either side of the minor roads to Weston and Sulgrave, extending about east–west from just east of the footpath to Weston Farm to the boundary of what became the course of 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 ...
. Stone may have been quarried in the parish since the late 13th century. Finely-carved stone used to build the Eleanor Cross at Hardingstone (started 1291) and to face the west front of the priory church of Canons Ashby Priory resembles that from Helmdon. In about 1340 ''Helmydene'' supplied stone to repair the
Church of St James the Less, Sulgrave The Church of St James the Less, Sulgrave, is the Church of England parish church of Sulgrave, a village and civil parish about north of Brackley, Northamptonshire. The present church dates largely from the 13th and 14th centuries and is record ...
. Helmdon stone gained fame in the late 17th century. For a century it was included in the building of some of the region's finest
stately home An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
s. The first was
Stowe House Stowe House is a grade I listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school and is owned by the Stowe House Preservation Trust who have to date (March 2013) spent more than £25m on th ...
, whose builders used Helmdon stone from 1677, and especially from 1710 to 1777. This was followed by
Easton Neston Easton Neston is situated in south Northamptonshire, England. Though the village of Easton Neston which was inhabited until around 1500 is now gone, the parish retains the name. At the 2011 Census the population of the civil parish remained le ...
House near Towcester, completed 1702;
Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non- episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, on ...
in the period 1705–10; and Woburn Abbey from 1749 to 1780. Helmdon may also have supplied stone to build
Brackley Town Hall Brackley Town Hall is a municipal structure in the Market Place, Brackley, Northamptonshire, England. The structure, which serves as the meeting place of Brackley Town Council, is a Grade II* listed building. History The building was commission ...
in 1705–06 and to remodel Canons Ashby House in 1708–10. In 1739 Helmdon supplied some of the stone for
Shalstone Shalstone is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the north of the county, about four miles north west of Buckingham. The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and mean ...
House in Buckinghamshire. Blenheim is from Helmdon, and most of its stone was supplied by much nearer quarries in
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 ...
: either
Burford Burford () is a town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswolds, Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located west of Oxford and southeas ...
and Taynton or Cornbury Park and
Glympton Glympton is a village and civil parish on the River Glyme about north of Woodstock, Oxfordshire. The 2001 Census recorded the parish's population as 80. The village and church are owned by the Glympton Park estate. History Grim's Ditch in th ...
. Woburn is away and most of its stone was supplied by nearer quarries at Ketton and
Totternhoe Totternhoe is a village and civil parish in the Manshead hundred of the county of Bedfordshire, England. Overview Totternhoe is an ancient village in southern Bedfordshire, near Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard. Totternhoe Knolls has been a fort ...
. The inclusion of Helmdon stone in these prestigious projects shows how highly it was regarded at the time. Early 18th-century writers praised it as some of the finest building stone in England. However, after 1780 Helmdon stone ceased to be of more than local importance.


Lace

The trade of making lace by hand was a well-established
cottage industry The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote ...
in the
East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
by the late 16th century, and the earliest record of it in Helmdon dates from 1718. Makers around Towcester and
Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...
had a reputation for the finest lace, and although mechanised competition began with Heathcoat's bobbin net machine in 1808, quality lace-making by hand thrived for several more decades. Helmdon had lace-making schools that taught girls the trade from an early age. Lace-making in the parish peaked in the middle of the 19th century, when the
1851 Census The United Kingdom Census of 1851 recorded the people residing in every household on the night of Sunday 30 March 1851, and was the second of the UK censuses to include details of household members. However, this census added considerably to the f ...
recorded that 94 women and girls — more than 30% of all Helmdon's female inhabitants — worked in the trade, and the youngest workers were under 10 years old. Thereafter mechanical lace-making did reduce the market for hand-made lace. The 1891 Census recorded only six women in Helmdon employed in the trade, and only one of those was aged under 40.


Agriculture

Traces of traditional ridge and furrow ploughing survive in much of the parish, and particularly in the south. They are evidence of the
open field system The open-field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe during the Middle Ages and lasted into the 20th century in Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Each manor or village had two or three large fields, usually several hundred acre ...
of farming that prevailed in the parish until 1758, when Parliament passed the Inclosure Act for Helmdon.


Leisure

A few 17th-century records name Helmdon victuallers in 1630, 1673 and 1692, but none says where there alehouses were or what they were called. Hemdon's earliest public house to be recorded by name was the Cross in Cross Lane. It was built late in the 17th century, and takes its name from the Cross family that ran it from then until late in the 18th century. Early in the 19th century Hopcroft and Norris's brewery in Brackley acquired it as a tied house. The Cross closed on 15 August 1914, just a fortnight after the outbreak of the First World War. It is now a private house called the Old Cross. Publicans of the Cross included James Campin (in 1884–1909) and Edward Campin (in 1913), who share the same local surname as the stonemason William Campiun commemorated in the parish church in 1313. The last Campin in Helmdon died in 1969. The Chequers opposite the parish school was trading by 1758 and possibly much earlier. In 1872 it was taken over by Hopcroft and Norris, which in 1945 merged with the Chesham Brewery to form the Chesham and Brackley Brewery. By 1960 it had passed to Phipps Northampton Brewery Company, which in 1970 sold it to Charles Wells Ltd of Bedford. It was closed in 1992, demolished and replaced by four new houses. The King William IV was trading by 1841, just four years after the death of its namesake. In about 1884 it became a tied house of the Leamington Brewery Company and its name was changed to The Bell. After 1934 a dance hall with a sprung floor was built behind the pub. Also in the middle of the 20th century the Bell diversified as a filling station, with a single hand-operated petrol pump outside. The dance hall was demolished and replaced with a bungalow before 1970 but the petrol pump remained well into the 1970s. The Bell continues to trade today. The Cock and Magpie in Wappenham Road opposite the Baptist chapel was trading by 1861. Its name was later shortened to the Magpie. When 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 ...
was being built in the second half of the 1890s, the landlord added a wooden building behind the pub in which he lodged some of the navvies. The Magpie closed down in 1909, giving it the shortest trading life of Helmdon's four known pubs. It is now a private house, Magpie Cottage. A Charles Fairbrother had the Reading Room built in 1887 as a men's meeting place as an alternative to the pubs. Newspapers and magazines were donated and until 1930 a small annual subscription was charged. Women were not admitted until 1921, when the local Women's Institute started meeting there. It was run by the parish Rector and churchwardens until the 1970s, when it was transferred to the parish council. Throughout its history the Reading Room has been the meeting place of many of Helmdon's activities, serving in effect as the village hall.


School

Helmdon School was planned in 1852 as a National School and built and opened in 1853 on land given by Worcester College, Oxford. The original building included a house for the schoolmaster, which was sold as a private house in 1970. In 1872 more land was acquired and an additional classroom was built. After Parliament passed the Elementary Education Act 1870, control of the school was transferred from the Church of England parish to the local School Board. The school was refurbished in 1933 and extended in 1975. It is now a primary school.Helmdon Primary School
/ref>


Railways

In 1872 the Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway (from 1910 part of the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJR)) was opened between and . It passed roughly east–west along the Tove Valley through the middle of the village, where its Helmdon station was opened. In the 1890s a civil engineering contractor, Walter Scott and Company of Newcastle upon Tyne, built the section of 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 ...
(GCML) between and . From 1894 to 1898 Scott had a construction yard in the Tove Valley at Helmdon with a network of sidings connected to the SMJR. It was next to where the company built Helmdon Viaduct, a nine-arch structure of Staffordshire blue brick that carried the GCML main line across the valley. The main line linked northern England with and opened in 1899. It ran roughly north–south through the parish, passing just west of the village. There the Great Central Railway (GCR) opened its own station, causing some confusion with the SMJR's existing Helmdon station. In the 1920s Sulgrave Manor House, about from Helmdon, was restored as a museum to the family of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
, whose ancestors held that manor from 1540 to 1659. In response the
London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...
, which had succeeded the GCR in 1923, renamed its main line station "Helmdon for Sulgrave" from 1928.
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 SMJR station and line in 1951, the GCML main line station in 1963 and the main line in 1966. Helmdon Viaduct survives.


Shops

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Helmdon a dozen or more shops. By the 1930s they included a post office, three grocers, a butcher, an egg-dealer, a fruiterer, a baker, a newsagent, a tailor and a shoe repairer. Other local tradesmen included two coal merchants, a wheelwright who also made coffins, a builder who was also the parish undertaker, and even a maker of boot polish. Butchers from Brackley and Syresham delivered to customers in Helmdon, and some Helmdon traders sold their goods beyond the parish. Helmdon's last village shop was Bungalow Stores in Station Road, which closed in 2011.


Amenities

The Bell continues to trade as both a pub and an hotel. Helmdon has a nursery school for children aged 2–4 years as well as the primary school for children aged 4–11 years. There are more than 30 community groups.Group Directory
/ref> The village has two ponds, and a public park with play equipment and benches. Helmdon won the Northamptonshire
Village of the Year The Calor Village of the Year comprised 4 annual competitions organised by Liquified petroleum gas, gas provider Calor Gas, Calor to identify the villages that best met the following criteria: "a well-balanced, pro-active, caring community which ...
competition in 1969, 1996, 1999, 2002 and 2011.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Civil parishes in Northamptonshire Villages in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District