Great Harrowden is a 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 authority ...

North Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire is one of two local authority areas in Northamptonshire, England. It is a unitary authority area forming about one half of the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire. It was created in 2021. Its notable towns are Ketterin ...

, with a population (including Hardwick) at the 2011 census of 161. The village sits astride the busy

A509 The A509 is a short A-class road (around long) for north–south journeys in south central England, forming the route from Kettering in Northamptonshire to the A5 in Milton Keynes, via M1 J14. From north to south, the road begins at Wi ...

running between

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

and

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

- although a bypass is due to be built shortly. The village forms part of the

Orlingbury Orlingbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire. It is between the towns of Kettering and Wellingborough. Administratively it forms part of North Northamptonshire but was in the borough of Wellingborough until ...

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

. The villages name means 'Heathen

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

hill'. Nearby settlements include

Little Harrowden Little Harrowden is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. The village is nearly north-west of Wellingborough, off the A509 road. At the 2011 Census, the population of the parish was 892. The village is in one of the ...

Isham Isham is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is on the A509 road, three miles south of Kettering and a mile to the west of Burton Latimer. The River Ise is to the east of the village. Administratively, it forms part of N ...

and

Finedon Finedon is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, with a population at the 2011 census of 4,309. In 1086 when the Domesday Book was completed, Finedon (then known as Tingdene) was a large royal manor, previously held by Queen Edith, wif ...

Church

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of All Saints dates back to

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 ...

times and is Grade II* listed. It is famous for its medieval

Doom painting A "Doom painting" or "Doom" is a traditional English term for a wall-painting of the Last Judgment in a medieval church. This is the moment in Christian eschatology when Christ judges souls to send them to either Heaven or Hell. The subje ...

above the chancel arch. The painting is not sophisticated but is considered to be one of the best and most complete Dooms remaining in England. The church is mainly made of

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...

apart from the tower, which is

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 tower was rebuilt in 1822; there was formerly a spire, but this collapsed in the 18th century. The church contains some 17th-century plate (

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

: 1695;

paten A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Western liturgical denominations, the p ...

: 1698) and a

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

to William Harrowden.

Great Harrowden Hall

In the 15th century the manors of Great and Little Harrowden were held by Sir William Vaux, slain at the

Battle of Tewkesbury The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses in England. King Edward IV and his forces loyal to the House of York completely defeated those of the rival House of Lancaster ...

in 1471. There has been a house on the site since then, which

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

and

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

are both known to have visited. The Vaux family were created barons by Henry VIII in 1523. On the death of the fifth Lord Vaux in 1662 the title fell into abeyance and the estates were inherited by Nicholas Knollys, who was still claiming the title Earl of Banbury when he died in 1674.

Thomas Watson-Wentworth Hon. Thomas Watson, later known as Thomas Watson-Wentworth (17 June 1665 – 6 October 1723), of Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1701 and 1723. Origins He was ...

bought the estate from the Knollys family in 1695 and built the present Hall between 1716 and 1719 for use as a Dower House. His son Thomas Wentworth (died 1750) who had become the 6th

Lord Rockingham Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782; styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Marquess of Rocking ...

, was created

Marquess of Rockingham Marquess of Rockingham, in the County of Northampton, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1746 for Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Earl of Malton. The Watson family descended from Lewis Watson, Member of Parliament f ...

in 1746. In 1782 Harrowden was inherited by William, Earl Fitzwilliam of Milton, and it descended in the Fitzwilliam family until it was sold in 1895 to the seventh Lord Vaux, a descendant of the earlier owners. The Hawaiian princess,

Victoria Kaiulani Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

was educated at Great Harrowden Hall between 1890 and 1892. In 1975 the hall was acquired by Wellingborough Golf Club to be its new Clubhouse after it had been rescued from demolition by Mr. A. James Macdonald-Buchanan,

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 1972. An 18-hole golf course has been created in the park. The Hall is now Grade I listed (Ref GD1355) and still contains some early formal gardens and a landscape park of about to the north and east of the hall, now used as a Championship golf course owned and run by Wellingborough Golf Club. There are formal gardens which are surrounded by brick walls and fine iron gates are notable features. The Hall has a surprisingly unaltered contemporary garden which contain a number of garden features including several statues by the Dutch sculptor John van Nost, of which one has recently been repaired. The grounds also contain a chapel built by the 7th Baron Vaux in 1905 - being a copy of the school at

Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and has an estimated populati ...

and three groups of lead statuary.

Gallery

File:Kaiulani age 17 at Great Harrowden Hall.jpg, Princess Victoria Kaiulani, heir to the throne of the Hawaiian kingdom, educated at Great Harrowden Hall Image:MedPaintings.JPG, The medieval

doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

picture in All Saints' Church

References

External links

Wellingborough Golf ClubGreat Harrowden Church Website
{{authority control

Great Harrowden Great Harrowden is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, with a population (including Hardwick) at the 2011 census of 161. The village sits astride the busy A509 running between Kettering and Wellingborough - although a bypass ...

North Northamptonshire Civil parishes in Northamptonshire

Church

Great Harrowden Hall

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links