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Horton is a village and former
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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
, now in the parish of
Hackleton Hackleton is a village located in West Northamptonshire, just north of Buckinghamshire. It is south of Northampton town centre, and by road to the M1 motorway, M1 London to Yorkshire motorway junction 15 and north of junction 14. London is ...
, in the
West Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, and was created in 2021. It contains the county town of Northampton, as wel ...
district, in the ceremonial county of
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
, England. The village manor,
Horton Hall Horton Hall, known locally as Horton House, was a stone-built Georgian stately home, now demolished, located on a 3,764 acre estate stretching across nine parishes on the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire borders. History The earliest entry for ...
, now demolished, was home to the first governor of the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
and
William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Horton William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Horton (c. 1483 – 10 September 1547Douglas Richardson. ''Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families,'' 2nd Edition, 2011. pg 663.) was the son of Sir William Parr and his second wife, the H ...
. An outline of its former
nucleus Nucleus (: nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucleu ...
can be seen in neighbouring fields, by its grade II park and garden which features an ornamental bridge.


Topography

The village is south south-east of
Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
and about north of
Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. The town is separated from the rest of the u ...
The B526 was formerly the A50, important as the major
stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
route connecting
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
and London.


The church

The
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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
church is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. It has a 13th-century western tower and a "splendid curly
weathervane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an list of weather instruments, instrument used for showing the wind direction, direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ' ...
". Much of it was rebuilt between 1862 and 1863 by a local architect
Edmund Francis Law Edmund Francis Law, usually referred to as 'E. F. Law', (26 April 1810 – 14 April 1882, in Northampton) FRIBA was an English architect during the 19th century, notable for a large number of projects, particularly restorations, in the ...
. It has various monuments: a
brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
relating to Roger Salisbury (1491) and his two wives; Lord and Lady Parr, Katherine Parr's uncle and aunt; a free standing tomb-chest; two recumbent effigies of Sir William Lane and his family, and Edward and Henrietta Montagu, members of the family of the
Earl of Halifax Earl of Halifax is a title that has been created four times in British history—once in the Peerage of England, twice in the Peerage of Great Britain, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The name of the peerage refers to the town of ...
. The church was formally closed for worship at the end of 2012, after being shut for some years, the cost of repairs and maintenance having been found unsustainable. Following the uniting of the parish with Piddington to form the new parish of Piddington with Horton, the village is now served by the Church of St. John the Baptist in Piddington as part of th
Living Brook Benefice


Horton House estate


The earlier estate

The place-name ''
Horton Horton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Horton Glacier, Adelaide Island, Antarctica * Horton Ledge, Queen Elizabeth Land, Antarctica Australia * Horton, Queensland, a town and locality in the Bundaberg Region * Horton River (Australia), ...
'' is a common one in England. It derives from
Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''horu'' 'dirt' and ''tūn'' 'settlement, farm, estate', presumably meaning 'farm on muddy soil'. The original medieval village and house were demolished to make way for the rebuilding of the house in the 17th century – all that remains are a number of mounds in the fields to the south and east of the house remains. The first house and estate were owned by William, Lord Parr of Horton – the same family that Katherine Parr came from. She was the last of the six wives of
Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
. William, Lord Parr of Horton was her uncle. Parr's daughter, Maud, married Sir Ralph Lane and they had five sons including: Sir Ralph, Sir Robert, Sir Parr and Sir William, the latter commemorated in the church.


The last house

The last house had originally belonged to a branch of the Montagu family (who held the
Earldom of Halifax Earl of Halifax is a title that has been created four times in British history—once in the Peerage of England, twice in the Peerage of Great Britain, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The name of the peerage refers to the town of ...
for two generations).
Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax (16 April 1661 – 19 May 1715) was an England, English statesman and poet. He was the grandson of the Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester, 1st Earl of Manchester and was eventually ennobled himself, firs ...
KG, PC, FRS (16 April 1661 – 19 May 1715) was an English poet and statesman, one of the commissioners of the Treasury, a member of the Privy Council and
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
. At the accession of
George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George of Beltan (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...
, he was made
Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...
Sunbury and Earl of Halifax, with remainder to heirs male, a Knight of the Garter, and
First Lord of the Treasury The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom. Traditional convention holds that the office of First Lord is held by the Prime Mi ...
. The Gunnings purchased the estate in 1782 and the family stayed at Horton until 1888 when the 5th Baronet sold it to Pickering Phipps of the brewing family. Later it was sold to George Winterbottom but it was demolished in 1936 However, some of its out-buildings remain, many
Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
listed: the Green Bridge; The Ice House and the New Temple, which has an Ionic portico with a
pulvinated frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither ...
– and is thought be early Georgian in date. *The
menagerie A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern zoo or zoological garden. The term was first used in 17th-century France, referring to ...
, turned into a house by
Gervase Jackson-Stops Gervase Frank Ashworth Jackson-Stops (26 April 1947 – 2 July 1995, in London) was an architectural historian and journalist. Education He was educated at Harrow School, Harrow and later won an exhibition (scholarship), exhibition to Christ Ch ...
is Grade II* listed. This is a one-storey building with corner pavilions and a raised central area. The surrounding windows are in the style of the architect
James Gibbs James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was a Scottish architect. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transition between English Ba ...
. The work has most recently been attributed to Thomas Wright, the astronomer, who undertook work for Lord Halifax after 1739. *The Arches, also Grade II. These are made up of a tri-partite triumphal archway with Ionic
pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s. *Two
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...
gate lodges, see image in infobox top right *Red brick stable block, c. 18th century Near the menagerie is an old fish pond dating back several centuries and what are thought to be the remains of a Norman
motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...
can be found in the fields behind the menagerie. There are rumoured to be a series of tunnels from the menagerie towards the ice house and elsewhere.


Economy

The village is subsidiary greatly to Hackleton and somewhat to Northampton and Milton Keynes, having no shops or pubs. Horton has a
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
club, Horton House CC, which celebrated its centenary in 2008 and offers Senior and Junior Cricket. Its largest amenity is "The New French Partridge" hotel and restaurant, a former coaching inn.


Civil parish

In 1931 the parish had a population of 139. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Hackleton.


Landmarks


Horton Rounds: The house on a circle

This pioneering modern design for a curved house on stilts is in the
floor plan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensio ...
shapes of a comma and a full stop. The house was built in 1966 by local architect Arthur A. J. Marshman as a family home, on the site of the old tennis courts of Horton Hall. Featured include a
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...
ed balcony and cedar roof shingles. The house was for a while owned and occupied by
Roy Clarke Royston Clarke (born 28 January 1930) is an English comedy writer, best known for creating the sitcoms ''Last of the Summer Wine'', ''Keeping Up Appearances'', ''Open All Hours'' and its sequel series, ''Still Open All Hours''. Early life Cla ...
, writer of ''
Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first seri ...
''. The architectural expert Pevsner said of the house: In September 2012
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
designated the house as
Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
. In the designation it was stated that "Along with Peter Lambert Gibbs's own house of 1965, Fernhill in Ashdown Forest, and Robert Harvey's houses in Warwickshire, Horton Rounds is one of the best in the country of a small group of post-war houses clearly influenced by the work of
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
".


Notable residents of the village

*
Roy Clarke Royston Clarke (born 28 January 1930) is an English comedy writer, best known for creating the sitcoms ''Last of the Summer Wine'', ''Keeping Up Appearances'', ''Open All Hours'' and its sequel series, ''Still Open All Hours''. Early life Cla ...
, TV writer of ''Last of the Summer Wine'' for some years owned Horton Rounds * Sir Robert Gunning - diplomat, died at Horton House, 22 September 1816 *
Allan Lamb Allan Joseph Lamb (born 20 June 1954) is a South African-born former English cricketer, who played for the first-class teams of Western Province and Northamptonshire. Making his Test debut in 1982, he was a fixture in the Test and One-Day Inter ...
, England cricketer lived in the village in the 1970s. * Arthur Marshman, architect and designer of Horton Rounds house *Charles Montagu,
Earl of Halifax Earl of Halifax is a title that has been created four times in British history—once in the Peerage of England, twice in the Peerage of Great Britain, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The name of the peerage refers to the town of ...
– founder of the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
* Sir William Parr, uncle of
Katherine Parr Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...
- 1st Baron Parr of Horton * Thomas Wright (1711–1786), astronomer and architect. Wright was the first person to describe by its sobriquet, the Milky Way, the shape of our galaxy. He laid out the house's parklands and designed some of the buildings.


Pictures from around the village

Image:HortonChurch.JPG, Horton Church of St. Mary Magdalene Image:Gravestone of a child called Benjamin.jpg, A touching gravestone from Horton Churchyard


Horton: the surname

Hereditary surnames tended to arise in England after the
Norman conquest 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, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
and most of the earliest were derived from the place-names of family estates, whether in France or England. One such recorded is that of Richard de Horton from Northamptonshire, in 1255. See
Horton (surname) __NOTOC__ Horton is an Anglo-Saxon surname, deriving from the common English place-name '' Horton''. It derives from Old English ''horu'' 'dirt' and ''tūn'' 'settlement, farm, estate', presumably meaning 'farm on muddy soil'. List of people wi ...
.


References


External links


Horton Hall at Parks & Gardens UK website
* {{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire Former civil parishes in Northamptonshire Hackleton