Overthorpe 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

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 ...

, about east of

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

and southeast of junction 11 of the

M40 motorway The M40 motorway links London, Oxford, and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately . The motorway is dual three lanes except for junction 1A to junction 3 (which is dual four lanes) a short section in-between the exit and entry hig ...

. Overthorpe is in the west of West Northamptonshire, and its western boundary forms part of the boundary with Oxfordshire. It is part of the informal district of

Banburyshire Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

. The 2001 Census recorded the parish's population as 242, reducing slightly to 235 at the 2011 Census.

History

The Manor House is 17th-century, with a

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

rear extension that was added about 1930. The village has at least three other 17th-century houses and a 17th- or 18th-century barn. An

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 acr ...

of farming prevailed in Overthorpe until the 18th century. Traces of

ridge and furrow Ridge and furrow is an Archaeology, archaeological pattern of ridges (Medieval Latin: ''sliones'') and troughs created by a system of ploughing used in Europe during the Middle Ages, typical of the open field system, open-field system. It is a ...

survive north of the village. Overthorpe used to be part of the parish of

Middleton Cheney Middleton Cheney is a large village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The village is about east of Banbury in Oxfordshire and about west-northwest of Brackley. The A422 road between Banbury and Bra ...

, but its land tenure was linked with that of Warkworth.

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

passed a single

inclosure act The inclosure acts created legal property rights to land previously held in common in England and Wales, particularly open fields and common land. Between 1604 and 1914 over 5,200 individual acts enclosing public land were passed, affecting 28,0 ...

for both Overthorpe and Warkworth, the Warkworth Inclosure Act 1764 ( 4 Geo. 3. c. ''67'' ).

Church and chapel

There is no church in Overthorpe. It is in the

Church of England parish The parish with its parish church(es) is the basic territorial unit of the Church of England. The parish has its roots in the Roman Catholic Church and survived the English Reformation largely untouched. Each is within one of 42 dioceses: divide ...

of St Mary, Warkworth, whose 14th-century church is midway between the two villages. Overthorpe had a nonconformist chapel, but it is now a private house.

Amenities

Carrdus School, at Overthorpe Hall north of the village, is an independent preparatory school.Carrdus School
/ref> The Jurassic Way

long-distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-co ...

passes through the village.

References

Sources

External links

* Civil parishes in Northamptonshire Villages in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District {{Northamptonshire-geo-stub