Faxton
Encyclopedia
Faxton is an abandoned village
and chapelry
in the county of Northamptonshire
in England
.
The last villager left in 1960 after the demolition of the parish church
of St Denis. There is now just one house standing on this remote hilltop location, overlooking the rolling farmland. Nearby are the villages of Old
, Lamport
and Mawsley
and the Northampton & Lamport Railway
.
Archaeologists claim that the village dates back to approximately 1150 AD, although they did find a very small number of Roman
artifacts
. However, it is believed that the name Faxton comes from the Scandinavian Fakr and the Anglo-Saxon tun, meaning Fakr's Farm. This would indicate that Faxton grew from a Viking
or Norse settler's farmstead and therefore would date from approximately the 9th century
The Domesday Book
, naming Faxton as the Manor of Fextone, notes that the population was of approximately 60 to 80 people. The village is documented as having consisted of a church, a rectory
, a hall, an aviary, almshouses and a number of ponds. Lady Danvers founded the parish's almshouses for four persons and, six years later, Jane Kemsey bequeathed £100 to it. By the 1950s, an aerial photograph shows approximately 25 dwellings.
It is noted that the reason Faxton no longer exists today was due to dwindling population but, prior to this, the village was a victim of the plague that decimated the tiny population. It is reputed that in an attempt to escape the Black Death
in London, a family relocated to Faxton with their servants. However, one of the servants was carrying the fatal disease which quickly spread and almost wiped out the village. The Northamptonshire Record Office holds the christening, marriage and burial registers for the parish.
under James I of England
. He was a Knight of the Bath, born in Faxton in 1559; he died in 1616.
In 1610, the Manor of Kibworth
, Leicestershire
was jointly granted to Augustine, Anthony Shugborough and John Smith after Ambrose Dudley, the Earl of Warwick
, died without an heir. It is not clear what happened to the manor immediately after this, but by 1632 the manor was being held by the Berrige family.
Judge Nichols had a clerk working for him. He was Thomas Dudley
, a relation of the Nichols family. In 1627 Thomas Dudley, with his wife, daughter Anne, and her husband Simon Bradstreet, sailed for America. Dudley became Governor of Massachusetts
as did Bradstreet later. Anne Bradstreet
became America's first female poet and is still thought to be one of its finest. Her poem To my dear and loving husband was set to music by Leonard Bernstein
and performed at the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter
.
A memorial to Augustine was positioned inside the parish church but it was smashed during the church's demolition in 1958. The Victoria and Albert Museum
in London retrieved the pieces and spent three years restoring it to its former splendour. A legend is connected to the smashed memorial. It is claimed that a phantom, reputed to be that of Sir Augustine, has been seen since the demise of the church and his memorial. Judge Nichols was poisoned in 1616 by four women. They were related to a man who was to appear before Judge Nichols for murder. They thought that by killing the judge they could spare their relation from execution.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and chapelry
Chapelry
A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England, and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church...
in the county of Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The last villager left in 1960 after the demolition of the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of St Denis. There is now just one house standing on this remote hilltop location, overlooking the rolling farmland. Nearby are the villages of Old
Old, Northamptonshire
Old is a village and civil parish in the Daventry district of the county of Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 308 people....
, Lamport
Lamport, Northamptonshire
Lamport is a village and civil parish in the Daventry district of the county of Northamptonshire, England. The village is on the A508, about south of Market Harborough and north of Northampton. Nearby is Lamport Hall...
and Mawsley
Mawsley
Mawsley is a newly built village and civil parish in the Kettering borough of Northamptonshire, England, a few miles west of Kettering. Until 1 April 2004, Mawsley was part of the nearby parish of Cransley....
and the Northampton & Lamport Railway
Northampton & Lamport Railway
The Northampton & Lamport Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Northamptonshire, England. It is based at Pitsford and Brampton station, near the villages of Pitsford and Chapel Brampton, roughly north of Northampton.-Overview:...
.
Archaeologists claim that the village dates back to approximately 1150 AD, although they did find a very small number of Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
artifacts
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
. However, it is believed that the name Faxton comes from the Scandinavian Fakr and the Anglo-Saxon tun, meaning Fakr's Farm. This would indicate that Faxton grew from a Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
or Norse settler's farmstead and therefore would date from approximately the 9th century
The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, naming Faxton as the Manor of Fextone, notes that the population was of approximately 60 to 80 people. The village is documented as having consisted of a church, a rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
, a hall, an aviary, almshouses and a number of ponds. Lady Danvers founded the parish's almshouses for four persons and, six years later, Jane Kemsey bequeathed £100 to it. By the 1950s, an aerial photograph shows approximately 25 dwellings.
It is noted that the reason Faxton no longer exists today was due to dwindling population but, prior to this, the village was a victim of the plague that decimated the tiny population. It is reputed that in an attempt to escape the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
in London, a family relocated to Faxton with their servants. However, one of the servants was carrying the fatal disease which quickly spread and almost wiped out the village. The Northamptonshire Record Office holds the christening, marriage and burial registers for the parish.
Sir Augustine Nichols (1559-1616)
Faxton's most famous resident was Sir Augustine Nichols, a judge of the Court of Common PleasCourt of Common Pleas (England)
The Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century after splitting from the Exchequer of Pleas, the Common...
under James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. He was a Knight of the Bath, born in Faxton in 1559; he died in 1616.
In 1610, the Manor of Kibworth
Kibworth
Kibworth is an area of the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, that contains two civil parishes—the villages of Kibworth Beauchamp and Kibworth Harcourt . According to the 2001 census, Kibworth Beauchamp has a population of 3,798, and Kibworth Harcourt has a population of 990. The two...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
was jointly granted to Augustine, Anthony Shugborough and John Smith after Ambrose Dudley, the Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
, died without an heir. It is not clear what happened to the manor immediately after this, but by 1632 the manor was being held by the Berrige family.
Judge Nichols had a clerk working for him. He was Thomas Dudley
Thomas Dudley
Thomas Dudley was a colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the town's first home...
, a relation of the Nichols family. In 1627 Thomas Dudley, with his wife, daughter Anne, and her husband Simon Bradstreet, sailed for America. Dudley became Governor of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
as did Bradstreet later. Anne Bradstreet
Anne Bradstreet
Anne Dudley Bradstreet was New England's first published poet. Her work met with a positive reception in both the Old World and the New World.-Biography:...
became America's first female poet and is still thought to be one of its finest. Her poem To my dear and loving husband was set to music by Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
and performed at the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
.
A memorial to Augustine was positioned inside the parish church but it was smashed during the church's demolition in 1958. The Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
in London retrieved the pieces and spent three years restoring it to its former splendour. A legend is connected to the smashed memorial. It is claimed that a phantom, reputed to be that of Sir Augustine, has been seen since the demise of the church and his memorial. Judge Nichols was poisoned in 1616 by four women. They were related to a man who was to appear before Judge Nichols for murder. They thought that by killing the judge they could spare their relation from execution.
External links
- An 1887 map of Faxton from British History Online.
- When is a Village? - an article on the history of Faxton.
- New Book on Faxton - Bryan Holden's new book about Faxton.