Althorp (lost settlement)

Althorp
Lost settlement
Grounds of the park where once the village stood
Country England
Region East Midlands
District Daventry
Municipality Althorp
Location South-west side of Althorp park
Althorp within Northamptonshire
Map Ref: SP678648
Not to be confused with the lost settlement of Alethorpe in Norfolk.

The lost village of Althorp is within the grounds of the Althorp estate in the English county of Northamptonshire.[1] The village is recorded in the Domesday Book. In the 15th century, the manor was held by the Catesby family who were probably responsible for clearing the settlement, for by 1505, the records show that there were no tenants. In 1508, the parish, including the cleared settlement of Althorp, was sold to John Spencer of Wormleighton in Warwickshire. By 1577, the land in the parish had been divided into four large sheep pastures.[2]

Remains today

There are some signs of earthworks on the site but much has been damaged by later activities such as ploughing. The main feature is a broad hollow way which runs up the hillside and is 1.5 metres in depth. There are several platforms on the south side of the hollow which are thought to be the sites of dwellings.[3]

See also

References

  1. ‘OS’ Explorer Map, Northampton & Market Harborough 223 ISBN 978-0-319-46396-3
  2. K.J. Allison, The Deserted Villages of Northampton Leicester: Leicester University Press (1966:34) ASIN: B0010HP1G0
  3. An Inventory of Archaeological Sites in North-West Northamptonshire (1981) HMSO, ISBN 0-11-700900-8

Coordinates: 52°17′N 1°00′W / 52.28°N 1.00°W / 52.28; -1.00


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.