Norton, Northamptonshire
| Norton | |
| Northamptonshire | |
|---|---|
 Norton | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP602638 |
| Location: | 52°16’9"N, 1°7’1"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 434 (2011) |
| Post town: | Daventry |
| Postcode: | NN11 |
| Dialling code: | 01327 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | West Northamptonshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Daventry |
Norton is a village in Northamptonshire, about two miles east of Daventry, eleven miles west of Northampton. Near the village, on Watling Street, is the Roman settlement of Bannaventa.
The population including Brokhall and Norton at the 2011 census was 434
History
The village's name means 'North farm/settlement'.[1]
A Roman settlement was here, known as Bannaventa, a fortified town on the eastern outskirts of the village, on a Roman road known as Watling Street (now the A5). Material from the town has been recovered. The settlement's defences were in the form of a trapezium, not aligned with Watling Street, and the enclosure was deeper on the east side of the street than it was on the west. There is a Roman villa site at the nearby village of Nether Heyford to the south-east.
It is possible, but unsubstantiated, that Bannaventa was the birthplace of St Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland: in his Confessio, Patrick writes:
| “ | I had as my father the deacon Calpornius, son of the late Potitus, a priest, who belonged to the small town of Bannavem Taberniae; he had a small estate nearby, and it was there I was taken captive. | ” |
This could possibly be an alternative name for Bannaventa. In around 405 AD when he was aged 16 he was kidnapped by pirates who were raiding the imperial highways, and taken to Ireland as a slave.
Norton appears in the Domesday Book[2] and some of the people mentioned in its entry are as follows: Aghmund; Alric; Alvred; Azur; Bisceop; Count Alan; Durand; Edwin; Fredegis; Fulcher; Gilbert; Godwine; Ingelrann; King William as landholder; Leofnoth; Leofric; Leofwine; Lokki; Martin; Nigel; Ordmaer; Osmund; Ralph; Ralph the steward; Robert; Robert, Count of Meulan; Robert, Count of Mortain; Sawata; Scotel; Segrim; Siward; Stenkil; Thorbiorn; Thorir; Walter; William; Wulfmaer.
About the village
The village hall is situated near the Parish Church of All Saints. The village has one public house, The White Horse. To the east of the village is a shopping complex in a converted set of farm buildings trading as 'The Heart of the Shires Shopping Village'.
Pictures
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Norton, Northamptonshire) |
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The main road looking west -
The White Horse pub -
The Heart of the Shires shopping village
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