Whilton
| Whilton | |
| Northamptonshire | |
|---|---|
 St Andrew’s Church, Whilton | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP637647 |
| Location: | 52°16’39"N, 1°4’4"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 271 (2011) |
| Post town: | Daventry |
| Postcode: | NN11 |
| Dialling code: | 01327 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | West Northamptonshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Daventry |
Whilton is a village in Northamptonshire, four and a half miles east of its nearest town, Daventry and ten miles west of Northampton. The population (including Slapton) at the 2011 Census was 271.
The nearest railway station is at Long Buckby for the Northampton loop of the West Coast Main Line which runs between Rugby (Warwickshire), Northampton and London. Whilton gives its name to the nearby Whilton Locks and Whilton Marina on the Grand Union Canal.
History
Whilton is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1068, where it is listed under the name of ‘Woltone’. The main tenant landowner was Robert, Count of Mortain who was the half-brother to William the Conqueror.
Whilton gives its name to a long-running legal dispute of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, called 'The Whilton Dispute', and from that came the title of a book described as a 'Social-Legal Study of Dispute Settlement in Mediæval England'. The Whelton family was engaged in the dispute and the Mortimer and Montgomery families were also involved.[1]
The Parish Church of Saint Andrew
The Parish Church of Saint Andrew is constructed from the local Northamptonshire Ironstone and was built between the 12th and 13th centuries, although very little remains of this original, having been restored in late 18th century.[2]
The tower had a ring of 6 bells, which had been given in 1777 by the patron of the time William Lucas Rose, who also paid for their installation and the building work. Three of these original bells and three newer replacements were recast and, with added metal, were made into a ring of eight bells in 1994. They were cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The tenor (heaviest) bell weighs 1,488 lb and bears the inscription: CANON J.J. RICHARDSON, PRIEST /HAROLD HAYNES, JANET C. BOWERS CHURCHWARDENS /WHITECHAPEL 1994.
The church clock is unusual as it was originally a one handed clock divided into ¼ hours and therefore does not have 60 minutes.
In 1779 William Lucas Rose also gave a gift of communion vessels which are still in use today. The Church’s east window, the only stained glass in the building, portrays the crucifixion of Jesus and dates from 1878.
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About the village
The nearby Whilton Marina is close to Whilton Locks on the Grand Union canal. It was dug out in 1971 by the Steele family who still own and operate the business. The marina has over 200 moorings.
The village also has a karting track nearby called Whilton Mill.[3]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Whilton) |
References
- ↑ Palmer, Robert C.: 'The Whilton Dispute, 1264 to 1380' ISBN 0 691 054045
- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, 1961; 1973 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09632-3
- ↑ Whilton Mill