A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



seems to have been an appurtenance of their larger 

 estates in Klmington, with which it is valued in 1291 

 and in 1535.' At the end of the 15th century it 

 was held from Crowland for rent by Sir Guy Wolston ; 

 it descended to his daughter, and with some land in 

 Cotterstock, which is sometimes called the ' manor of 

 Cotterstock,' it henceforth followed the descent of the 

 manor of Apethorpe.' 



The hospital of St. John of Jerusalem had a few 

 tenants in Glapthorn, and the prior held a view of 

 frankpledge there for them and tenants in Woodford, 

 Titchmarsh, Warmington, Fotheringhay, and other 

 villages near.' 



The church is served by the same 

 jIDVOIVSON incumbent as Cotterstock. It appears 

 always to have been a chapel of ease 

 to Cotterstock, and there is no evidence that Glap- 

 thorn has ever been a separate ecclesiastical unit. It 

 is never assessed separately in any ecclesiastical valua- 

 tion, but from the i6th century has separate registers. 

 The church of St. Leonard ' stands to 

 CHURCH the south of the village street, on a level 

 site, and consists of chancel 28 ft. by 

 14 ft. 6 in. with north chapel, nave 48 ft. 6 in. by 

 14 ft., with aisles 13 ft. wide, and south porch and 

 west tower. The churchyard lies for the most part 

 to the south and east, and has been lately enlarged on 

 the south. 



The architectural history of the church in some 

 way resembles that of the neighbouring church at 

 Tansor. The earliest work now to be seen in situ is 

 in the two western bays of the south arcade of the 

 nave, which belong to the last years of the 12 th cen- 

 tury ; but the base of the middle pier of the two 

 western bays of the north arcade is an inverted capital 

 off. 1 160. 



The building has developed from a small aisleless 

 nave and chancel church, whose approximate dimen- 

 sions were, nave 23 ft. by 14 ft., chancel perhaps 

 10 ft. by 10 ft., internal measurement. The first 

 enlargement was probably that of the chancel, and 

 north and south aisles were added to the nave before 

 the end of the 12th century, the north aisle probably 

 being the first to be built. In the 13th century the 

 area of the old chancel was thrown into the nave, the 

 aisles continued to its eastern limit with a chapel at 

 the east end of the north aisle, and a new chancel 

 built to the east of the old one. The aisles are only 

 I ft. less in width than the nave ; it is possible that, 

 as at Tansor, this width may imply the former exist- 

 ence of transepts. The two western bays of the north 

 arcade were rebuilt c. I 330, and the east and south 

 walls of the south aisle were probably also rebuilt a 

 little earlier. The west tower is built against the 

 west wall of the nave, and retains no features older 

 than the 15th century. 



The chancel, 28 ft. by 14 ft. 5 in. inside, dates 

 from c. 1250. The east window, of three trefoiled 

 lights with geometrical tracery, is an insertion of the 

 beginning of the 14th centurj", and a good example of 

 its kind.' In the south end of the east wall of the 

 chancel is a small recess with an arched head orna- 

 mented with dog-tooth, and having a rebate for a 

 door. Below the east window is a moulded string, 



with a second string some 2 ft. below it, and connected 

 with it by vertical strings on the lines of the jambs of 

 the east window, thus enclosing an oblong space below 

 the window. 



In the south wall are three two-light windows ol 

 the 13th century, that in the middle being more 

 elaborately treated than the others ; it has a moulded 

 rear arch with a label, jamb-shafts with capitals orna- 

 mented with nailhead, and a shaft worked on the 

 mullion. The head is pierced with an ov.-il, the win- 

 dow to the east having a lozenge, and that to the 

 west a quatrcfoiled circle. In the last window both 

 lights have an external rebate for wood frames, and 

 the sill is a little lower than the others. In the north 

 wall is a square locker, and along the south wall a 

 stone seat. 



The chancel arch, of the date of the chancel, has 

 two chamfered orders, with half-round responds and 

 plain capitals, the mouldings having probably been 

 destroyed to accommodate the chancel screen. The 

 east capital of the north arcade of the nave has been 

 destroyed in the same way, and is made up in plaster. 



The nave is of four bays, the two eastern bays on 

 both sides having pointed arches of two chamfered 

 orders, with circular shafts and moulded capitals of 

 poor detail, f. 1250. At the west of these bays the 

 arcade is interrupted by a piece of walling, marking 

 the position of the east wall of the original nave, and 

 to the west of this are two more bays of the arcade, 

 of a different date to the eastern bays, and with 

 capitals at a lower level. On the north these bays 

 are of the 14th century, c 1330, with sharply-pointed 

 arches and circular shafts with moulded capitals ; the 

 base of the middle shaft, as already noted, is a square 

 scalloped capital of c. 1 1 60, inverted, and perhaps 

 belonging to a former arcade on this site. In the 

 south arcade the two arches are semicircular, of two 

 orders, with round shafts and octagonal capitals with 

 abaci of square section, c. 1 190-1200. There is a 

 clearstory having four single square-headed lights on 

 each side, the heads of the windows being modern. 

 They may be of the 14th century, but there is 

 nothing to fix their date. 



The north chapel has a two-light east window, 

 with a quatrefoil in a circle in the head, of 13th-cen- 

 tury style, and in the north wall of the chapel and 

 aisle are three late 15th-century windows, each of 

 three cinquefoiled lights. The west window of the 

 aisle is a modern copy of the corresponding window 

 in the south aisle. 



The north doorway has lost its original mouldings ; 

 it may have been of the 13th century. 



In the south aisle the east window and that nearest 

 to it on the south are of early 14th-century date, of 

 two lights with flowing tracery ; the jamb section is, 

 with the exception of the outer order, the same as 

 that of the east window of the chancel, and there can 

 be little difference of date between them, though the 

 tracery of the aisle windows is more advanced. 



The south doorw.iy is of the 14th century, with a 

 continuous wave moulding, and west of it is a late 

 15th-century window of three cinquefoiled lights. 

 The west window is of two shouldered lights, with a 

 roll on the inner order on both faces ; its date is f. 1250. 



' Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), p. 55 ; 

 Valor Eal. (Rec. Com.) iv, 86. 



» Feet of F. Northants, 7 Hen. VII ; 

 ibid. 7 Hen. VIII ; Clian. Inq. p.m. 



(ser. 2), «xii, 9 ; Partic. for grants, Aug. 

 Off. No. 792. 



' Quo H'arr. R. (Rec. Com.), 532. 



* Richard Coram (l 5 12) leaves his body 

 to be buried in the churchyard of the church 



of St. Leonard in Glapthorn, Northants 

 Will Bk. A. 161, also Bk. B. 49. 



^ Its external dripstones are curious, 

 being carved to represent a boar and a 

 sow with pigs. 



