A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



gabled stone house built about 1633, with mullioned 

 windows and two-storied porch. Most of the 

 inhabitants, however, live at Thorpe VVaterville, 

 about a mile to the south of the church and on the 

 west side of the main road. Near the river here are 

 the remains of Thorpe Waterville Castle, built by 

 Walter de Langton, Bishop of Lichfield,* who held the 

 manor from 1300 to 1307 and had licence to crencllate 

 his house there in 1301.- 



The castle is mentioned in 1307, after the forfeiture 

 of his lands, when the gate of the castle and chapel 

 are referred to.* In the next century, the castle is 

 regularly mentioned with the manors (j.f.) and in 

 1461 it was held for the Lancastrians against Edward 

 IV, who ordered Sir John Wenlock to besiege it with 

 three cannon.^ Presumably it was more or less 

 destroyed at this time. A constable was appointed 

 certainly as late as 1485,^ and in 1537, ' le Parke ' in 

 the castle is mentioned.* About the same time 

 John Leland refers to the ruins of the outer wall of 

 the castle as he passed through the village.' The 

 castle was apparently of the type of fortified manor 

 house which was being built early in the 14th century. 

 Only a portion of this house survives, which for a long 

 time has been used as a barn. It is built of stone 

 and measures externally 70 ft. in length from north to 

 south, by 25 ft. 10 in. in width. This structure, 

 which has a plinth all round and a gable at each end, 

 was originally of two stories, but the upper floor has 

 long been removed, and wide openings' have been 

 made in the middle of the side walls. There is 

 evidence of a partition having run across the building 

 at its centre and a two-story gabled porch is said to 

 have stood on the east side until about a century ago.* 

 At the north end, corbelled out from the first floor, 

 is a chimney, the upper part of which, above the 

 gable, is octagonal and battlemented, and on either 

 side of the chimney is a circular moulded opening, 

 nearly 2 ft. in diameter. There is said to have been 

 a similarly constructed chimney at the south end.*" 

 There arc loop windows in the longer sides, and the 

 roof principals have moulded collars and kingposts. 

 The walls arc 3 ft. thick and the roof is covered with 

 thatch. All the remaining arcliitcctural features arc of 

 14th century date. Thorpe station, near the village, 

 is on the Northampton and Peterborough branch of 

 the London Midland and Scottish Railway. The 

 parish was inclosed by Act of Parliament in 1772.*' 



Robert Browne (1550-1630 f), who formed the 

 first Independent congregations in England, was 

 rector of Thorpe Achurch from 1 591 for 40 years. 

 He liad, however, finished his active career as an 



itinerant preacher, before Lord Burghley presented 

 him to the benefice. ^^ 



The two manors of THORPE 

 MANORS WATERVILLE and ACHURCH were 

 held together throughout their history. 

 In Domesday Book, both parts of the parish were 

 entered under the heading of ' Asechurch,' which was 

 then held of the Abbey of Peterborough. l'' They were 

 held by knight service and is. was due for guard of the 

 Castle of Rockingham. As each knight of the Abbey 

 of Peterborough was quit of service in the time of 

 peace for a payment of 4J. a year, it is probable that 

 the two manors were held as two knights' fees.** The 

 overlordship of Peterborough** is last mentioned in a 

 law-suit between Abbot Kirketon and Lady Margaret 

 Beaufort, the tenant for life, as to the rent due to 

 the Abbey.*' After the Dissolution, the manors 

 were held in chief of the Crown.*' 



In 1086, Ascelin and two Englishmen held 6i hides 

 of land of the Abbey in Achurch,*' but in the North- 

 amptonshire Survey of the following century, the 

 Englishmen disappear and Ascelin de VVaterville was 

 the tenant of the land in Thorpe and Achurch.*' An 

 Ascelin de VVaterville appears 

 amongst the knights of Peter- 

 borough in 1 1 25-1 1 28.-" Pos- 

 sibly there were two Ascelins, 

 father and son, who succeeded 

 each other. After 11 26, but 

 before 1155, Hugh de VVater- 

 ville, the son of Ascelin 

 herited the manors.^* 

 heir was another Ascelin 



before 1189 his son or grand 



HI 1 1 • J 1 Waterville. ArP':»t 



ugh, wiio claimed the „ , / 



o ' crustily and a jcae 



office of hereditary high dancetiy gula. 

 steward of Peterborough, was 



holding Thorpe Waterville.-' Between 1 1 97 and 1 21 1, 

 Richard, son of the second Hugh, had succeeded.-^ He 

 was living in 1240-* and, together with his son John, his 

 name appears in the list of the anniversaries observed 

 at Peterborough Abbey.-' John must have predeceased 

 his fatlier, whose heirs were his sister Maud and 

 Alice. Thorpe and Achurch apparently formed part 

 of Maud's moiety and passed in 1241, to Reginald de 

 Waterville, said to be her son.^' He joined Simon 

 de Montfort and his manors were forfeited on his being 

 taken prisoner at Northampton in 1264. He was 

 pardoned two years later and held his lands till his 

 death in 1287.^' His heirs were the heirs of his daugh- 

 ters, Robert de Vere, son of Joan, Robert de Wykham, 

 son of Maud or Elizabeth, and his third daughter, 



3 w 



' Pytchlcy, Ilk. of Fca (Norlhants. 

 Rcc. Sor), 42. Bridget [Ilisl. Norlhiinls. 

 ii, 367) st.ttci th.it it was prob.Tbly built 

 b^ Aicclin dc Waterville, but there seems 

 to be no historic.'il or arcl)itectur.il evi- 

 dence for this early date. 



'Cat. Pal. 121J2-1301, p. 561. 



•Sparte, llnl. /Ing. Script. (Var.), 

 172 J P.R.O. Mini. Accts. Gen. Scr. 

 bdlc. 1 132, no. 2. 



' Cat. Pal. 1461-67, p. 28. 



' Rol. Pari. (Rec. Com), vi, 372.1. 



• L. and P. Hen. yill, ii, g. 1008 



{"9)- 



' l.cland, liincrary, ed, 1744, i, f. 6. 

 •The openings are 12 It. wide. 



• T. L. Selhy in jliwc. Arch. Soc. Rep. 

 (1861), Ti, 64-^, where it is stated that the 



porch was pulled down ' about thirty-six 

 years ago.' 



"•Ibid, where it is said to have been 

 ' removed probably a himdred years 

 since ' (fr(Mn 1861). 



" Slat. 12 Geo. Ill, c. 105. 



' ' Did. A'<J/. Biof. 



"I'.C.II. Xorthann. i, 316a. 



" Kgeiton MS. fll.M.), 2733, f. 148. 



''' Val. Chan, iv, 276; Egerton MS. 

 fll.M.), 2733, (. I26d ; Cott. MS. Vesp. E 

 xxii, ft. 4<)d, 104 ; FriiJ. /lids, iv, p. 48 ; 

 Bridges, Hiil. Norlhanls. ii, 365. 



■» Ibid. 



" Pat. R. 5 Udw. VI, pt. 7. 



"I'.C.II. Narihanli. i, 3160. 



■» Ibid. 366*. 



'" Cbron. Pttroh. (Camden Soc), p. 169. 



•' Sparkc, //«;. Angl. Scripi. (Var.), 88 ; 

 Dugtiair, Man. Ani^l. i, 393. " Ibid. 



•" Pytchlcy, Ilk. of Feel (Northanti. 

 Rec. Soc), 4';«. 



'* Feel of Fines (Pipe Roll Soc), xx, no. 

 IS4; Red Ilk. Fxcb. (Rolls Scr.), 618; 

 Wrotletlcy, Prd. from the Plea Rolls, 4S2. 



" (,'ii/. Close, 1237-42, p. 221. 



'" Dugdilc, Mon. .inj^l. i, p. 362. 



"Cott. MS. I'leop. I" ii, f. 133; 

 Feet of K. Norlhanls. East. 25 Hen, III, 

 no. 460. Maud was living in 1 24S, and 

 was apparently then the wife of William 

 de Palmus. If. ibid. East. 27 lien. Ill, 

 no. 472. 



"Cal. Pal. 1258-66, pp. 359, 634; 

 ibid. 1266-72, p. 10; Chron. Ptlroh . 

 (Camden Soc), 142. 



136 



