SPELHOE HUNDRED 



KINGSTHORPE 



running in three directions between Northampton and 

 Kingsthorpe, and to lead it to their house by a sub- 

 terranean conduit.' 



The hospital of St. John the Baptist and St. John the 

 Evangelist also held land in Kingsthorpe of the king for 

 which it paid the bailiff i-jd. in 1535.^ 



The three MILLS in Kingsthorpe already referred to 

 are mentioned in the Survey of 1086 as worth 43/. 4^. 

 a year.^ They were held, with the rest of the manor, 

 on lease from the Crown and were rented out by the 

 inhabitants. The South Mill was let on lease to St. 

 Andrew's Priory, to which it was in close prcximity, 

 but the tenants of the Crown resisted the priory's claim 



I day's work at mowing and i cask of ale containing 

 26 gallons or 2s. 2d^ When the South Mill was let in 

 1529, the lessee was ordered to scour the ditches, to 

 serve the inhabitants before strangers and as soon as the 

 'bene' should be empty; also to pay 2J. 2//. towards the 

 mowing of the holmes.' In 1 547 the millers were 

 ordered to make a plank which could be crossed at all 

 times, and to make sufficient meal and malt for the 

 inhabitants who were obliged to have their corn ground 

 at the town mills.'" 



During the i6th century the Cooke family were 

 lessees of the North Mill." In 16 14 the three mills were 

 leased to William Whitmore and Edmund Sawyer sub- 



■ 122 Cent. 



EARLY 



□ C.I 1 50-70 



SC.I290 



1 142 Cent. 



E.\RLr 



II4.BICENT. 



LATE 



1 152! Century 

 1 Modern 



Plan of Kingsthorpe Church 



to free fishing in the river between the Nether and South 

 MiUs. On the court rolls of 141 1 Richard Napton, the 

 Prior of St. Andrews, his monks and servants, were 

 accused of fishing in the 'Shote' of the South Mill and of 

 making a weir to the harm of the town of Kingsthorpe* 

 In 141 3 the prior promised to abstain from fishing until 

 the matter was settled either by arbitration or by the 

 Bench,' but evidently no satisfactory arrangement was 

 come to, for between 1442 and 1449 the prior alleged 

 that the bailiff and others came armed to the mill and 

 then to the gates of the monastery to destroy it while 

 the monks were at divine service. They then went to 

 the field of Northampton and broke and dug up the 

 head of the conduit and then came back to the gates, 

 waiting to catch any of the monks.* 



In 1439 ^^ South and Nether Mills were rented at 

 80/. each, while the North Mill was worth only 40/. 

 a year' and in 1457 the four water-mills called the 

 South Mills, under l roof, 2 for grinding corn and 2 

 for fulling, together with the going gear (goyn gcrcs), 

 pond, fishery, and the produce of i holme of meadow 

 lying between the water and the mill were leased to 

 William Braunfcld for 10 years at the rent of 7 marks. 



ject toa fee-farm rent ofyTia 12/. 412'., of which ^^2 10/. 

 was paid for the North Mill, £4 \s. for the Nether Mill, 

 and [^<^ \%s. \d. for the South Mill.'- This fee-farm 

 rent was granted to Queen Katharine in 1665'^ and was 

 sold to Sir Richard Rainsford in 1672,''' together with 

 that of the manor, and since then has descended with it. 

 During the 17th century, the Morgan family were 

 lessees of the three mills, which passed with the rest of 

 their estate to Sir John Robinson." The Robinson 

 family continued to own the mills, subject to the fee- 

 farm rent, until the end of the 19th century when they 

 were sold to different purchasers.'* 



The church of ST. JOHN THE 

 CHURCH BAPTIST stands north of the village 

 green and consists of chancel, 50 ft. by 

 15 ft. 6 in., with north and south chapels; clere- 

 storied nave, 35 ft. 2 in. by 12 ft. 3 in.; north and south 

 aisles, respectively 14 ft. and 14 ft. 6 in. wide; south 

 porch; and west tower, 1 2 ft. 3 in. square with spire, all 

 these measurements being internal. The chapels cover 

 the chancel for more than tivo-thirds of its length, and 

 are continuations of the aisles: the total internal length 

 of the church is 108 ft. and its width 53 ft. 6 in. 



' Co/. Pil/. I2Sl-92,p. 442. 



* yalor EccUi. (Rec. Com.), iv, 317. 

 > y.C.U. Norilianii. i, 306. 



* Glover, Kingtthorpianay iv. 

 s Ibid.ii. 



* E«rly Chan. Proc. bdle. xv, no. 106. 



7 Chan. Inq. Miac. cccviii, no. 42. 



• Clover, Kingilhorfiana, v. 



• Ibid. XV. 

 'o Ibid. xit. 



" Ibid, xxviii, xxxiv, xxix; Acit of P.C. 

 1591-2, p. 123. 



85 



" Pat. 1 1 Ja9. I, pt. XXV, m. i. 

 '> Ibid. 17 Chas. Il.pt. ix,m. t. 

 '* Close 24 Chas. 11, pt. x, m. 7. 

 " Add. Ch. 25631 J Glover, Kingiihorp- 

 iana^ xlii, xi. 

 '» Ibid. xi. 



