A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



arising from Wenglands or Blatherw>xke lands, and 

 from Keybery and Fletlands,' and this small estate is 

 still enjoyed by the rectors of Blatherwycke. 



Robert Mills in or about 1611 gave 

 CHARITIES out of land belonging to him 20s. a year 

 to be distributed on St. Stephen's Day 

 in bread to twenty Church widows and 6s. 8</. for a 

 sermon on that day. This charge was redeemed and the 

 endowment now produces £\ zs. in dividends. The 

 charity is administered by the churchwardens. 



Martha Spraggott by her wiU proved in Prerogative 

 Court of Canterbury 4 May 1 848 gave a sum of money 

 to the vicar and churchwardens for the poor. The 

 endowment produces ^i js. yearly in dividends, which 

 are distributed with the Mills charity. 



William Barber by his will proved in Northampton 



22 April 1882 gave £^0 to the vicar and vicar's warden 

 and the owner of Moulton Grange for the benefit of 

 the aged poor. This sum now produces about ^i t^s. 

 yearly in dividends. 



John Francis by his will proved 26 April 1907 gave 

 ;^ioo to the churchwardens for the benefit of the poor. 

 The money was invested, producing ,^3 js. 6d. yearly 

 in dividends. 



The income of these four charities is, after the pay- 

 ment of 6/. id. to the vicar for a sermon, distributed in 

 doles to about twenty poor widows. 



The vicar of Moulton receives annually ^^30 from 

 the trustees of Sir Edward Nicholls's Charity, which is 

 described under the parish of Kettering. 



The several sums of stock are with the Official 

 Trustees of Charitable Funds. 



MOULTON PARK 



Moulton Park, which was formerly extra-parochial, 

 was constituted a parish between 18 51 and 1861, 

 although for ecclesiastical purposes it is annexed to 

 Moulton. It covers an area of nearly 853 acres, and 

 consists almost entirely of the estate owned by the 

 GovernorsofSt. Andrew's Mental Hospital, Northamp- 

 ton, who have a branch establishment here. The land 

 lies fairly high, Moulton Park House standing at 

 418 ft., while in no part of the parish is there a level 

 lower than 344 ft. On the north west the property is in- 

 closed by a stone wall, but few traces of the ancient park 

 remain. Leland, writing before the middle of the i6th 

 century, says: 'From Northampton to Kingesthorpe a 

 mile and a little farther by Multon Parke, enclosed with 

 stone, where is neately plentie of wood ; it longgid a late 

 to the Lord Vaux, now to the Kinge. In it is no building 

 but a mene Lodge.'^ By 1560 there were few or no oaks 

 left in the park and the wood was mostly thorn, ^ and at the 

 present day the old trees have disappeared and the plan- 

 tations scattered over the estate are of modern growth. 



In 1086 there were two small estates in Moulton, 

 half a hide and one virgate respectively, held of the 

 Countess Judith by Biscop and Hugh.'* These small 

 holdings probably escheated to the overlord, and were 

 turned by him into a park, attached to the Castle of 

 Northampton, and therefore at first known as 

 Northampton or Moulton Park.s The sheriff was 

 ordered in 1223 to cause the park to be inclosed by 

 those who ought to contribute to such an undertaking,* 

 and in 1229 he was told to turn out all the beasts 

 except those belonging to the king, keeping enough 

 pasture to fatten the oxen and beasts for the royal 

 household in winter.' In 1235 an order was given to 

 stock the park with 20 bucks and 68 does,' and in 1 25 1 

 the sheriff was directed to inclose or fence Moulton 

 Park and to certify the cost.' During the same year 

 Robert Basset, then sheriff, was appointed keeper in 



the place of Robert de Mares,'° the office in 1261 being 

 conferred on Alan la Zouche." The expenses of repair- 

 ing the walls were partly defrayed by several townships 

 in the count)', and in 1276 the men of Roger de 

 Furneus in Raunds, of Henry le Scot and Ralph 

 de Normanvill in Cotes, of Oliver Bydun and Simon de 

 Cotes in Little Cotes and of Richard Trayley and 

 Robert Punteney in Ringstead were arraigned before 

 the Hundred Court for neglecting for the last 16 years 

 to repair their share," ^ but at the same court the former 

 sheriff, Roger de Seyton was reprimanded for levying 

 2 2^. from the viU of Chalcombe which was not con- 

 tributory,'^ and the exemption of the men of that vill 

 from this toll was especially recorded in 1285 in the 

 inquisition taken after the death of Nicholas de 

 Segrave."' The Butlers of Grimsbury, however, held 

 their land there of the king by the service of repairing 

 part of the wall whenever it was necessary, and the 

 portion for which they were responsible was said in 

 1362 to be 16 feet. '5 Sir Nicholas Lilling was appointed 

 keeper in 1390'* and during his term of office, in 1393, 

 the walls were thoroughly overhauled and extensive 

 repairs made. Two carts were employed for carrying 

 stones to the faulty places, and at \od. a day cost 30J. 

 for 36 days, and 4 masons with 3 assistants were 

 employed for 45 days." The office of keeper was con- 

 ferred by the sovereign upon his retainers as a reward 

 of faithful services,'* and in 1439 was obtained by 

 Robert Roos," and by Sir William Hastings and Ralph 

 Hastings in 1462.-° During the reign of Henry VIII, 

 while Sir William Parr was keeper of the park, disputes 

 arose with the inhabitants of the neighbouring parishes 

 of Kingsthorpe, Boughton, and Moulton as to the 

 limits of the warren of the park.^' In 1 560 the state of 

 the park appears to have been lamentable. The two 

 lodges were in such decay that one could not be re- 

 paired under ^^20 and the other under £\o, while the 



' Priv. Act. 1 2 Geo. Ill, cap. 139. 



2 Leland, Itinerary ^ ed. 2, i, 12. 



3 Memo. R. L.T.R. East. 2 Eliz. m. 47. 

 * V.C.H. Norihann. i, 352, 353. 



5 Simon 'Parcarius* or *de Parco' occurs 

 between 1203 and 1 214 as holding land in 

 Moulton, but there is nothing to suggest 

 that he held in right of his office ; Abbrev. 

 Viae. (Rec. Com.), 4.1 ; Curia Regis R. vii, 

 132, 187, 264. 



"" Close 7 Hen. Ill: cited by Baker, 

 Norihants. i, 52. Of. Cal. Close, 1227-31, 

 p. 19. 



' Ca!. Close, 1227-31, p. 240. 

 ' Ibid. 1 2 34.-7, p. 136. 

 9 Ibid. 1247-51, p. 437. 

 '° Ibid. p. 414. 



" Abbrev. Rot. Orig. (Rec. Com.), i, 17. 

 '2 Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), ii, 10; cf. 

 Assize R. 3 Edw. Ill, m. 9. 

 " Htmd. R. (Rec. Com,), ii. 6. 

 ■* Chan. Inq. p.m. i 3 Edw. I, no. 47. 

 '5 Ibid. 33 Edw. Ill (ist nos.), no. 7; 

 ibid. 36 Edw. Ill, pt. i, no. 26; ibid. 10 

 Rich. II, no. 99. 

 '* Co/.P<3M38S-92,p. 325 i ibid. 1399- 



1401, p. 2, 343 ; Fine R. i Hen. V, pt. ii, 

 m. 24. 



■' Add. Chart. 6047. 



" Cal. Pat. 1327-30, p. 163; ibid. 

 1330-4, p. 47; Pat. 44, Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 

 19; Cal. Pat. 1377-81, p. 135; ibid. 

 1385-9, p. 346. 



" Ibid. 1436-41, p. 257; Fine R. 27 

 Hen. VI. 



^o Cal. Pat. 146 1-7, p. 13. 



2' L. an</P. Hen. ^///,iii, 2482, 3146; 

 ibid, xvi, 1053. 



94 



