Monument record 6559/1 - Heathencote Farm

Heathencote Farm was part of the Easton Neston Estate which passed through marriage to Thomas George Hesketh in 1867. Hesketh tried to exploit the ironstone at Easton Neston and also improved the farms on the estate. Heathencote farm appears to have been improved during this period.

{1} Early mapping indicates that the farm was originally part of the pre-enclosure Berryhill Field. In 1728, the 2nd Duke of Grafton commissioned a survey of the Paulerspury and Heathencote estates. The attached schedule indicates that Heanthencote Farm belonged to the Earl of Pomfret and was worth £53. 3s. 3d. The tenant was recorded as Issac Manning.
When inclosure was carried out in 1819 the land was divided between the Grafton Estate and the Earl of Pomfret and tenanted by Benjamin Laughton.
During the mid 19th century the Grafton and Pomfret estates had made a number of exchanges of land and in December 1841 under the Stoke Bruerne inclosure Act both improved their holdings at Shutlanger and Heathencote. It is likely that Heathencote Farm changed hands during this period.
By 1844 the Grafton Estate farms in the hamlet covered a total of 355 acres (279 a. at Heathencote Farm & 76 a. at Pury Hill Farm) with a rental value of £539 (£408 & £131). By 1875 Heathencote Farm had increased to 305 acres, but by the turn of the 20th century Heathencote farm had shrunk to 220 acres.
The 1819 Inclosure Map records two buildings on the site of Heathencote Farm, both of which are on the same alignment as the present Heathencote Farmhouse, so it is likely that one of the buildings is the farmhouse. There are no buildings recorded at the location of the outbuildings. It is possible that the outbuildings were built post 1844 after the farm became the property of the Grafton Estate.
By the time of the publication of the First Edition Ordnance Survey showing the hamlet in 1894, the outbuildings at Heathencote Farm are clearly identifiable and appear to be, by and large the same buildings which stand today.
The Grafton Estate was sold in 1919 where Heathencote Farm sold for £7,500 to the sitting tenant in advance of the estate auction, exceeding the reserve by £500.
Heathencote Farm is a fine example of an early to mid 19th century Midlands farm complex. The recorded buildings appear to be of a higher than to be expected standard of building, possibly reflecting the ownership of the Grafton Estate. It is largely a single phase, the only evidence of phasing is the brick-built eastern bay of the threshing barn; it is likely that this post dates the remainder of the farm complex.

<1> Richards, G., 2013, An Archaeological Standing Building Survey: Heathencote Farm, Heathencote, Northamptonshire, p.3-4, 10 (checked) (Report). SNN109592.

<2> 1728, Map of Paulerspury and Heathencote, (unchecked) (Map). SNN17447.

<3> 1819, Heathencote Inclosure Map, (unchecked) (Map). SNN72721.

Record last edited

Feb 22 2024 11:49AM