Monument record 4287 - Faxton

Faxton deserted medieval village (remains)

{1} The history of Faxton appears complex but, significantly, this is due at least in part to the large amount of information known about it. Without the evidence of the post medieval maps and the results of excavations a relatively simple but erroneous picture could be drawn.
Faxton is first recorded in Domesday Book though it may have originated earlier as the first element of its name possibly represents a Scandinavian personal name. In 1086 Domesday Book lists Faxton as a two-hide manor held by the King, with a recorded population of 21. In most later medieval documents, however, Faxton is linked with the deserted village of Mawsley and it may be that the entry for Faxton in Domesday Book also includes Mawsley which is otherwise unrecorded. This evidence for a settlement here in the 11th century and earlier is apparently at variance with archaeological findings which would indicate a 12th-century origin for the village. Faxton is listed in the 1316 Nomina Villarum, and in 1334, together with Mawsley, paid 38s. 8d. For the Lay Subsidy. In 1377, 94 people over the age of 14 paid the Poll Tax but this figure again includes the inhabitants of Mawsley. Nevertheless the large number of people involved suggests that Faxton was a considerable community. In 1674, 34 householders paid the Hearth Tax and in about 1720 Bridges noted that there were 32 houses there including the manor house. Taken at their face value these figures do not indicate a marked drop in population at any one time. One might suggest that there may have been some 20 households in 1086, and a similar number in 1377, rising to the 34 of 1674. However at least 50 probable house sites can be identified and the archaeological evidence implies that at least some of these were abandoned around 1400. Two alternative explanations can be given: either the village expanded rapidly, after 1086 according to Domesday Book, or after 1150 according to the archaeological record, then declining in size in the late 14th or early 15th century, or the earthworks represent a history of settlement movement within the village. At the moment there is no real evidence for the latter theory.
The earliest cartographic representation of Faxton is a map of 1746. This shows some reduction in size since 1720 when Bridges said there were 32 houses; the manor house had been demolished and the medieval church was isolated except that Rectory Farm, an early 17th-century building, stood immediately to the east, with another building to the east again. Further north was a row of almshouses containing four tenements which had only been built a few years before in 1736. On the north side of the village were three farms, and at least ten cottages which may have been sub-divided into separate tenements in which case the map probably represents between 20 and 30 dwellings. In 1745 the open fields of the parish were enclosed. By 1801 the total population of the parish was only 54, living in 15 houses, including people living in two outlying farmsteads, so the village had presumably been reduced further in size by this date.
By 1831 the population had risen to 103 and on the Tithe Map of Faxton a picture slightly different from that of 1746 is depicted. The church, Rectory Farm and the almshouses remained, as did the three farms, but six of the cottages shown in 1746 had disappeared and two new ones had been built on previously empty plots. This evidence shows that though Faxton was physically smaller it was greater in population than it had been a century before. Between 1840 and 1874 the population of the parish fell again. In 1841, 108 people lived there, in 1851, 95, in 1861, 79 and in 1871, 73. On the 1874 plan one of the post 1746 cottages had been demolished, between 1874 and 1889 one of the farms was removed and replaced by a pair of estate cottages and by 1901 only 11 houses were occupied. These comprised Rectory Farm, the four tenements in the almshouses, two estate cottages, two farms and another pair of cottages. By 1921 only 37 people lived in the parish. Since that time all the houses have been abandoned and all but the late 19th century estate cottages demolished. The church was pulled down in 1958 and by 1967 the village was entirely depopulated. The remaining cottages have recently been reoccupied as a single dwelling.
Until 1966 the earthworks of the village remained intact but then the entire area was bulldozed and ploughed, with the exception of the west part of the manor house site, two small paddocks on the north side of the village and the hollow-way and ridge-and-furrow to the north.

{5, 7} Bridges mentions the ancient manor house (at Faxton) which was in being in the reign of Eliz 1. A gateway bore the date of 1625, and the Hall Ponds to the north of the church may indicate the spot near which this stood. Four almshouses were erected in 1736. The church of St Denis, comprising chancel and nave, was largely of 13th century date. (There is a print of this church in Gents Mag 1805 p793). Pevsner notes that the church had recently been demolished.

{12} Possibly pre-Tudor enclosure

{14} The last resident left in 1960.

{22-24} Excavations (a croft) in south-east part show occupation from 1200-1400; Excavations in north west part, 13th-14thcentury; excavations in centre (a croft) c1150 to 15th-16th century.

{25} No visible remains.

{26} Plan of croft 29.

{27} Faxton has become more contracted since the OS 25" of 1899. The almshouses and church have been completely demolished; two other buildings and the rectory are in ruins. There is one occupied cottage
and a pair of modern but uninhabited cottages.
The ground in the vicinity of the ruins and alongside a track to the north is very uneven with many mounds and hollows, but few intelligible features could be identified. The manor house was possibly at SP 78377513 where there are amorphous mounds occupying the highest point of the field. A low scarp to the south and east may
have been the boundary of the manor house grounds with the remaining sides bounded by the ponds. Two very slight rectangular banks may represent buildings as may low amorphous platforms. On the outskirts of the disturbed area are a series of small fields and outside these rig and furrow ploughing.
Surveyed at 1/2500. The disturbed area representing the former village is centred at SP 784753.

{28} The village is now completely depopulated although the buildings mentioned by auth {27} still stand. Part of the site has been afforested including the fish ponds at SP78307515; the remainder is under plough. Published survey (1/2500 1964) correct.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.119-124 site 15 ( checked) (Series). SNN77381.

<2> Gover J.E.B.; Mawer A.; Stenton F.M. (Eds.), 1933, The Place-names of Northamptonshire, p.124 (unchecked) (Series). SNN5881.

<3> Thorn F.; Thorn C., 1979, Domesday Book: A Survey of The Counties of England, (unchecked) (Series). SNN1170.

<4> 1316, Nomina Villarum, (unchecked) (Document). SNN8783.

<5> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.92 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77326.

<6> 1746, Map of Faxton (Possible Inclosure Map), (unchecked) (Map). SNN26677.

<7> Salzman L.F.(ed), 1937, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.172 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100371.

<8> 1840, Faxton Tithe Map, (unchecked) (Map). SNN26679.

<9> 1874, Map of Faxton, (unchecked) (Map). SNN106038.

<10> Allison K.J.; Beresford M.W.; Hurst J.G. et al, 1966, The Deserted Villages of Northamptonshire, p.39-40 (unchecked) (Report). SNN39628.

<11> Beresford M.W., 1954, The Lost Villages of England, p.367 (unchecked) (Extract). SNN7102.

<12> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP77NE2 (checked) (Index). SNN443.

<14> 2012, Retro: Looking back on how the county used to live, (checked) (Newspaper cuttings). SNN107865.

<15> PRO series E179, E179/155/3 (Document). SNN115882.

<16> PRO series E179, PRO E179/155/27 (Document). SNN115882.

<17> PRO series E179, PRO E179/254/14 (Document). SNN115882.

<18> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p.216 (checked) (Series). SNN1320.

<19> Bird H., 2005, Seaborne Re-Visited: Cob Cottages in Northamptonshire 2004, p.54-69 (unchecked) (Article). SNN109351.

<20> Gerrard, C, 2018, Lawrence Butler at Faxton (Northamptonshire) 1966-68 (Article). SNN112227.

<21> Butler, L, and Gerrard, C, 2020, Faxton: Excavations in a deserted Northamptonshire village 1966–68 (Monograph). SNN112494.

<22> Brown A.E. (Ed.), 1967, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1966/67 (Medieval), p. 23-4 (Article). SNN26725.

<23> 1967, Current Archaeology, p. 48-50 (plan 49) (Article). SNN55593.

<24> Miscellaneous documents, CBA Summaries of Exc 1968, 16 (Document). SNN57469.

<25> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, CPE/UK/1925-4367-8 (16.1.4) (Photographs). SNN104890.

<26> Webster L.E.; Cherry J., 1967, Medieval Britain in 1966, p. 307-9 (Notes). SNN43527.

<27> Geary, E George, 1962, Field Investigators Comments, F1 EGG 24-AUG-1962 (Note). SNN115259.

<28> Baird, J, 1969, Field Investigators Comments, F2 JB 18-MAR-1969 (Note). SNN111452.

<29> Brown, A.E. (Ed.), 1969, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1967/68 (Medieval), p. 21 (Article). SNN57956.

<30> RCHME Recording, Lee E.S. 18-JUL-1991 RCHME Recording (Report). SNN113778.

<31> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, A/P (RAF VAP CPE/UK/1925 3223-4) (Photographs). SNN104890.

<32> Historic England, Medieval Village Research Group Archive - measured drawings, 620494 (Archive). SNN114857.

<33> RCHME, Undated, RCHME Inventory: Northamptonshire II (Central), 889754 (Archive). SNN112900.

Record last edited

Feb 3 2025 7:54PM