Monument record 2189/3 - Luddington-in-the-Brook

Medieval and Post medieval settlement remains indicate village shrinkage

{1}The extensive earthworks are the result of the complete alteration of the village during the 19th and 20th centuries. Up to 1850 and probably later, the village, as its name suggests, lay within the valley of the winding Alconbury Brook. In the early 18th century Bridges described it as 'low and dirty' because of the constant flooding of the stream. A series of maps of 1640, 1715 and 1808 show earlier plans of the village.
At Parliamentary Enclosure in 1808 the present road was laid out and although there was little immediate change, after 1850 houses began to be erected along its route. By 1886, a number of buildings, including the rectory, two farms and a number of cottages, had disappeared. Since then two of the houses have been pulled down, one in the later 20th century.
The remains of the earlier arrangement of streets and lanes are still almost completely preserved as earthworks, as are the sites of most buildings removed since 1834. In addition a number of other building-sites and closes, already abandoned by 1640, is traceable, indicating a long history of movement or shrinkage.

{12} NCCAP:TL1083/1-5(+);

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1975, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.65, Fig 73/Site 3 (part checked) (Series). SNN77379.

<2> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.402-404 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77326.

<3> 1640, Northants Record Office map of Luddington 1640 (Map). SNN10915.

<4> 1715, Map of Luddington, NRO Map 1389 (photo) (Map). SNN10925.

<5> 1808, Enclosure Map (NRO Map 3003), (unchecked) (Map). SNN11052.

<6> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, NCCAP:TL1083/1-5 (Photographs). SNN104822.

<7> Ordnance Survey Map (Scale/date), OS 1" 1834 (Map). SNN112944.

<8> Ordnance Survey Map (Scale/date), OS 25 " 1886 (Map). SNN112944.

Record last edited

Mar 31 2023 11:00AM