Monument record 265 - Plumpton

Earthworks of Medieval settlement remains and associated ponds and manor house indicate shrunken village.

{2} The village was until recently the centre of an independent parish. Plumpton is first mentioned in Domesday Book as a single manor of one hide with a recorded population of eight. In the 1301 Lay Subsidy it is probably included within the entry for ‘Weedon and hamlets’ and it is certainly included with Weedon in the 1334 Subsidy. In 1377 6o people at Plumpton over the age of 14 paid the Poll Tax and in 1525 10 people paid the Lay Subsidy. The 1673 Hearth Tax Return lists 12 people at Plumpton. By 1801 only 6 people lived in the parish and though the population had risen slightly by 1831 it was down to 52 in 1871. By 1883 only the church, manor house, rectory and six cottages remained at Plumpton. Since then two of the cottages have been demolished. The earthworks of the village survived undamaged until the 196os when the whole of the south east part was ploughed and returned to grass. The earthworks are still visible but in poor condition. Subsequently the area west of the church was ploughed and the fishpond to the north west was partly filled in. The site is of interest for a number of reasons. The earthworks indicated that the village had extended north east at some time, a process that perhaps involved an element of planning. The oldest part of the village may have been the south west section, centred on the church and what was probably a moated manor house and associated fishponds.

{4} Plumpton lies in the civil parish of Weston and Weedon. Some of Plumpton was enclosed in 1515 (Beresford 1954, 410-12).

{5} Plumpton SP 598484, Depopulation here in 1515. Nine houses in Bridges' day - shrunken? 60PT. There are signs of former extent in earthworks behind the church.

{7} Not surveyable.

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1883, First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 Inch Mapping Series (55.06), (unchecked) (Map). SNN14996.

<2> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.165 Site 10 (checked) (Series). SNN77382.

<3> Ryland, W, Adkins, D, and Serjeantson, R M, 1902, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.341 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100368.

<4> Hall D.N.; Britnell T., 2000?, South Northamptonshire Historic Landscape: Part III, p.14 (unchecked) (Report). SNN103302.

<5> Beresford M.W., 1954, The Lost Villages of England, pp.410/12 (unchecked) (Extract). SNN7102.

<6> Ordnance Survey, 1883, First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 Inch Mapping Series (55.07), (unchecked) (Map). SNN15004.

<7> Colquhoun, FD, 1970, Field Investigator's Comments, F1 FDC 22-APR-70 (Notes). SNN111540.

Record last edited

Jan 31 2025 2:28PM