Monument record 1683 - Little Newton

Deserted medieval village. Only the church and a dovecote now survive. The actual site of the village is not known with certainty and much of the land to the north of the church has been quarried.

{1} Medieval/post medieval deserted village of Little Newton. Mentioned in 1316, and in 1377 there were at least 18 tax-payers present. By 1499 there were only four families left. The actual site of the former village is not now known with certainty.Ground disturbance near the church (SP 88 SE 23) has not revealed any medieval material. Earthworks exist well to the SE of the church where an enclosure and two raised platforms border the R. Ise floodplains.A rectangular earthwork E of these may be a much altered manorial moat.Earthworks NE of the church of a 16thC garden (SP 88 SE 49) may mask the remains of the village, which may have been partly removed by the adjacent ironstone quarry.(RCHM plan and plates).

{5} Brass rubbings of Margaret Tresham (nee Tanfield) (1604) and John Mulsho, Esq and wife Joan kneeling at cross (1400).

{7} The site of the D M V of Little Newton (SP 883833) was in poor condition in 1964. The village was sometimes taxed with Oakley Magna, and was rated at 4 1/2 ploughs in 1220, although by 1499 there were only four families there. In the 1540s Little Newton's chapel (SP 88 SE 23) became the parish church in place of that at Great Newton, which was allowed to decay. The Treshams built a mansion there in about 1600, but the village was deserted in 1720 leaving foundations visible near the church. The mansion is now demolished but the dovecote remains (SP 88558340). (Nothing visible in the area on Aps).

{8} (for Documentary analysis of the Manorial descent see article).
(for detailed descriptions of taxation and population growth and decline see article).
The desertion of Little Newton accords well with the period 1450-1700. In 1086 all three manors are included under the single heading of Newton with a total recorded population of 28. The 1377 Poll Tax serves to confirm the smallness of Great and Little Newton, Little Newton only recorded 18 taxpayers 12% of the average Northamptonshire vill.

In 1994, a watching brief of topsoil stripping in a field adjacent to the church of St Faith failed to discover any evidence of the DMV. In the 1920s, the field immediately to the north of the church was quarried for ironstone pratically up to the churchyard wall, effectively destroying any settlement evidence. Only the area to the north-east, now under permanent pasture, remains relatively undisturbed but even here the site of Tresham's house and gardens have been partly quarried away leaving the dovecote on an island of unquarried land. The remainder of the manor earthworks were levelled in 1971, and subsequently ploughed.

{9} There are no surveyable remains of desertion at this site. The disturbances that can be seen surrounding the dovecote are the result of open-cast ironworkings.

The dovecote, which has about 2,000 nest boxes is in good condition. See photograph. The moated site referred to would seem to be the decoy/duck pond at SP 88638321 which is of moated form and water-filled.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.113 Site 9 (unchecked) (Series). SNN77380.

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

<3> Ryland, W, Adkins, D, and Serjeantson, R M, 1902, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.347+352-53 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100368.

<4> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP88SE22 (unchecked) (Index). SNN443.

<5> Brass Rubbings at Ashmolean Museum, (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN41806.

<6> 1316, Nomina Villarum, (unchecked) (Document). SNN8783.

<7> Allison K.J.; Beresford M.W.; Hurst J.G. et al, 1966, The Deserted Villages of Northamptonshire, p.33 (unchecked) (Report). SNN39628.

<8> Bellamy B, 1996-7, Little Newton a Central Northamptonshire Deserted Village, p.201 (unchecked) (Article). SNN104080.

<9> Baird, J, 1969, Field Investigators Comments, F1 JB 22-JUL-1969 (Note). SNN111452.

<10> Hall D.N., 1960-1999, Rockingham Forest Project: Archaeological Sites Recorded by David Hall, (unchecked) (Database). SNN102279.

Record last edited

Feb 3 2025 8:57PM