Monument record 707 - Wappenham

Wappenham settlement remains suggest village shrinkage and possible moated manor (site)

{5} Wappenham is first mentioned in Domesday Book where it is listed as a single manor with a recorded population of 38, including a priest. In 1301, 27 people paid the Lay Subsidy and in 1377 61 people over the age of 14 paid the Poll Tax. 65 householders paid the Hearth Tax in 1673.
Air photographs taken in 1947 show 4 hectares of rectangular paddocks or closes some containing ridge and furrow. At the east end of the remains a raised rectangular area with an uneven interior may have been the site of a moat and manor house. Uneven ground and patches of 12th to 17th century pottery lie within the south of this area. There are no indications in the surviving records of any marked reduction in the village at any time and the earthworks have now been largely destroyed. It is difficult to understand how they related to the development of the village. The village today falls into two distinct units at each end of a single east-west street.

{9} Notes and sketches on coats of arms and family trees, also drawings of flint implements found with Roman remains by H Malden;

{10} Two photos of unknown buildings dated 3rd August 1963;

<1> PRO series E179, PRO E179/155/31 (Document). SNN115882.

<2> PRO series E179, PRO E179/155/27 (Document). SNN115882.

<3> PRO series E179, PRO E179/254/14 (Document). SNN115882.

<4> Ryland, W, Adkins, D, and Serjeantson, R M, 1902, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.344 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100368.

<5> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.160 Site 3 (checked) (Series). SNN77382.

<6> Wappenham Community Website (Website). SNN109315.

<7> Hall D., 2001, The Woodland Landscapes of Southern Northamptonshire, p.33-46 (unchecked) (Article). SNN102520.

<8> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, A/P (RAF VAP CPE/UK/1926, 1226-7) (Photographs). SNN104890.

<9> Dryden H.E.L., 1842-1895, Dryden Collection, DR/25/283/12,13,17,21 (Archive). SNN115.

<10> Miss June Swann, 1960s- 70s, Miss June Swann Photographic Archive (Photographs). SNN116665.

Record last edited

Mar 5 2025 12:32PM