Monument record 4156 - Rockingham

Medieval town first mentioned as a borough in 1307.

{1} In 1307 Rockingham was taxed as a Borough; a large part of the settlement was probably destroyed by 1618 & the land turned to pasture;

{2} Shows village. The town was overlooked by a castle constructed by William the Conquerer.It has been suggested, from earthwork evidence immediately south east of the castle, that the castle was laid out partly over the village, but the defensive earthworks in question may well prove to be of Civil War date and thus unrelated to the origins of the village and castle. The settlement of Rockingham was granted a market in 1271 and was first taxed as a borough in 1307. The medieval church of St Leonards stands to the south of the castle and there are 16th century references to a Hermitage which is believed to be located near the bridge crossing the River Welland. The market place appears to have lain immediately outside the castle gate. The main street would certainly appear to be too small, by comparison with Brackley, to have been an original market place.It has been suggested that by 1618 a large part of the settlement had been destroyed and the land turned to pasture. In fact a great deal of the town destruction took place in 1643-5 when church and surrounding areas of settlement were removed to give a clear field of fire from the newly refurbished defences of the castle when it was established as a parliamentarian garrison.

{3} Photocopy of map of the manor of Rockingham cum Cottons the property of the Right Honourable Lewis Richard Lord Sondes. Surveyed by J. Eagle 1822.

{5} Map of the estates of the Right honourable Lewis Richard, Lord Sondes of Rockingham, Cottingham and Gretton. Photocopy.

{7} Photocopy of plan of Rockingham Park in 1745.

{8} Photocopy of the plan of an estate at Rockingham…the property of George Lewis Watson.

{9} Close up photocopy of part of the plan of an estate at Rockingham….the property of George Lewis Watson, 1856.

{10} Rockingham was taxed as a vill in 1306 but as a borough in 1307. However no references have been identified to burgages or burgage tenure in Rockingham and so this single taxation reference may not be a significant guide to the character and importance of the settlement in the early 14th century.

{12}The map of 1615 shows that houses stood in front of the castle gate and around the church. The diversion of the road from Corby in 1618 and destruction during the Civil War led to the removal of these houses. The field evidence for them is slight, consisting of several scarps representing property divisions and N of the church a scarp corresponding with the N boundary of the properties there. Pottery picked up here range in date from the 12th to 17th centuries. A series of steep parallel scarps west of the church suggest that houses stood here also in the medieval period.The change in the road layout led also to the disuse of the S portion of the back lane running along the east side of the village. This is shown on the 1806 estate map as a narrow hedged close but by 1815 it had been thrown into the neighbouring fields. It is represented today by a hollow way 18m across with subsidary terraces to the west of it.,

{11}DOC;MED BOROUGH OF ROCKINGHAM;IN 1307 TAXED AS A BOROUGH;MAP OF 1615 SHOWS THE VILLAGE IN EXISTENCE;PROB DESTROYED BY 1618 & TURNED TO PASTURE.

{13}Medieval and a small quantity of early/middle Saxon sherds were discovered by field survey, close to the north-west corner if the modern village of Rockingham.

{15} One hundred and thirty-one sherds weighing 3.4kg were recovered during a watching brief on the area to the rear of the old post office. The majority was recovered from unstratified contexts. Of this 88 sherds (1.6kg) was medieval pottery, which was dominated by Lyvden/Stanion wares, known to have been inproduction from the early 13th to the mid 14th centuries. The assembale contains Lyveden/Stanion 'A', 'B' and 'D' wares. The post-medieval assembalge comprises 43 sherds, weighing 1.7kg. Fabric types represented are mainly earthernwares and stonewares, some of local manufacture.

{18} Rockingham was taxed as a borough in 1307.

ROCKINGHAM CASTLE ESTATE, 1991, Land to the NW of Rockingham Castle, 1991 (Note). SNN113115.

Foard G., 2000, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Rockingham, (unchecked) (Report). SNN101567.

<1> Uncertain, (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN1139.

<2> 1615, Map of Rockingham 1615, (unchecked) (Map). SNN100477.

<3> 1615, MAP, (unchecked) (Map). SNN40425.

<4> 1822, MAP, (unchecked) (Map). SNN54754.

<5> Eagle J., 1806, Map of The Estates of The Right Honourable Lewis Richard, Lord Sondes at Rockingham, Cottingham, (unchecked) (Map). SNN100475.

<6> 1815, Map of Rockingham (NRO Map 2330), (unchecked) (Map). SNN100474.

<7> 1745, MAP, (unchecked) (Map). SNN40427.

<8> 1856, MAP, (unchecked) (Map). SNN40428.

<9> 1856, MAP, (unchecked) (Map). SNN40429.

<10> FOARD G., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Rockingham (Medieval and Post Medieval), (checked) (Digital archive). SNN100473.

<11> HYLTON T.; MASTERS P., 1998, Empingham to Hannington Anglian Water Pipeline, Northamptonshire Section, Archaeological Evaluation: Stage 1, (unchecked) (Report). SNN63049.

<12> BROWN A.E.; TAYLOR C.C., 1974, The Earthworks of Rockingham and its Neighbourhood, 68-79 (Article). SNN40063.

<13> Pike, A (ed), 1992, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter (22), 35 (Journal). SNN100613.

<14> Dix B., 1992, Recent Work in Northamptonshire Archaeology, P124 (Checked) (Article). SNN104441.

<15> Edmondson, G. & Wells, J., 2003, Rockingham Village Access Road, Rockingham, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Watching Brief, (unchecked) (Report). SNN104643.

<16> CORBY DISTRICT COUNCIL, 2009, Rockingham Village Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan, (unchecked) (Policy Document). SNN106872.

<17> 1878, The Archaeological Journal (35), pp. 209-241 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN15197.

<18> Beresford, MW, and Finberg, HPR, 1973, English medieval boroughs: a handlist, p. 142 (Document). SNN33700.

Record last edited

Feb 10 2025 6:46PM