Spratton

Spratton is a village in the English county of Northamptonshire. The local government authority is Daventry District Council, whose headquarters are in Lodge road, Daventry, Northamptonshire. Spratton is 7.1 miles north of Northampton, 6.5 miles from Long Buckby and 11.4 miles from Daventry. The village is situated on the A5199 road.

Village Amenities

The village has one public house which is called the "King’s Head" and is situated on Brixworth Road. There is a butchers which is called Saul’s, also in Brixworth Road, and established in 1926. [ [http://sitebuilder.yell.com/sb/show.do?id=SB0001683939000050 Sauls Of Spratton Ltd ] ] There is also a village store which provides a full range of groceries, newspapers, magazines, beers, wines & spirits, snacks and household items.

The Parish Church

The parish church of Spratton is called St Andrews and is located on Brixworth Road. The parish is part of the diocese of Peterborough. The church, built from ironstone, stands on high ground in the centre of the village and has a tower with a spire. The chancel is 29 feet long by 15 feet wide. The earliest church built on the site dates from 1120 but it has been altered and remodelled considerably over the centuries.The interior of the church was restored in 1847 by Sir Gilbert Scott, and the north porch rebuilt. The spire was taken down nearly to the base in 1870 and rebuilt.

pratton Hall School

The private preparatory school Spratton Hall School [ [http://www.sprattonhall.co.uk/ Spratton Hall School - Prep & Pre-prep in Northamptonshire UK ] ] was founded by K.C. Hunter and his wife Joan in 1951. Spratton Hall, the largest house in the village, a plain three-storey 18th-century structure. The roof is slate and the main structure is made from limestone (from Kingsthorpe). The house was probably built in 1760 on the site of an earlier farmhouse. The house has a Grade II listing. The actor Tenniel Evans taught English and drama there for a short time in the early 1950s before returning to theatre. Matt Dawson, the Saints and England Rugby player, was a gap student at Spratton Hall from 1996 to 1997.

Events

The village hosts a vibrant and successful folk music festival [ [http://www.sprattonfestival.com/ Spratton Folk Festival ] ] in July every year. Bands appearing so far have included Capercaille, Show Of Hands, Oysterband, Peat Bog Faeries and many many more.

In addition to the music, camping is available, there are craft stalls, a variety of food concessions, childrens entartainments including a circus and of course a bar serving many real ales and ciders.

Notable People

*The famous Victorian cricketer Charles Studd was born in the village in 1860
*Amphillis Twigden, the great-great grandmother of George Washington, first President of the United States, was born in the parish of Spratton at Little Creaton; she was baptised in Spratton Church on 2 February 1602
*World Cup-winning rugby player Ben Cohen lived in the village for a number of years
*Part of the same World Cup-winning team as Ben Cohen, Matt Dawson was also a Spratton resident. Matt featured as a regular team captain on BBC TV Quiz "A Question of Sport". In 2006 he came first in BBC One's "Celebrity Masterchef" programme and in the same year was a beaten finalist on "Strictly Come Dancing"
*Former England cricketer Devon Malcolm still lives in the village
*The suffragette Emily Davison was working as a live-in governess to the Moorhouse family at The Grange, Spratton, at the time of the 1901 census.
*Bestselling author Alison Penton Harper also resides in the village with her two teenage daughters and husband.

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