Althorp (lost settlement)

Geobox|Lost Settlement
name = Althorp
category = Lost settlement

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image_caption =Grounds of the park where once the village stood


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country = England
county = Northamptonshire
region = East Midlands
district = Daventry
municipality = Althorp
location = South-west side of Althorp park
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map_caption = Althorp within Northamptonshire
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map_locator_x =35
map_locator_y =64
website =
footnotes =Map Ref: SP678648

The lost village of Althorp is within the grounds of the Althorp estate in the English county of Northamptonshire. [ ‘OS’ Explorer Map, Northampton & Market Harborough 223 ISBN 978 0 319 46396 3 ] The village is recorded in the Domesday Book. In the 15th century the manor was held by the Catesby family who were probably responsible for clearing the settlement, for by 1505 the records show that there were no tenants. In 1508 the parish, including the cleared settlement of Althorp, was sold to John Spencer of Wormleighton in Warwickshire. By 1577 the land in the parish had been divided into four large sheep pastures. [K.J. Allison, "The Deserted Villages of Northampton" Leicester: Leicester University Press (1966:34) ASIN: B0010HP1G0 ]

Remains today

There are some signs of earthworks on the site but much has been damaged by later activities. The main feature is a broad hollow way which runs up the hillside and is 1.5 metres in depth. There are several platforms on the south side of the hollow which are thought to be the sites of dwellings. ["An Inventory of Archaeological Sites in North-West Northamptonshire" (1981) HMSO, ISBN 0 11 700900 8]

References