SOUTH Introduction Middleton Cheney is one of the largest villages in South This walk is dedicated to Northamptonshire, situated in the south west of Northamptonshire - 3 miles from , 2 miles from junction 11 on the M40 and Middleton Cheney the memory of 6 miles from . Heritage Trail Leonard Jerrams & Since the relocation of large manufacturers to Banbury in the 1950s the village has developed with much new housing, however many William Wheeler. older 17th and 18th century cottages are hidden in the lanes leading away from the main roads. Originally an agricultural village which also supported a cottage textile industry, nowadays the residents are generally employed in nearby towns or commute along the M40 corridor.

Northants place names are mostly Anglo-Saxon and Danish. ‘Tun’ or ‘Ton’ was the saxon word for an enclosed farm, then later a village or town.

After the Norman Conquest the lords added their family name to the manor they had been awarded. Simon de Chenduit held the manor in a 12th century survey; John de Curci held a part in 1205. The name is ultimately derived from medieval latin, ‘casnetum’ (in old French becomes ‘chesnai’), which means oak grove.

Originally the village was divided in two; Upper or Church Middleton Originally produced as a Millenium Project 2000 by Nancy Long. and a hamlet a quarter of a mile to the east; Lower or Nether Updated and reprinted 2016. Middleton. The village was divided in this way as early as the reign of Henry II (1154-1189).

Middleton is also located near to the prehistoric track-way called Farthinghoe Nature Reserve Banbury Lane, which runs along the northern boundary. This was the main medieval route from Northampton to Banbury and the If you would like a pleasant location for a picnic and to enjoy important period of its use would have been in the late 12th century. the countryside, may we suggest you visit Farthinghoe Nature Much of it is still an important road between the two towns. Reserve which is situated in the parish of Middleton Cheney. The windows in All Saints Church are Middleton’s greatest glory; Leaflets about the Nature Reserve are available from Middleton making it a place of pilgrimage for anyone with a passion for William Cheney Library (near the primary school). Morris glass.

Directions: The parish registers commence at 1558 and are deposited at • Head towards Brackley for approximately one mile and turn Northamptonshire Record Office. A full detailed history of the parish right at the crossroads. can be found in the Victoria County History for the Hundred of Kings • Follow the road for about 200 yards and park at the disused Sutton. railway bridge. • The entrance to the Reserve is on the left. Enjoy your walk around Middleton Cheney, you may be surprised what you A Middleton Cheney History Society publication. Dogs are allowed but only on a lead. Please follow the Country find! Funded by Banbury Charities. Code and ‘leave no litter.’ 1 Start the walk at the top of Washle Drive. Thought to Middleton Cheney Heritage Trail be a derivation of ‘Wash Hole,’ in times gone by villagers did their annual laundry in the stream that ran along the bottom of the hill. Rd (Please park with consideration) Follow the main road through the village. Note the large house on the right hand side of the road. Although there are no remains of the original manors, Middleton House is situated in an area known as Manor Farm on old maps. This land belonged to Walter de Merton the Bishop of Stanwell Rochester (Lord High Chancellor of ), as long ago as 1274. Estate

2 To the left is Lower Green. The village carrier, Fred Penn, lived in one of the cottages on the right hand side. Local boys used to follow his cart and steal the oranges through the slats in the wooden boxes. Their friends would give the game away by shouting ''Whip behind!" and Fred Chenderit School would flick his whip over his shoulder to deter them. He eventually covered the fruit with sacking to put a stop to their mischief.

The New Inn pub was originally a farmhouse and probably the venue for Archery Rd Glov the first Baptist community meeting in the village circa.1740. A Baptist ers Lane Chapel was later built in Upper Middleton. Members of the Chapel made an unfortunate appointment in 1781 when their new Minister from Wales, 10 'being imperfectly acquainted with the English language, continued only for Rectory Lane a few months.’ 11 3 Turn left into Salmons Lane. At the end of the pub car park you will see a very old house on the left which used to be a bakery. The High St house was originally built in the 16th Century and enlarged in the 18th and 12 Lane Waters Village 19th Centuries. Mr Edward Killpack, one of the village bakers, delivered 9 his bread by carrying it in two baskets before becoming affluent enough to Hall 15 Queen St purchase a horse and cart and venture further afield. The Green 16 8 School e Rd Dands Estate n Follow the road around into Braggintons Lane. An original 13 14 R a o L s k row of houses on the left hand side has been demolished. This row all had Mansion Hill e 5 a

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L R Salmons Lane more cottages at the top of the gardens. a 6 ne The remaining old cottage on the left belonged to the Bayliss family for Braggintons Lane 17 many years. Fred Bayliss lived here. In 1930 he married Blanche Warner, Horton Estate 4 one of the village schoolteachers. Blanche was a victim of attempted 2 murder in 1911 when a rejected suitor fired his revolver at her three times. Fortunately she was saved from serious injury when two bullets bounced The Avenue off the steel in her corsets! Her assailant, a blacksmith from a village 28 Recreation Ground 1 miles away, went to jail. Astrop Rd The Washle Middleton Bypass 4 Turn right into Royal Oak Lane. The cottage immediately to your right was noted as the Primitive Methodist Chapel in 1814. Standing in the present day garden was a further cottage and a barn or weaver's shop. All these properties were sold in 1849 for the princely sum of £70. The house next door to the Chapel was a grocery shop and a coal and girls were kept at work for many hours each day with little freedom to wood merchant's business. When this shop was trading you could buy the 6 Cross Horton Road. You are now entering Upper, or Church move. In 1841 a doctor commented on the high incidence of tuberculosis, weekly groceries in quarter pound weights (113 grams). Middleton. Mary Ann Horton, Lady of the Manor, built the Almshouses in digestive disorders and bad circulation which led to swollen ankles and 1863 for retired workers on her estate. Each almsman had to be 60 years chilblains. The modem homes on the right are built on what was once a paddock and old, 55 years for a woman and the youngest female inmate was expected dwelling known as Copperwell. This entire area was sold for £110 in 1899. to nurse any infirm residents.The committee had the power to evict any If you wish to pick up a leaflet on Farthlnghoe Nature Reserve please visit resident who was guilty of insobriety, immorality or wilful misbehaviour. Men our library (see note overleaf). The next house on the left, set at right angles to the lane, was known as received an allowance of seven shillings a week, women six shillings with the Royal Oak. This used to be owned by the village carpenter, wheelwright an extra payment of five shillings at Christmas which could be distributed 8 and beer retailer. A saw-pit was located in the yard and a cross-cut saw Cross the High Street to the Dolphin. In 1878, Joseph as either money, coal or clothing. was used to cut trees into planks and various lengths of wood. This method Arch, organiser and leader of the English Agricultural Labourers, addressed a meeting at the Dolphin when farm labourers were beginning to protest of hand sawing required one of the operatives to be in the sawpit. The The Avenue stands on what were village allotments. These were the first against low wages and harsh living conditions in the countryside. This pub sawyer on top was ‘top-dog’ and the junior one in the pit the ‘under-dog.’ council houses to be built in Middleton (1921) at a cost of approximately £900 was once owned by Arthur Mold, a local lad who found fame playing cricket each. The rent was 7/6d per week which included all mod cons; a short walk The last house on the right was another village grocers. An old sword was for Lancashire and England in the 1880s. along the road will lead you to one of the communal water pumps! discovered hidden in the wall during repairs. The sword was rusty but had Notice the War Memorial. This was given to the a long blade and the remains of an ornamental handle. Could it have been Continue along the Main Road. Note the widening of the grass village by a Mr and Mrs Barnett in memory of removed from the site of the English Civil War skirmish which took place at verge outside number 95. The shed that housed the horse-drawn village their son aged 16, who died of meningitis whilst Middleton in 1643? fire engine once stood here. It required four men to operate it, the water training to be an officer. During the 1914-1918 being pumped by hand. The engine, which bears the date 1837-1898 can war, 185 men from the village served in the 5 be seen at the Fire Service National Museum, Weedon. Turn left. Follow Main Road, crossing Rose Hall armed forces. 22 lost their lives. Lane. Notice two old cottages at the top of the lane built in the 17th Century. 7 Cross at the traffic lights. The primary school was built in The holly tree, which has been extensively cut 1856, although the first schools in the village started in 1750 in what is now back in recent years, was a source of income the churchyard. for the village crier. The parish council allowed him to sell the branches at Christmas time to supplement his wages.

9 Continue along the High Street until you reach two houses bearing the date-stone 1696. This was once the Red Lion pub. An open area on the opposite side of the road was known as Red Lion Close and for many years a visiting fair set up roundabouts and swings here. More stalls and a coconut-shy lined the grass verge which lay between the very rough road and an equally rough footpath.

Next we come to the village Forge. Farm machinery was taken to the Blacksmith for repair; harrows were re-sharpened, ploughs mended. Long lengths of wrought iron were stacked outside ready to be cut into shorter lengths for shoeing. The blacksmith's garden was on the opposite side of In the 1930s a number of cottages in this area were condemned and the road, as was his toilet, consequently the family had a longer journey demolished; 14 run-down cottages housed 78 people. than most when they felt the call of nature. In country districts it was the custom of labouring families to send their Continue along the main road. Pass a barn conversion and some children to work at an early age. In 1868 a visitor to the county noticed that fine old buildings on your left.This area is known as Middle Green.The last 'all the boys in the agricultural villages begin work at the age of eight, a few 10 Continue along High Street to Rectory Lane and two houses were the village butchers shop. The large wooden doors led as young as seven'. At a time when a man was earning eleven shillings a turn left. Rectory Farmhouse (immediately left) once had a rick-yard, to a yard and a slaughterhouse. On at least one occasion a bull managed week, the four pence a day that a boy could earn was a valuable addition to stables and a cattle yard. Children of the village used to sit along the to make a bid for freedom and caused havoc on the green until he was the family budget. adjoining church wall to watch as hundreds of sheep were driven along eventually recaptured and met his untimely end. the dusty lanes to the farm for ‘dipping’. On the opposite side of the lane Young girls in the village learned to make lace from the age of five or six. behind the wall is the Rectory (now a residential home for the elderly). It This village was famed for the fine quality of the fabric produced.These was built in 1792 by the Reverend Ralph Churton. Seventy years later it was completely restored by the Reverend Buckley - largely at his own Continue along Church Lane until you reach Queen situated to the right of the gateway and was converted to a clubroom expense - whilst agricultural labourers were striking in protest against low Street. The Methodist Church is on your right. In 1875 when the and dance hall. It is said that many of the village romances started at wages in the village. population of the village was 1,200, the Non-Conformists (often known Markham's Hall, also known as the Kit-Kat Club (a tongue in cheek as Dissenters), comprised almost half of the inhabitants. In 1886 all three reference to the sumptuous night club in Haymarket, which opened chapels were accused of preaching politics. in the 1920s). 11 Turn left at the end of Rectory Lane. The last cottage in the row ahead and to your right was a pub called The Snob and Ghost (Snob is a Northamptonshire term 12 Continue along Queen Street. Pass the Baptist Chapel 16 The large property with the imposing gates (a more recent addition), for a shoemaker).The Church and on your left. Most Anglican Clergymen were hostile to the Dissenters and is Lexton House. Originally a farmhouse it has a date-stone 1691. Robert graveyard are well worth visiting. A Middleton Cheney was no exception. An extract from the parish records Croome, a Surgeon occupied this house in the 1860's. He was born in fascinating and informative guide is notes ‘a passing bell, goes if desired, for every death in the parish; but no Berkeley, Gloucestershire; his sister was the god-daughter of Edward available inside the Church if you bell on the day of the funeral if the corpse is to be interred at the (Baptist) Jenner the smallpox pioneer and father of immunology. are interested; a must for William Meeting House. This rule was adopted in 1797; several persons, not Morris and stained glass devotees. Dissenters, having been kept long after dark at a funeral.' (ie the curfew The Croome family were involved in the daily lives of the village people. bell tolled at 8pm). Robert’s daughters frequently visited the school to observe children at their On the north side of the Church lessons and provide sewing for the needlework classes. Doctor Croome you will notice a First World A large number of the congregation emigrated to Australia on a ship called was particularly interested in the welfare of the village children and the War Memorial. This has been the Templar in 1845. Their descendants still return to Middleton on a school log records reveal, ‘31 January 1866 – A gentleman of the medical erected on the site of the regular basis. Village loyalties run deep...! profession visited the school for the purpose of examining the success graves of parliamentary soldiers of vaccination practised in this district by Doctor Croome.’ This visit took (Roundheads) who were killed in 'Tenlands' on the right, is the site of The Holt, the manor house built by place one year before vaccination was made compulsory (within the first the English Civil War at the Battle Mary Ann Horton in the 1860s. Sadly the house has been demolished three months of a child's life). Despite outbreaks of smallpox in Banbury, of Middleton Cheney on 6 May (1973) but the impressive building to the right of the entrance, also called the local population was very suspicious of the process and not everyone 1643. The Holt, was once the coach house - now extended and modernised. The appreciated the medical profession's endeavours on their behalf (fear of stables were to the left of the large entrance gates. the unknown was a major factor).

In June 1875 the Banbury Guardian reported that the first local man to be 13 Turn left at the end of Queen Street. Retrace your steps imprisoned for not having a child vaccinated was a labourer from Middleton along the Main Road. The first two houses on the left after the primary school Cheney. He was greeted by bands, flags and a purse of sovereigns when were formerly the village workhouse. The allotments at the end of the row he arrived at Banbury Station after his release from Oxford Jail. were known as the Little Ground and were originally allocated to the infirm or pensioners. Gifts of coal were included in this charity. 17 The Main Road was once the Turnpike Road which ran from Buckingham to Banbury. As you retrace your steps along this road look 14 When you reach Middle Green, detour left. The last for the remains of one of the original milestones outside number 14. The house in this row, 'The Five Bells,' was originally a coaching inn. Entrance The King's papers report that a Royalist detachment commanded by plaque which displayed the mileage (Banbury 3, Brackley 6) to passing to the stable yard would have been via the lane formerly called 'The Leys', Captain Trist encountered Roundhead troops in close formation in the travellers was removed during World War II and never replaced. It is which led from the Main Road to the back of this building. Town Field at Middleton Cheney (towards Banbury). The Roundheads also interesting to note that the poor condition of the road (potholes) was made a stand, firing their brass cannons and volleys of musket shot. discussed at a meeting of the Brackley Highways Board held in Middleton However the Royalists counter-attacked and completely defeated them. 15 The thatched cottage to your right was originally two dwellings; one on the 8 August 1872.It is reassuring that despite the hustle and bustle of It is stated that 217 Parliamentarians were killed and 300 taken prisoner - was the home of Thomas Pinfold, clock and watchmaker in the 1760s. He the modern age, some things never change.... along with their cannons, 400 muskets, 150 pikes and almost 500 swords. was particularly noted for his turret clocks but is also known to have made The church register mentions that 46 Parliamentary soldiers were buried in the church clock in Chipping Warden and repaired many of the church the churchyard the next day. clocks in the surrounding district. Note the garage of this cottage - it was once a framework-knitting workshop where a numbers of weavers were We hope you have enjoyed your visit to To the south of the Church take time to notice the large, ornate tomb on the employed. The long wooden lintels indicate its original use as the workers Middleton Cheney and wish you a safe far side of the churchyard which was restored in the 1990s. It was erected in needed as much natural light as possible. journey home. memory of the Horton family who had made their fortune in the framework- knitting industry in the 18th Century. Their daughter built a manor house, Continue around The Green. Notice the house near to the post contributed to the restoration of the Church in the 1860's and left money for box in the wall. This was a village bakery. The cottagers would take their the building of the Horton Hospital in Banbury in1869. Sunday roast here to be cooked in the large oven. A barn used to be