The Northampton County Magazine
Our County Villages
No. 46 : Alderton

by Miss Dorothy Macmillan

Alderton! What may be the possible meaning of the name? Might it not be Elderton? The village is old. Its history dates from Saxon times when the blood bond was the beginning of Early English social life. Kinsmen lived side by side. Meadows and ploughed lands were shared and - with farmsteads and cottages - passed from man to man. Hamlets were not named at random, but either to perpetuate a family name, in which case was added Wick, Stead, Ham or Tun; to mark a local feature, maybe a river, hillock or castle; or maybe to honour some characteristic of its inhabitants. Now the Elder-men were distinguished from among their fellows by nobility of birth, by courage in warfare, or on account of their wisdom in dealing with the affairs of men. They were called upon to settle disputes and maintain order and decency in the community in which they lived. Looking back down the ages from the civilised and enlightened days of the twentieth century, does not the primitive form of judicature practised in our villages stir in us an emotion akin to reverence?

"The Round Cottage"

Alderton, called in Domesday Aldritone, and later Aldrington, is bounded on the north by the river Tove and is nine miles from Northampton. Approaching the village from the east road, one lingers to enjoy the exceptionally fine and extensive view of wooded vale and upland beyond. On the right is to be seen the stately mansion in the lovely grounds of Stoke Park, it appears to be nestling among trees; close by, standing very high, is the handsome church of Stoke Bruerne. Glancing behind is to behold a wide expanse of plain, a far distant prospect of hamlets and churches, the sun glinting warmly on elegant spires. In the midst of the plain we see the curl of white smoke, it trails right across the open land to disappear somewhere near Roade village clearly visible on a height to the north-east. From that we guess that locomotives are dashing at great speed over the rails of one of our busiest systems, hurrying passengers north and south.

Edmar and Edwin were Saxon proprietors of Aldritone, which was rated at 50 shillings before the Conquest. At the time of the Conqueror's Survey, Earl Ferrers held two hides of land and half a virgate here, most of the village in fact, for a hide was somewhere about eighty or a hundred acres. In the reign of Edward the First, Sir Pagan de Cadurcis, or Chaworth, was lord of the manor. In 1278 he obtained the grant of a weekly market to be held on Thursday (in choosing that particular day was he actuated by and old superstition, to propitiate Thor, god of air, storm and rain, and so insure fine weather?) He also obtained an annual fair on the vigil, the feast and morrow of St Margaret, the patron saint, a three-day revel, when Alderton would be the centre of attraction for miles around.

A Charming Sylvan Scene

Thus, what little we know of Sir Pagan de Cadurcis suggests that he shared the splendid thoroughly English characteristic of his master, the king, a man who could weep over the news of the death of his father, vow fiercest vengeance against one who insulted his mother, and whose love and grief for his wife, Eleanor, showed itself in the erection of crosses wherever her bier rested on its journey to London. Above all, Edward loved his people, so, apparently, did Sir Pagan, for he endeavoured to procure for them the privileges of a township.

He died without issue and was succeeded by his brother, Patrick de Chaworth. This gentleman had no son, therefore his daughter, Maud, carried the lordship in marriage to Henry, Earl of Lancaster, the king's nephew, already rich in the earldoms of Lincoln, Leicester and Derby, whom Gaveston rudely nicknamed The Actor. In 1307 he granted it, with the advowson of church and manor, and the advowson of Stoke Bruerne, to William de Combemartin. Henceforward, Alderton was considered part of the manor of Stoke Bruerne, and had the same owners. In 1318 Sir William de Combemartin died.

The year 1539 finds Alderton in the hands of the Crown, three years later it was annexed to the Honor of Grafton.

Little is known of the ancient structure called Alderton Castle. We can, however, picture it with its keep, stout walls and battlemented towers, situated on high ground, commanding a wide view of the surrounding country, its ramparts encompassed with a deep moat, still to be seen, now much overgrown with underwood. The castle stood at the north end of the village, near the church; its site is now called The Mount. It occupies an are of about two acres and is covered with trees, centuries old. In the reign of Edward the First, Sir Pagan de Cadurcis paid William de Sauvage £100 for his castle and all his lands in the village and fields of Audrinton.

The manor House stood in a low situation at the northwest extremity of the village. A ruined farmhouse occupies the site of the early mansion, its garden a wilderness of weeds, its windows unglazed, a sad enough picture of neglect and desertion in a village where cottagers vie with one another in the neat and dainty appearance of their quaint, thatched homes.

Mr Baker informs us that in 1605, two years after her husband's accession, Queen Anne of Denmark stayed four nights, and received regal entertainment, at Alderton (August 16th - 20th), the king being at the same time at Grafton; and that in 1608 King James was here on August the Fourth, when he knighted Sir Henry Anderson, of London, having just bestowed a like honour at Grafton, on his host, Thomas Haselrige, Esq.

Queen Elizabeth bestowed honours sparingly; she gave a little, but when she gave she meant the gift to be appreciated. James, on the other hand, liked to shower knighthoods upon gentlemen wherever he went. He bestowed this honour upon 237 Englishmen, during a journey which lasted 32 days.

The Church The church of St Margaret, rebuilt in 1848 with the exception of the tower, is an edifice of stone in Perpendicular style, and consists of chancel, nave, south porch, and a low, picturesque, embattled western tower containing five bells, four only being now in use. On the north wall of the chancel is a small brass with an inscription in Latin to Thomas Hasilrige, 1655. The top left corner shows his coat of arms, in the right is seen a head depicted in profile. The east window is stained and represents Christ, Peter and Paul. On the south side is a memorial window to the Rev. Barwick John Sams, rector, 1837-1885. On the floor of the chancel rests a wooden effigy to the memory of Sir William de Combemartin, Knight, who died 1318. The figure is seven feet long, and is in a melancholy state of decay.

The "Thee Decker" Pulpit The pulpit, a three-decker, is of oak. It is dated 1631 and bears the following text: "I the Lord, will meet thee in this place, and tell thee what thou shalt saye to the people." Beneath the sounding boards are the heads of twin cherubs, finely carved. There is a gallery at the west end, erected in 1837 by the parishioners "for the Singers only". The Church has 160 sittings. Its register dates from 1597. The living is a rectory, annexed to Grafton Regis. There is no parsonage house. Some years ago, upon removing an ancient altar tomb of Sir William Gorges, Esq., who is said to have built a large mansion (probably the Manor) and to have resided in Alderton in Henry the Second's reign, a stone coffin was discovered, in which was deposited a human skeleton of huge dimensions. Imagination suggests that this might have been an ancestor of Adam Gurdon, Knight, a man of truly gigantic size and proportions, who encountered Edward the First after Evesham and was made by his Majesty to kneel and beg for mercy.

A Row of Thatched Cottages The inhabitants of Alderton today number one hundred. There is no shop in the village. The children of school age walk nearly two miles to Grafton to receive tuition. A small Wesleyan chapel lies hidden away at the west end. Its retirement is so complete that one is apt to overlook it altogether. The Plough Inn, within a stone's throw of, and facing, the Church, has a sly look; the sacred edifice seems to frown back; and life, slow and sleepy, daily passes between the two!