DENFORD
Deneforde (xi cent.); Deneford (xii, xiii, xiv cent.).
The parish of Denford lies on the eastern boundary
of the county. The land rises from the River Nene
eastward about 150 ft. The soil, which is a stiff
clay lying on the Great Oolite, Cornbrash and Oxford
Clay beds, produces barley, wheat and root crops.
The Kettering and Huntingdon branch of the London
Midland and Scottish Railway crosses the parish,
the nearest station being at Thrapston. There were
formerly brick and tile kilns which are now disused.
The village stands on the road from Chelveston to
Thrapston and adjoins the eastern bank of the River
Nene. The church is on the northern side of the
village near the river. Not far from it is the Cock
Inn, a two-storied house which is dated 1593: except
for one or two mullioned windows, it has no special
architectural features. Another house in the village
has a panel inscribed 'T.G. 1622.'
The parish was inclosed in 1765 but mention is
made in the award of previous inclosures. (fn. 1)
Manors
In the reign of Edward the Confessor,
Burred held 5 hides of land in Denford. (fn. 2)
In 1086 he had been succeeded by the
Bishop of Coutances, but it seems clear that the
holding as described in Domesday Book included
much land in other townships. (fn. 3) In the 12th-century
survey, which was drawn up after the Bishop's fief
had escheated to the crown, Denford seems to have
been included under Ringstead and Cotton. (fn. 4) By
1124–9 the manor of Denford had come into the
possession of Gilbert Fitz Richard, whose wife
Adeliza de Claremont or Montmorency in 1147–68
is described as Lady of Denford. Roger de Clare,
c. 1152, gave to St. Werburgh's, Chester, a mark
yearly from Rothwell so that when God delivered to
him his inheritance of Denford he would assign a
place there from which the rent should be taken.
Probably Adeliza his grandmother was then still
alive. The manor (fn. 5) was apparently held of the honour
of Clare in 1242, (fn. 6) while in 1262 Richard, Earl of
Gloucester, died seised of
the overlordship there. (fn. 7) The
manor was afterwards held of
the Gloucester Fee in Northamptonshire, (fn. 8) to which it still
belongs.
Clare. Or three cheverons gules.
The first tenant in demesne
of whom record has been
found was Frumbold Denford,
who in the 12th century survey
appears as holding half a hide
of land in Cotton of the
fee of Denford. (fn. 9) In charters
of the same century, Walter son of Gilbert Denford
appears (fn. 10) and he was succeeded by his son Gilbert
and grandson Walter, the latter of whom was living
in 1219. (fn. 11) Shortly afterwards the manor was divided,
but the fact that the number of knights' fees in Denford varies in different inquisitions on the Gloucester
lands makes its history difficult to trace. Probably,
however, the manor was held as one knight's fee and
the later moieties each as half a knight's fee. (fn. 12)
In 1242 Walter Denford held half a fee of the
honour of Clare and was probably the mesne lord of the
other half fee. (fn. 13) He was succeeded by Gilbert
Denford, whose heir was holding in 1262 (fn. 14) and may
possibly have been Joan the wife of William Shardelow, who was certainly the heiress of lands in Denford at this time. (fn. 15) She and her husband granted
lands in 1263 to Richard Trailly of Woodford (fn. 16) and
in 1284 William Trailly is said to have held the township of Denford of the Earl of Gloucester. (fn. 17) In 1285
the lands that had formerly been held by Walter and
Gilbert Denford had passed to William Trailly and
John de Tolthorp. (fn. 18) It seems fairly clear that John
de Tolthorp held the half fee which Walter Denford
held in 1242, since in or before 1326 his widow Maud
died seised of a moiety of the manor of Denford, which
was held as half a knight's fee. (fn. 19) Her heir was her
son Gilbert (fn. 20) and his sons Gilbert and John both
seem to have succeeded him. (fn. 21) John in 1353 quitclaimed all his right in the manor to Sir Richard
Chamberlain, (fn. 22) who also obtained the third part,
which Elizabeth, the wife of Ralph Beauchamp, held
in dower. (fn. 23) In 1373 John Chamberlain and his
wife Katherine, who seems to have had some right
in the manor, quitclaimed it to Sir Richard Chamberlain, (fn. 24) on whose death his son and heir Richard
assigned the manor to his mother Joan in dower. (fn. 25)
She died seised in 1410 and it passed to her grandson,
another Richard Chamberlain, (fn. 26) who granted it to
certain feoffees. (fn. 27) In 1432 these feoffees granted it
to John Gryffyn and William Aldwinkle, who were
in seisin at the time of the death of Richard in 1439, (fn. 28)
and of his son, a fourth Richard, in 1440. (fn. 29) Aldwinkle
died before 1472, when his heir Thomas Lenton gave
a release of the manor to a fifth Richard Chamberlain. (fn. 30) Another Richard, probably his son, died in
1496, leaving the manor in trust to be divided amongst
his three sons, with remainder to his daughter Anne. (fn. 31)
The next tenant, however, who appears is John
Audlett, of Abingdon, Berks, who died seised of the
manor in 1537. (fn. 32) His heirs were first said to be his
cousins Ralph Edmunds and Margaret, wife of Ralph
Tomson. (fn. 33) Edmunds sold his moiety to Katherine,
the widow of Audlett, (fn. 34) and the Tomsons granted
their moiety to her for life in satisfaction of her
dower. (fn. 35) Later, William Boller, the true heir of
Audlett, appeared and sold the manor to Katherine
Audlett and her nephew Thomas Reade and his wife
Anne. (fn. 36) After Boller's death,
his daughter and heir Margaret
and her husband, William
Sergeant, tried to recover the
manor. (fn. 37) An agreement, however, was reached in 1544 with
the Reades, (fn. 38) whose descendants retained possession of the
manor. (fn. 39) In 1661 Compton
Reade was created a baronet, (fn. 40)
but in the early years of the
18th century the manor was
sold by Sir Thomas Reade to
Joseph Diston, (fn. 41) who in 1719 resold it to Jeremiah
Sambrooke. (fn. 42) It afterwards passed to John Freeman,
who sold the manor in 1764 to Leonard Burton. (fn. 43)
The trustees of Thomas Burton owned the manor in
1874, (fn. 44) and Mr. Thomas Freeman and Mr. George
Keeble, J.P., are the chief landowners at the present
day.
Reade. Gules a saltire between four sheaves or.
The other half fee in Denford seems to have been
in the hands of Matthew the Butler in 1242, (fn. 45) but
by the following year his heir or heirs had succeeded
him. (fn. 46) His heirs possibly were Isolda, the wife of
Brian Denford (fn. 47) and the wife of Ralph de Pulteney,
as in 1262 Brian and Ralph were tenants here of the
Earl of Gloucester. (fn. 48)
In 1285 Ralph de Pulteney (fn. 49) was living, but in 1314
he had been succeeded by William de Pulteney, (fn. 50) and
in 1365 Isabella, daughter of William Pulteney, sold a
messuage and lands to Sir Richard Chamberlain Knt. (fn. 51)
Before 1425 a tenement called Pulteneys was in the
hands of Richard Chamberlain, (fn. 52) who held the other
moiety of Denford (q.v.), and though he granted it to
Thomas Chamberlain and his wife Katherine, it
seems probable that from this time the Chamberlains
and their successors held the greater part at least of
Matthew the Butler's half fee. (fn. 53) Brian Denford's share
cannot be traced after 1285, when his son Robert had
succeeded him. (fn. 54)
Another tenant of the Gloucester Fee in Denford
before 1240 was Simon de Berughby, whose wife
Alice (fn. 55) was possibly another heir of Matthew the
Butler. Alice de Berughby was holding in 1262, (fn. 56)
William and Hugh Berughby appear as tenants in
1285, (fn. 57) and John and Robert Berughby in 1314. (fn. 58)
This may be the manor in Denford which, though
not held in chief, is said to have been granted
in 1374 or 5 by Edward III to Robert Ward. (fn. 59)
The latter, with his wife Emma, conveyed it in
1410 or 11 to Thomas Cantlowe, (fn. 60) who granted
it to William Aldwinkle. (fn. 61) The latter by will left
it to his wife Elizabeth, who afterwards married
William Chaumbre. (fn. 62) It seems, however, to have
been in the hands of trustees, who sold it in
1488 to John Selyman, the chaplain of the chantry
founded by Chaumbre in Aldwinkle church. (fn. 63) The
lands of the chantry seem to have been seized by
Henry VIII, who in 1546 granted the manor to Sir
Edward Montagu. (fn. 64)
The Earls of Gloucester and their successors held
a court leet and view of frankpledge for their tenants
at Denford. (fn. 65) In 1616, Thomas Reade obtained a
grant of free warren in his manor of Denford. (fn. 66)
In 1086, two mills at Denford, paying £2 10s. 8d.
and 250 eels a year are mentioned, but it is not certain
that both were in Denford itself. (fn. 67) A mill at Denford
is mentioned in the reign of Henry III, (fn. 68) and again
in 1537. (fn. 69)
A free-fishery in Denford was granted in 1545,
by William Burton and his wife Joan, and Margaret
Gale, widow, to Gilbert Pickering. (fn. 70)
Church
The church of the HOLY TRINITY
consists of chancel 31 ft. by 14 ft. 9 in.,
clearstoried nave of four bays, 49 ft. 4 in.
by 21 ft. 6 in., north and south aisles each 10 ft. 6 in.
wide, south porch, and west tower 12 ft. 6 in. by
12 ft., surmounted by a spire. All these measurements are internal.
The building belongs generally to the later part of
the 13th century, c. 1275–90, but the lower stage of
the tower and some other features appear to be rather
earlier, and it is, therefore, not unlikely that the
church was building during a rather protracted period,
extending over the latter half of the century. In the
14th century, new windows were inserted in the
south aisle, and the clearstory was added, but no
material alteration was effected in the plan. The
east window and two in the north aisle are 15thcentury insertions, and a window at the east end of
the south aisle is about a century later. Originally,
the north aisle extended some 20 ft. further eastward,
covering the chancel for more than half its length,
and forming a chapel with a vestry at its east end.
The church was restored in 1864, and in 1897 the
lower part of the tower, including the buttresses, was
newly faced and the spire restored. In 1925, the
east ends of both aisles were taken down and rebuilt, (fn. 71)
the north aisle roof renewed and the roof of the nave
repaired. The roofs are of low pitch, leaded to the
aisles, slated to the nave and chancel.
The chancel is built of grey stone with an iron-stone
band every fourth course, and has plain parapets
and chamfered plinth, but no string course. The
walls inside are plastered. The east window retains
13th-century moulded jambs and part of the early
rear arch has been re-used, but is otherwise of 15th
century date, of four trefoiled lights and Perpendicular
tracery. Two late 13th-century windows remain in
the south wall, one of three and the other of two lights,
with tracery formed by the forking and intersection
of the mullions. There is no window in the north
wall, but a doorway (now blocked) with a drop arch
and continuous roll moulding, led formerly into the
vestry, from which there was a squint to the chancel.
In the usual position on the south side is a rather
plain 13th-century piscina, the bowl of which has
been blocked. Originally the interior of the chancel
was surrounded with trefoiled arcading. Two arches
remain on the south side, and four on the north,
with excellent filleted roll-mouldings and soffit
cusping, on triple clustered shafts and single-shafted
responds. The shafts stand clear of the wall and
have moulded capitals and bases, and in the spandrels
on the north side are sculptured faces, a man's and
two women's. Of the northern arches, three are
placed beneath a relieving arch in the wall, and in the
tympanum thus formed, are four recesses, which
may have been intended for acoustic purposes. (fn. 72)
The chancel arch is of two chamfered orders, the
innermost carried on moulded corbels. There is
no screen.
Plan of Denford Church
The nave arcades spring from piers composed
of four attached shafts with moulded capitals, and
from half-octagonal responds. The arches are of
two chamfered orders. On the south side, the piers
have moulded bases, but not on the north. The doorways of the aisles are of the 13th century; the northern
has a simple chamfer, the southern is of two chamfered
orders, the innermost on shafts with moulded capitals
and chamfered bases, the shafts being new. The
outer arch of the porch is of two chamfered orders
on imposts, with tooth ornament in the hood mould.
The windows of the aisles are of various dates. The
easternmost window in the south wall and the
westernmost in the north wall are of three lights
and have the late 13th century intersecting tracery
already described, and another at the east end of the
north wall has three gradated lancets under a single
arch with pierced spandrels. The west window
of the north aisle is blocked, and the two 15th-century
middle windows are of three trefoiled lights with
vertical tracery. In the south aisle, on either side
of the doorway, and at the west end, are rectangular
openings with excellent mouldings and tracery of
a late 14th century type, and the window at the
east end of the aisle is four-centred and of three
uncusped lights with vertical tracery. It appears
to be a 16th-century insertion, at which time probably
the east end of the north aisle was walled up, after
the disuse or removal of the chapel. The south
aisle appears to have been repaired at the end of the
14th century, as indicated by the character of the
square-headed windows, and the parapet has fine
gargoyles of this date. The clearstory windows
are square-headed and of two trefoiled lights, but
on the north side they were altered to plain single
openings probably in the 18th century, the old rear
arches being retained.
The tower is of two stages with massive double
buttresses to half its height, and a vice in the southwest angle. The lower stage is of rubble, and the
upper or bell-chamber story of dressed stone. The
west doorway is a modern 13th-century restoration,
but the tall lancet window above is original. The
north and south sides of the lower stage are blank,
and the bell-chamber stage sets back slightly. The
windows consist of two grouped trefoiled lancets,
with shafted jambs and moulded heads, with trefoil
opening above, set between two blind lancets, the
whole composition forming a triple arcade on each
side, covering the greater part of the wall surface.
The arch between the nave and tower is modern.
The spire belongs to a type sometimes known as timber
spires worked in masonry, and rises from behind a
plain parapet with angle pinnacles, carried on a
bold corbel table. The spire has ribbed angles, and
two sets of gabled lights on its cardinal faces. At
the level of the lower lights, it is ornamented with
bands and strings.
The font and pulpit (fn. 73) are modern. The roofs
also are modern throughout, but the corbels for the
wall-pieces and some fragments of the timbers appear
to be old. A bracket for an image remains in the
south-east corner of the south aisle. The east end
of the north aisle is screened off to form a vestry.
The organ is under the tower arch.
There are six bells, the first by Thomas Norris
of Stamford, 1629, the second by Robert Mott of
Whitechapel, 1581, and the others by Matthew and
Henry Bagley, of Chacomb, 1680. (fn. 74)
The plate consists of a silver cup of c. 1570, a paten
inscribed 'Denford 1682,' and a cover paten of
c. 1700. (fn. 75)
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (1) all
entries 1597–1613, 1618–38, 1654–73, (ii) all entries
1674–1718, (iii) all entries 1727–52, baptisms and
burials 1753–1812, (iv) marriages 1754–1812.
Advowson
The advowson of the church of
Denford appears to have been held
by Hugh, Earl of Chester, (fn. 76) after the
forfeiture by the Bishop of Coutances. Before 1100,
the earl granted it to the abbey of St. Werburgh at
Chester. (fn. 77) In 1394, it was obtained by Richard
(le Scrope), Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, (fn. 78) who
two years later appropriated it to his table, on condition that a vicarage was ordained. (fn. 79) Before 1535,
the vicarage of Denford was united to the chapelry
of Ringstead. (fn. 80) In 1551, Richard (Sampson), Bishop
of Coventry and Lichfield, leased the rectory and the
advowson of Denford for a hundred years at a rent
of £18 to Nicholas Williamson of Kingsthorpe and
his wife Mary. (fn. 81) She married as her second husband,
John Warde, and they were sued for the rent by
Bishop Thomas (Bentham). (fn. 82) The property passed
to Bridgit, apparently the daughter and heir of
Nicholas, who married Thomas Williamson, presumably her cousin. (fn. 83) In 1588, Thomas and Bridgit,
together with their son Nicholas and his wife Anne,
sold the rectory to Lewis, Lord Mordaunt, (fn. 84) whose
descendants owned the advowson and rectory till
after 1681, (fn. 85) whether still as leaseholders of the
Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield or as freeholders
does not appear. They were probably sold after
the death of Henry, the last Earl of Peterborough, in
1697. (fn. 86) In 1720, the rectory was sold by William
Freind, clerk, and his wife Bridgit, Mary Cleter,
widow, and Stephen Ashby to Jeremiah Sambrook, (fn. 87)
who had recently bought the manor (q.v.). He presented to the vicarage in 1752, (fn. 88) and both advowson
and rectory passed with the manor in 1764 to Leonard
Burton (fn. 89) and his descendants.
Before 1874, Miss Leggatt was patron of the living. (fn. 90)
In 1898 it belonged to S. G. Stopford Sackville of
Drayton House, Thrapston, and is now owned by
Mr. Nigel Stopford Sackville.
Charities
Church Estate. There is no documentary evidence of the origin of
this charity. The property consists of
meadowland containing about 4 acres and 4 cottages
with gardens, the whole producing £31 13s. yearly
which is applied to church expenses.
Three cottages and a garden situate in Pegg's Lane
were sold in 1916 and the proceeds invested in
£211 10s. 1d. 5 per cent. War Stock with the Official
Trustees of Charitable Funds. The dividends on
this sum are invested in augmentation of the
principal.