WARKTON
Werchinetone (xi cent.); Werketon (xii cent.);
Werkenetone (xiii cent.); Warkyngton (xvi cent.);
Wotton (xvii cent.).
Warkton parish, covering an area of 1,921 acres,
rises from the eastern bank of the River Ise to a height
of 338 ft. above ordnance datum. The soil is of
limestone, clay and red loam, and is, and in mediæval
time was, for the greater part under pasture. The
village stands on the brow of a hill and from it fine
avenues of trees run in the direction of Weekley and
Grafton Underwood. These avenues the parish owes
to John, Duke of Montagu, known as Duke John the
Planter, from the miles of such avenues he planted
in this and adjoining parishes. Buried beneath the
road at the east end of the bridge over the Ise, is a
medieval arch (? 14th century) which originally crossed
the stream, the old course of which can still be seen
in the field to the south of the road.
The church lies in the centre of the village, and
the houses are grouped for the most part in its
vicinity. Opposite the church, on the other side of
the main road, is the rectory, which was built by the
Duke of Buccleuch in the middle of the 19th century
to replace the old thatched rectory house then pulled
down, which occupied a lower and less favourable
position. In 1922 the ecclesiastical parish of Warkton
was united to that of Weekley under the name of
Warkton-cum-Weekley. The incumbent of the
united benefices resides at Weekley, and the rectory
house at Warkton with part of the glebe was in the
same year sold to Mr. Charles Edward Lamb, who
has since occupied the house. To the north of
the church is the school built in 1867 by the Duke
of Buccleuch. Even in this somewhat remote
spot the effects of the Civil War were being felt
in 1643. Nicholas Estwick, rector of Warkton, in a
letter to Edward Montagu prays that peace may
come, adding 'We do already taste the miseries of
Civil War.' (fn. 1)
Bridges writes of a close with a petrifying spring,
where a petrified human skull was found, and of two
quarries of excellent stone. In the west of the parish
is a long and deep trench. Just over the southern
boundary is Warkton Spinney, and in the south is
Warkton Lodge, while Cinquefoil Lodge is in the east.
The population in 1921 was 192.
An Inclosure Act was passed in 1807, and an award
made in 1810, when an allotment was made for tithes.
The common and open fields in the parish and manor
were then about 1,300 acres in extent. The glebe
lands were 34 acres; the inclosed glebe land, including
the churchyard, was 3 acres in extent. (fn. 2)
Bury St. Edmunds Abbey. Azure three crowns each surrounding a pair of crossed arrows all or.
Manor
Before the Conquest WARKTON was
the property of Ælgifu, wife of Earl
Ælfgar and mother of Earl Morcar. It
was given to the abbey of Bury St. Edmund by Queen
Maud, wife of the Conqueror, (fn. 3) and continued to be
held with other possessions of Ælfgar which the abbey
acquired in Scaldwell, Boughton and East Farndon. (fn. 4)
In the Domesday Survey it was
entered in Navisland hundred
among the lands of St. Edmund, held by the abbot himself of the king, and it had
risen in value from £7 to £8.
There were 3½ hides there, a
mill and woodlands 3 furlongs
in length and 2 in breadth. (fn. 5)
In the 12th century Northamptonshire Survey 4 hides
in Warkton were entered in
Northnavisland as held of the
fee of St. Edmund. (fn. 6) At the
end of the 12th century the
abbot of St. Edmundsbury conveyed the manor to
Ernald de Herlaw, who in 1201 reconveyed it to
Samson abbot of St. Edmundsbury for 60 marks,
giving an undertaking to burn the charter made to
him by the abbot. (fn. 7)
The soke of Warkton comprised the lands of the
abbot of St. Edmundsbury in the district, perhaps
those which had been held by Ælfgar. It was divided
into the In-Soke and the Foreign-Soke. The In-Soke
included Warkton, Boughton and Geddington, and
the Foreign-Soke Scaldwell, Houghton next Scaldwell
(Hanging Houghton), Lamport, Kilmarsh and Maidwell, Clipston, Braybrook, Ugthorp, East Farndon
and Arthingworth. (fn. 8) All the tenants owed suit at the
abbot's court of Warkton, but the tenants of the
In-Soke paid a rent and had many services to perform,
particularly when the abbot visited the manor.
The tenants of the Foreign Soke mostly paid a rent
for all services. (fn. 9) The abbot had his hall here as
early as the 12th century, at which his steward lived,
and here the abbot had a miraculous preservation from
fire in 1186. (fn. 10)
In the early part of the 13th century a dispute arose
between the abbot of Peterborough and the abbot of
St. Edmundsbury regarding the manor of Warkton,
which the former claimed to be within his seven hundreds. It was agreed that the bailiff of the seven
hundreds should have supervision of the view of
frankpledge and St. Edmundsbury should pay a mark
yearly for quittance of all claims by Peterborough. (fn. 11)
There were courts and halimotes at Warkton. The
native tenants had to pay the usual fines for marrying
their daughters or for their sons frequenting the schools
and also for leyrwite. The abbot of St. Edmundsbury
was quit of regard of the forest by charter of 1171,
confirmed at later dates. (fn. 12) There seems to have been
a flourishing community of tradesmen in the 13th
century at Warkton. We have mention of William
the Carpenter, who paid a capon for his shop;
Richard de Pit for two salt pans, three capons;
Richard the Smith for his smithy, two capons;
Robert le Iremonger 12d; Richard at the Bridge over
the Ise, 6d.; and John Confort who held a messuage
near the Cross. (fn. 13)
Warkton was included in a list of manors appropriated to the cellarers of the abbey for which custodians were appointed in 1215. (fn. 14)
In 1284 the abbot of St. Edmund held Warkton in
pure alms of the king in chief, (fn. 15) and in 1291 he received
from it the considerable sum of £22 15s. 5¼d. (fn. 16) The
abbot was having difficulties with his tenants about
rights of common and other matters early in the
14th century, and possibly as a result of these disputes
he leased the manor, excepting the advowson of the
church and view of frankpledge, in 1312 to the homage
of the court of Warkton for 12 years at a rent of
£80 a year. (fn. 17) The abbot obtained a grant of free
warren in 1330 (fn. 18) and proved his claim to view of
frankpledge and weyf in the Manor (fn. 19) from time
immemorial.
In 1414 William Cratefeld, abbot of St. Edmundsbury, leased the manor for ten years to Thomas, Earl
of Dorchester, at a rent of £25 a year, and in 1417 the
Earl, who had been created Duke of Exeter, wrote
complaining that the abbot had arrested his farmer
of the lands for arrears of rent due from him. (fn. 20)
The abbey of Bury St. Edmunds continued to hold
the manor until the Dissolution, when in 1535 it
was in lease to Thomas Lane for a rent of £32.
On 20 March 1541, the manor and advowson of the
rectory of Warkton, together with its soke, as part of
the late possessions of the abbey, with all the lands of
the abbey in Warkton, were granted for life to Sir
Edward Montagu, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, (fn. 21)
to whom on surrender of this patent a fresh grant was
made in fee on 18 March 1542. (fn. 22) Lands in Warkton
were granted with the manors of Holwell, Brixworth,
Lamport, Hanging Houghton, etc., by Robert
Burdon of Hanging Houghton and his wife Joan, and
Robert Burdon, junior, to Sir Edward Montagu in
1541. (fn. 23)
The manor seems to have been settled on Ellen
the third wife of Sir Edward Montagu, Lord Chief
Justice, who in 1557 leased it to her son Edward. (fn. 24)
It descended to Sir Walter Montagu, kt., younger son
of Sir Edward Montagu and grandson of the Lord
Chief Justice, who in 1604 settled it on his second
wife Ann. He died without issue in 1616, his wife
Ann surviving him, and his heir being his brother,
Sir Edward Montagu, (fn. 25) created Lord Montagu of
Boughton in 1621. His grandson Ralph was created
Duke of Montagu in 1705, and his son, the second Duke,
died in 1749, leaving two daughters, Isabel and Mary.
Warkton went to the latter, who married George
Brudenell, who was created Duke of Montagu in
1766, with special remainder to his grandson Henry
James Scott, son of Henry
Scott, Duke of Buccleuch, and
Elizabeth, daughter of the first
Duke of Montagu. He succeeded as Duke of Buccleuch
in 1812 and the manor has
descended with the dukedom
to the present day. (fn. 26)
Scott, Duke of Buccleuch. Or a bend azure charged with a molet of six points between two crescents or.
Church
The church of
ST. EDMUND
consists of chancel 36 ft. 8 in. by 18 ft. 6 in.,
clearstoried nave 35 ft. 8 in. by
14 ft. 9 in., north and south
aisles 15 ft. wide, south porch,
and west tower 11 ft. square, all these measurements
being internal. The width across nave and aisles is
51 ft. 6in.
The nave arcades are of two bays: they appear to
have been originally of the latter part of the 12th
century, but have been very much restored. The two
semicircular arches on each side are of a single square
order and spring from a cylindrical pier with moulded
base and square abacus, and from plain imposts at
either end: the eastern respond on the north side
has a roll moulding at the angles, but the others are
square. The arches, however, in their present form
may date only from the 18th century, at the time of
the rebuilding of the chancel. In Bridges' time the
old chancel was standing: it had buttresses at the
east end and 'four stone seats' in the south wall near
the altar. (fn. 27) On the north side the first Duke of
Montagu, who died in 1709, had built a 'place of
sepulture for himself and family,' (fn. 28) and some forty
years later, after the death of the second duke in
1749, the chancel was entirely rebuilt in the style of
the day. It has four large recesses for monuments,
two on each side, and a wide round-headed east
window: externally it is faced with ashlar, and has a
high parapet and a pediment at the east end. The
burial place is entered from the east end of the north
aisle, and covers the chancel about half its length.
The aisles were rebuilt and the clearstory added in
the 14th century, but were completely restored in
1867–8. They have plain parapets and leaded roofs,
but all the aisle windows are modern, and those of the
clearstory, which are square-headed and of two trefoiled
lights, extensively renewed. The moulded south
doorway, however, is original, and a buttress with
triangular head remains at the north-west angle.
In the south aisle is a 14th-century piscina with
fluted bowl. The pointed chancel arch dates from
1867. In 1872 a vestry was added at the east end of
the south aisle, partly covering the chancel. The
15th-century porch has been rebuilt: it has plain
parapets, leaded roof and outer moulded doorway
with hood.
The tower was built in the middle of the 15th
century, and is of four stages, with broad angle
buttress of square section and vertical outline, and a
vice in the south-west angle. At the foot of the
buttresses above the plinth is a band of quatrefoils,
as at Kettering, and another band above the west
doorway. The doorway has continuous mouldings,
and is set within a rectangular frame with traceried
spandrels: over it is a three-light pointed window
with embattled transom. The three lower stages
are blank on the north and south sides, but in the third
stage facing west is a square-headed loop, and on the
east a doorway formerly opening on to the nave roof.
The bell-chamber windows are of two-lights with
embattled transom and a quatrefoil in the head, and
the tower finishes with a band of quatrefoils and
battlemented parapet with tall angle pinnacles. The
height to the top of the pinnacles is 70 ft. The
arch to the nave is of three chamfered orders, the
inner springing from half-round responds.
The font consists of a shallow octagonal bowl
shaped from the square, set on a modern stem.
The monuments in the chancel are of more than
local interest, and of their kind are fine examples of
the sculptural art of the period. In the western
recess of the north wall is that of John, 2nd Duke of
Montagu (d. 1749), by Roubiliac, with an allegorical
group of Charity and her nurslings exhibiting a
medallion of the duke to the mourning duchess. Opposite, in the south wall, is a group of the three Fates,
also by Roubiliac, commemorating the duke's widow
Mary Churchill (d. 1751), fourth daughter of the first
Duke of Marlborough. The second monument on the
north side is to the memory of Mary, Duchess of
Montagu (d. 1775), youngest daughter and co-heir
of the second duke, and takes the form of an allegorical
group within an architectural setting designed by
Robert Adam, the sculpture executed by Peter
Matthias Van Gelder. It was erected by her husband
George, Duke of Montagu and 4th Earl of Cardigan,
who survived her 15 years, dying in 1790, when the
dukedom became extinct. The remaining recess on
the south side is filled by a seated statue, by Thomas
Campbell, of Elizabeth Montagu, widow of Henry,
3rd Duke of Buccleuch, who died 1827, erected by her
grandson Walter Francis, 5th Duke of Buccleuch.
At the east end of the south arcade, below the arch,
is a wall monument, with shield of arms and rhyming
inscription, to Thomas Johnson, 1657. (fn. 29)
There are five bells, the first and second by J.
Taylor and Co., of Loughborough, 1887; the third by
T. and J. Eayre, of Kettering, 1718; the fourth by
Thomas Eayre, 1761, and the tenor by Hugh Watts II,
of Leicester, 1638. (fn. 30)
The plate consists of a paten without marks
inscribed 'Given to the parish of Warckton, Northtonsheir An. dom. 1683,' and a modern mediæval cup
and paten of 1868, given in 1876. There are also a
pewter flagon and breadholder. (fn. 31)
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i)
baptisms and burials 1559–1741, marriages 1559–1740;
(ii) baptisms 1742–1812, marriages 1742–1756, burials
1741–1812; (iii) marriages 1756–1812. The churchwardens' accounts begin in 1769.
Advowson
The church was held with the
manor by the abbey of Bury St.
Edmunds, and appears before 1191
in a list of churches of manors belonging to the
abbey as worth 10 marks yearly. (fn. 32)
In 1291 it was valued at £11 6s. 8d. yearly. (fn. 33) At
the Dissolution, the profits of the rectory, then leased
to Leo Kyng, were £19 6s. 8d. yearly. (fn. 34)
The advowson has always been held with the
manor, and the Duke of Buccleuch is the present
patron.
Charities
Edward Hunt, by his will proved
at Northampton 7 Dec. 1674, gave
land in the parish of Broughton for
the benefit of the poor of certain parishes. The land,
which consisted of a farm of 64 acres, was sold in 1921
and the proceeds invested in stock with the Official
Trustees of Charitable Funds. The stock has now
been apportioned in the Official Trustees' books between the parishes interested and the sums of £19 4s. 4d.
Derby Corporation 6 per cent. Redeemable Stock and
£19 8s. 1d. Middlesbrough Corporation 6 per cent.
Stock, producing together £2 6s. 4d. yearly, represent
the endowment of the charity for this parish. The
income is distributed in money by the minister,
churchwardens and overseers to about 12 poor.
The Church Land consists of 5 a. 3 r. of pasture land
which has long been appropriated to the church. It is
let for £8 15s. yearly, which is expended by the
churchwardens in church expenses.
By a Deed of Trust dated 28 Dec. 1922, Mrs.
Elizabeth Panther established a charity comprising
a sum of £178 0s. 8d. 2½ per cent. Consols vested in
the Peterborough Diocesan Board of Finance. The
income is applicable by the rector and churchwardens for the maintenance of the Sunday school,
and, subject thereto, for the maintenance of the
fabric of the church.
The parishes of Weekley and Warkton participate
in the Lathom and Bigley Educational Foundation
(Ringstead) Endowment.