PITSFORD
Pitesford, Pidesford (xi-xii cents.); Pisseford (xiiixiv cents.).
The parish of Pitsford has an area of 1,413 acres.
The soil is marl and clay with a subsoil of stone, producing crops of wheat and barley, and the parish is
well watered, for there are innumerable little springs
scattered over the fields, while a branch of the River
Nene forms the western boundary. The village lies to
the north of the parish and on the east of the high road
from Northampton to Market Harborough and has a
fairly elevated position, the church standing at a height
of 317 ft. Several roads pass through the village which
lies for the most part round their juncture and has a
neat and compact appearance, Pitsford Hall standing
in its own grounds to the south. The Northampton and
Market Harborough branch of the L.M.S. railway
passes through the parish, following the course of the
river, and there is a station 2 miles south-west of
Pitsford with which it is connected by a long lane
which crosses the Market Harborough road and rises
from 229 ft. to 371. On different sides of the road leading out of the Market Harborough road into the
village are two small earth-works, known as Layman's
Hill and Barrow Dyke. In Morton's time, the former
was about 10 yards wide and of an oblong shape, but
it has since been planted. Barrow Dyke is described
by Morton as a square figure, with 'two of the sides
still remaining; one of them above 80 yards in length', (fn. 1)
but by 1820 nearly all trace of the original form had
been destroyed by repeated
ploughing. (fn. 2)
Wahull. Or three crescents gules.
The parish has been inclosed
under an Act passed in 1756. (fn. 3)
Manors
In 1086 the overlord of the principal
manor of PITSFORD was Simon the Fleming, (fn. 4)
the ancestor of the Barons of
Wahull, in whom the overlordship remained vested. (fn. 5) The
chief seat of the Wahull barony
in this county was at Pattishall
(q.v.). As intermediaries between the overlord and
the lord of the fee stood the family of Walgrave. (fn. 6)
The manor at Domesday was in the possession of
Fulcher, (fn. 7) the ancestor of the Malsors, Henry Malsors
being lord of Pitsford in the 12th century. (fn. 8) Geoffrey
Malsors, his successor, rebelled against King John,
who confiscated his estates in 1215 and bestowed them
upon Godescall de Maghelines, but Henry III restored
them to Geoffrey, on the latter returning to his fealty
in the following year. (fn. 9) In 1227 Geoffrey enfeoffed
Robert de Leicester and Lettice his wife, who was
probably the daughter of William Malsors, senior, of
Milton Malzor, of 2 fees in Pitsford, of which they
were to hold one in demesne and one in service, (fn. 10) and
the next year Walter Malsors gave up to Geoffrey all
his right in a fee in Walgrave and Pitsford. (fn. 11) Robert
Leicester and Lettice appear to have been followed by
Robert de Hauton who was holding a fee in Pitsford
in 1316 (fn. 12) and 1346. (fn. 13) By 1428 it was in the hands of
Nicholas Horncastle, (fn. 14) possibly tenant only for a term
of years, as it descended to John Hauton who died
somewhere about the end of the 15th century, leaving
3 daughters and co-heirs, of whom the second died
without issue. (fn. 15) In 1552 William Chauncey, a descendant of the eldest daughter, and Joan his wife
gave up their right in the manor to John Shuckburgh,
the son of the youngest daughter. (fn. 16) John's son George
died in 1572 leaving a son John aged 3 whom he entrusted to the care of his brother John, (fn. 17) and a widow
Cassandra who married as her second husband Richard
Wightman. John who came of age in 1589 (fn. 18) married
Anne, with whom he was holding the estate in 1593, (fn. 19)
but after this date it was apparently alienated in portions and
all manorial rights lost. (fn. 20)
Pitsford. Gules three bends vair and a label of five points or.
Holding jointly with Henry
Malsors in the 12th century was
Philip de Pitsford (fn. 21) and in 1242
Robert le Jeofne and William de
Insula with Mabel his wife are
mentioned as holding the 2 fees
in Pitsford, (fn. 22) perhaps through
marriage with widows of a Malsors and Pitsford respectively.
By 1227, however, the Malsors
had subinfeudated the Pitsfords, the heirs of Ascelin son
of Philip holding of them at that date, (fn. 23) and the Pitsfords continued to hold of the Malsors, Thomas son of
Philip being in possession of the manor in 1284. (fn. 24) He
was followed by Laurence de Pitsford who was holding
the fee in 1346 (fn. 25) , but by 1362 it was in the possession
of John Laurence and Joan his wife, who conveyed it
in that year to Richard de Bollesore, parson of Boughton church, (fn. 26) probably as a preliminary to its alienation
to Sir Henry Green of Boughton who died seised of
2 messuages and 2 virgates in Pitsford in 1369, (fn. 27) which
by 1392 had increased to 6 messuages and 2 carucates. (fn. 28)
The manor acquired by Sir Henry Green remained in
the Green family and has had a descent analogous to
that of Boughton (q.v.), Maj.-Gen. Sir R. G. H.
Howard-Vyse being the present lord of the manor.
Another estate in Pitsford was held in 1086 of
Robert Count of Mortain, (fn. 29) but the Mortain fee
escheated to the Crown in 1106, (fn. 30) and the greater part
of the lands and honors became incorporated with the
Earldom of Leicester, bestowed upon Robert Count of
Meulan in 1107. (fn. 31) A division afterwards took place,
one of the two parts becoming known as the honor of
Winchester, of which Pitsford was a fee, and passing
through the families of la Zouche, Holand, and Lovell, (fn. 32)
of Brackley (q.v.).
Holding under the Count of Mortain in 1086 was
Humphrey, the successor of Osmund who held it freely
in the time of King Edward. (fn. 33) In the 12th century the
Earl of Leicester held this estate, then estimated at 6
small virgates although in Domesday only 1 virgate is
mentioned. (fn. 34) After this date there were two mesne
lords between the overlord and the tenant of the land,
for in 1271 Richard de Hanrede, Humphrey's successor, held it of William Maufe of Sussex, who held of
Philip de Nevill, the latter holding of Roger de Quincy,
Earl of Winchester. (fn. 35) The place of one of the mesne
lords was taken by Hugh de Scales who was holding
lands in Haslebeach and Pitsford in 1314, (fn. 36) and by his
descendants holding in 1423 and 1454. (fn. 37) Richard de
Hanrede, lord of the estate in 1271 (fn. 38) and 1316, (fn. 39) was
succeeded by his son another Richard, who in 1330
brought an action against Henry de Wilby and William
Francis to recover 3 messuages and 3 virgates of land
in Pitsford. (fn. 40) He was holding in 1346, (fn. 41) but by 1428
the estate was divided between his heirs and Thomas
Green, (fn. 42) the latter's share probably becoming absorbed
in the chief manor held by him. After 1455 there is no
further mention of the estate (fn. 43) which doubtless was
separated into many small portions among which all
manorial rights were lost.
The Brotherhood of St. Catherine, Northampton,
held lands in Pitsford, which were granted in 1551 to
Sir Thomas Tresham, (fn. 44) and mentioned in a survey of
Northampton Town Lands, taken in 1586. (fn. 45)
There were two mills mentioned in 1086, one on the
manor held of Walter the Fleming, worth 12d., (fn. 46) and
the other on the Count of Mortain's estate, worth 2s. (fn. 47)
The latter was probably the one acquired by Hugh
Dyne, who granted it to Robert the miller in 1202. (fn. 48)
There is no further mention of the mills until 1586,
when they are mentioned in the Survey of Northampton Town lands as standing on the brook separating
Pitsford from Brixworth, one being known as Watkins
Mill and the other as Gyhles' Mill, (fn. 49) but there is no
further trace of them.
According to an Exchequer deposition taken in 1674,
the customary way of tithing wool in Pitsford was to
lay 10 fleeces together in a row, out of which the owner
took two, the rector afterwards choosing one. If there
were only seven, the rector was to take one in the same
manner and pay the owner ½d. a fleece for the three
wanting. Whatever the size of the fleece, it was to be
reckoned in tithing, and if the odd fleeces were under
seven, they were to be the worst ones, the owner paying
½d. for the tithe of each of them. The customary way of
tithing barley was for the owner first to 'cocke' and
rake his lands and then to give notice to the tithing-man
to take the tithes before the corn was carried. The
lambs were tithed on 3 May. (fn. 50)
Church
The church of ALL SAINTS stands on
the north-west side of the village and consists of chancel, 22 ft. by 16 ft.; nave of
five bays, 53 ft. by 17 ft. 6 in.; north and south aisles,
12 ft. 6 in. wide; south porch, and west tower, 9 ft.
6 in. by 8 ft. 6 in., all these measurements being
internal.
The south doorway is of 12th-century date, and some
fragments of the same period are built into the tower
arch and the east end of the north aisle. (fn. 51) The tower
belongs to the later part of the 13th century, but the
rest of the building, where not modern, is of 14th-century date. In the middle of the 19th century it was said
to be 'a mere decorated shell, having suffered almost
every mutilation, tracery of windows cut out, strings cut
away, doorway blocked, roof lowered, lean-to vestry
against tower, piers between nave and aisles removed
and a flat ceiling thrown over both, west gallery, and
high irregular close pews'. (fn. 52) In 1867 the chancel, south
aisle, and porch were rebuilt, new nave arcades erected,
and the whole building re-roofed. The interior was at
the same time remodelled, the pews and gallery being
done away with and new windows inserted in the
north aisle. The new work is in the style of the 14th
century, and is faced with local ironstone. The roof of
chancel and nave are covered with Colleyweston slates,
and the aisle roofs are leaded, behind plain parapets.
The only original windows now remaining, other
than those in the tower, are the east and west windows
of the north aisle, the former of three trefoiled lights
with reticulated tracery, and the latter ogee-headed of
two trefoiled lights with quatrefoil above. This window
has been shortened at the bottom by raising the sill.
An original moulded string course runs round the north
aisle, and there is a pointed north doorway of two continous chamfered orders with hood-mould.
The chancel, being modern, has no features of
interest, but in the east wall of the north aisle, at its
south end, is a trefoil-headed piscina recess, the bowl
of which has gone, and in the north wall a moulded
recess at floor level, now empty, the hood-mould of
which is cut away.
The 12th-century south doorway has a semicircular
arch of two orders inclosing a sculptured tympanum.
The inner chevron-moulded order is continued to the
ground below the imposts, but the outer order, composed of beak-heads, rests on shafts with sculptured
capitals and moulded bases. The tympanum has already been described. (fn. 53) The oak door and its iron
hinges are ancient: the ends of the hinges are split and
curved back to form foliations.
The tower has a plain parapet with angle pinnacles
and retains all its architectural features. It has a
moulded plinth and double buttresses of four stages,
with a banded circular shaft running up the contained
angle. Below the bell-chamber story the walls are
blank except on the west, where there is a single trefoilheaded window. The pointed bell-chamber windows
are of two trefoiled lights, with hood-moulds terminating in heads, and double chamfered jambs. The
windows are placed in the usual position in the middle
of the wall on all four sides, but on the north and south
a second opening of slightly less height, and consisting
of a single cinquefoiled light, occurs farther east. (fn. 54) The
tower arch is of three continuous chamfered orders.
There is no vice.
The lower part of a 15th-century chancel screen,
which seems to have been in position before the rebuilding of the church, (fn. 55) is now at the west end of the north
aisle, where it makes part of an enclosure forming the
vestry. The moulded uprights have been cut away
30 in. above the lower solid-panelled portion.
The font is of 14th-century date and consists of an
octagonal bowl, with canopied niches, on a panelled
and buttressed stem. On the west side of the bowl is a
projection from the rim forming a ledge, in which are
four small holes, probably intended for the fixing of
a desk. (fn. 56)
There are five bells, the treble by Henry Bagley of
Ecton, 1698, the second by James Keene of Woodstock, undated, and the others dated 1632, also by
Keene. (fn. 57) They were rehung and tuned in 1893.
The plate consists of a silver cup and paten of 1560, a
paten of 1635 given by Elizabeth and Deborah Stephens
in 1685, a paten and flagon of 1870 given by the Rev.
Granville Sykes Howard-Vyse, rector, (fn. 58) and a breadbox given in 1919 in memory of Lieut. Nightingale.
The registers begin in 1560. The first volume contains all entries, with certain omissions, until 1723; the
next covers the period 1714 to 1746 and is followed
by 'volume four', containing entries of baptisms from
1748 to 1812, marriages 1747 to 1771 and burials
1751 to 1812.
Advowson
The right of presentation to the
church of Pitsford was appurtenant to
the fees held of the Wahull Barony and
was exercised alternately by the two feudatories, one of
the moieties being granted with the manor to Godescall
de Maghelines in 1215. (fn. 59) This part of the advowson
passed through Robert Leicester and Lettice to Robert
de Hauton and his wife Agnes of whom it was purchased in 1354 by Sir Henry Green. (fn. 60)
The other moiety was alienated by the Pitsfords to
the Boughtons of Boughton, (fn. 61) of whom it was probably
acquired by Sir Henry Green with Boughton manor
and advowson in 1340. (fn. 62) The advowson remained
attached to the manor, although it was leased out during
the 17th century, (fn. 63) and is at present in the gift of Maj.Gen. Sir R. G. H. Howard-Vyse.
The rectory of Pitsford was valued at 8 marks
c. 1254, (fn. 64) and at £5 13s. 4d. in 1291. (fn. 65) In 1535 it was
worth £18 10s. (fn. 66) and in 1544, Thomas Saxby, the
rector and incumbent, compounded for the rectory,
stated to be worth £17 19s. 5d. (fn. 67)
One of the rectors of Pitsford was Robert Skinner,
the second son of Edmund Skinner who was rector
there before him. He succeeded his father at Pitsford
in 1628, but in 1636 was appointed Bishop of Bristol
and rector of Green's Norton. In 1641 he was translated to the see of Oxford, but imprisoned in the Tower
the same year and deprived of Green's Norton in 1643
for his malignity against the government. At the
Restoration he became one of the King's Commissioners
of Oxford University, and was appointed Bishop of
Worcester in 1663 where he died in 1670. (fn. 68)
Charities
Earl of Strafford's Charity. A yearly
sum of £5 is paid for the use of the poor
by Mr. J. H. Marlow out of lands
formerly belonging to the Earls of Strafford. The
money is distributed by the Parish Council in cash to
about 60 recipients.
Lieut.-Col. John Vesey Nugent by Indenture dated
26 January 1910 gave a sum of £600 Consols for the
general benefit of the poor, and appointed the rector,
churchwardens, and chairman of the Parish Council to
be the trustees. The Stock is with the Official Trustees
of Charitable Funds, and the dividends are applied in
subscriptions to the Hospital, in the distribution of coal
to the poor, and in grants to the sick.