HARDWICK
Herdewic (xi cent.); Herdewike (xiii cent.).
Hardwick, about 3 miles north-west of Wellingborough station, is bounded north and east by the
Harrowdens. It lies generally high, the little village
being situated in a hollow on the brow of a hill.
The old manor-house, now used as a farm, stands to
the south-east of the church and is a picturesque gabled
building of stone with slated roofs. The oldest part of
the house appears to be of 14th-century date, a twolight traceried window on the north side being of this
period, but the building was altered and largely rebuilt
in the latter half of the 16th century by Thomas
Nicolls, whose arms are over the front entrance. The
house then assumed more or less its present appearance,
with mullioned bay windows, but it was again restored
and enlarged in 1775. In one of the rooms is a painted
oak overmantel of three compartments divided by Ionic
pilasters and bearing the arms of Thomas Nicolls.
At the north-eastern end of the village is Hardwick
House, built by the rector in 1868, when the old
rectory was in ruins.
The children attend school at Little Harrowden, but
a school building with teacher's residence attached was
erected by the Thornton family, lords of the manor,
in 1870.
When Bridges wrote the parish had been inclosed
for about a hundred years. There were then two woods,
and he gives the names of two springs, Marywell and
Dunswell. It held 16 families. The population, which
was 68 in 1801, was 121 in 1931. The poll-books show
that there were 3 freeholders in 1705, and none in
1831.
The area of the parish is 1,269 acres, and its soil of
a mixed fertile character: its subsoil clay. The chief
crops grown are cereals.
Manor
One hide in HARDWICK was returned in the Domesday Survey among the
lands the Countess Judith held in Hamfordshoe Hundred, and had been held with sac and soc
before the Conquest by Ulf. It was held, with another
hide in Hardwick in Orlingbury Hundred, under the
Countess by Alan. (fn. 1) In the 12th century these 2 hides
formed the 9 small virgates returned in the Hundred of
Hamfordshoe, held of the fee of King David, (fn. 2) and the
overlordship of the whole descended with the honor of
Huntingdon to Henry de Hastings and his wife Ada, (fn. 3)
being recorded separately as in Domesday, i.e. as a
quarter of a fee in Hardwick held by the Seymours, and
under them by the Barrys, with a half fee held by the
Grimbauds and under them by the Seymours; (fn. 4) but also
together as one fee held by the Seymours of the Grimbauds, under the de Hastings who held in chief. (fn. 5) In
1236 half a fee in Hardwick was returned among the
fees held of the earldom of Huntingdon by Simon
Minor. (fn. 6)
Like Diddington (Hunts.) (fn. 7) Hardwick descended
from Alan 'the sewer' to the Grimbalds or Grimbauds. About 1095 the Grimbald who held
Moulton in 1086 gave the church of that vill to St.
Andrew's Priory, Northampton. (fn. 8) The churches of
Little Houghton and Hardwick were bestowed on the
priory by Robert Grimbaud and Maud his wife,
c. 1130, and this grant was confirmed when a fresh
grant of Moulton church to the
priory was made by Robert Grimbaud of Houghton, William his
son and Robert the son of William
then confirming the grant, and also
earlier grants of the churches of
Brafield, Hardwick, and Houghton. (fn. 9) In 1197 William Grimbald
granted to Henry de Seymour half
a knight's fee in Hardwick, (fn. 10) evidently the half fee the Seymours
later kept in their own hands, and
Robert Grimbaud in 1242 was
holding 4 knights' fees in Houghton, Hardwick, Brafield,
Newton, and Moulton of the honor of Huntingdon. (fn. 11) He had been succeeded in 1284 by William
Grimbaud, then holding a whole fee in Hardwick of
John de Hastings, with Henry de Seymour as undertenant. (fn. 12) The half fee conveyed in 1196–7 was held
in 1312 by John de Seymour, (fn. 13) evidently under Robert
Grimbaud, in whose hands it was returned in 1325, (fn. 14)
being held by the heirs of Robert Grimbaud in 1348. (fn. 15)
The manor was returned in 1329–30 as held by John
de Seymour of Robert Grimbaud, of the Hastings'
pourparty of the honor of Huntingdon, (fn. 16) and as held of
the Countess of Pembroke as of the fee of Grimbaud in
1362, (fn. 17) but no further reference to Grimbaud mesne
tenants occurs.
Grimbaud. Argent two bars azure and a border gules.
The Seymours held under the Grimbauds until the
second half of the 14th century, but in 1267 their
tenure was interrupted for a time by the grant of the
manor to Geoffrey Goscelyn by the king, it having
been forfeited by Henry de Seymour. In an extent of
the manor then made it was returned that Henry de
Seymour had 5½ virgates in demesne of 26 acres, each
acre being worth 8d. per annum; 8½ similar virgates in
villeinage, worth 17s. 8d. each; and a windmill worth
20s. The manor was extended at £18. (fn. 18) By 1275 the
manor was again in the hands of Henry de Seymour,
who was claiming view of frankpledge, and in 1284 he
held a whole fee in Hardwick. (fn. 19) In 1313 half a knight's
fee in Hardwick held by John de Seymour, and a
quarter fee (which was probably now known as
BARRY'S MANOR) held by Alice Barry, evidently by
grant of the Seymours, were included among fees held
of John de Hastings. (fn. 20) In 1325 half a fee in Hardwick
was returned among the Hastings' fees under the lordship of Robert Grimbaud, the quarter fee being then held
by John Barry. (fn. 21) In 1329–30 John de Seymour's claim
to view of frankpledge and other liberties in his manor
of Hardwick was objected to on the ground that he
made this claim for the whole of the manor whereas he
held one half, only for life, by grant of one John Barry,
and only one half in fee. His reply was that he did
hold certain tenements for life only in Hardwick by
grant of John Barry, but that he made no claim to view
of frankpledge in them; he did, however, prove that he
had his own complete manor by right of inheritance,
held of Robert Grimbaud of Laurence de Hastings as
of the honor of Huntingdon. (fn. 22) John de Seymour died
in 1340, his wife Maud surviving him, and was succeeded by his son John. (fn. 23) Besides the manor he held a
messuage, 120 acres of land in demesne, 1 acre 1 rood
of meadow, and 33s. 4d. rent of free and bond tenants
and cottars, evidently the quarter fee or Barry's Manor.
John de Seymour his son apparently fell a victim to the
Black Death in 1349, in which year an inquisition was
taken as to tenements he held in Hardwick and Irtlingborough of the manor of Grafton. (fn. 24) Another, taken on
27 May 1350, (fn. 25) records the action he took as regards
his two manors in Hardwick. It states that being sick
to death, but of good and sane memory, he gave the
manor of Hardwick which he had by ancient right and
inheritance to William de Seymour and Elizabeth
Chartres (sister of John)—presumably in trust for his
young son—and being carried to the door of the said
manor, he delivered seisin thereof to William and
Elizabeth, and was carried thence to his manor in the
said vill late of Peter Barry. He also gave to the same
William and Elizabeth a large grange and a large garden, late of the said Peter, and 2 carucates of land, and
being carried from one manor to the other said: 'Take
this grange and garden by way of seisin'; and so he died
seised of that chief messuage late of the said Peter, and
of a virgate of land in Hardwick excepted from the said
grange and garden. In the inquisition neither date of
death nor heir were recorded, but it seems that he left
a son and heir John, then aged 13. Proof of the age of
this John was taken at Brixworth on 24 March 1358,
when it was stated that he had been born on 6 January
1338, and baptized, according to the evidence of
John Barry, one of the witnesses, in the church of the
vill, his name being entered in the missal of the church
because he was the eldest son of his father. (fn. 26) On 24
October 1358 it was returned that John de Seymour
had held a messuage and 2 virgates of land of the heir
of Laurence de Hastings, Earl of Pembroke, when he
died of the pestilence now past, and that his son and
heir John was now of full age. The king had taken
the profits since the death of John by his escheators. (fn. 27)
Sir John de Seymour, in 1361, settled the manors of
Hardwick and Grafton on himself and his wife
Agnes. (fn. 28) He died s.p. the following year and was succeeded by his brother Thomas, (fn. 29) who, as Thomas
Seymour of Hardwicke, occurs as late as 1386. (fn. 30) The
Seymour line then seems to have ended in female heirs,
as Walter and William St. German, clerks, who had
obtained licence to purchase Barry's manor in 1396,
were sued in 1402 for disseisin of a certain freehold in
Seymours Hardwick by Andrew Brown, Catherine his
wife, and Isabel Seymour. (fn. 31)
Green. Azure three harts tripping or.
The manor subsequently passed into the hands of the
Greens of Green's Norton, apparently through marriage
with a Seymour heiress. (fn. 32) After the death of Sir Thomas
Green, in 1391, 8 messuages and 4 virgates of land in
Hardwick came to his son Thomas and are noted as
held of others than the King. (fn. 33)
Sir Thomas Green, son of Sir
Thomas Green, settled his manor
of Hardwick on his wife Philippa,
daughter of Robert de Ferrars,
lord of Chartley, and on his son
Thomas, and died on 14 December 1420, Thomas who succeeded
him being then 18 years of age. (fn. 34)
Apparently the Greens of Green's
Norton alienated the manor to
Sir Henry Green of Drayton, on
whose death in 1469 it was assigned by his daughter
and heir Constance and her husband John Stafford to
Margaret, the widow of Sir Henry, for life. (fn. 35) It then
followed the descent of Drayton (q.v.), being held, c.
1515, in thirds by the co-heirs of Sir Henry, daughters
of Sir Henry Vere. One third was therefore held by
John, Lord Mordaunt, the husband of Henry Vere's
eldest daughter Elizabeth, and in 1548 he acquired
from George Brown, son of Ann, the second daughter,
and her husband Humphrey Brown, lands in Hardwick, probably representing a second third of the
estate. (fn. 36) But a grant of a third of the manor made to
him next year by the third daughter Audrey and her
husband John Browne and their son George (fn. 37) seems
to have been ineffective, possibly because they had
already mortgaged it in 1530 to Sir Humphrey Browne,
serjeant-at-law, the uncle of John. (fn. 38) In 1561 Sir
Humphrey Browne was dealing with a third of the
manor. (fn. 39) This third, which descended from Audrey
Vere and her husband John Browne to their grandson
Wistan Browne [of Rookewoods Hall in Essex], (fn. 40) was
sold by him on 7 May 1567 to Thomas Nicolls. (fn. 41)
Thomas Nicolls granted to his father, William
Nicolls, a lease of the manor for 21 years after his
death, and died on 29 June 1568, his father surviving
him. He left a son and heir Francis, aged 15, and three
other sons, Augustine, Lewis, and William. (fn. 42) Francis,
who at the death of his grandfather, William Nicolls,
at the age of 96 on 8 September 1576, was aged 19,
married Anne Seymour, daughter of David Seymour,
and was Governor of Tilbury Fort. He sold to Francis
Gill 3 closes of meadow and a little willow grove in
Hardwick, and the Neates' Pasture (120 acres) and
More Close or Morescole (130 acres) adjoining, all
held of the king in chief by knight service. (fn. 43) The manor
had still been held in thirds in 1586, when Sir Lewis
Mordaunt, Lord Mordaunt, made a conveyance by
fine of one third to George Monoux, (fn. 44) but in the
following year the manor was held by him and Eliza-
beth his wife, and by Francis Nicolls, gent., and Anne
his wife. (fn. 45) Francis Nicolls died in 1604 and left a
son and heir Francis. (fn. 46) The Nicolls' share in the manor
was transferred by either the father or the son to the
Mordaunts, probably about the year 1608, in which
year the property sold to Francis Gill was conveyed by
his son John Gill to Sir Augustine Nicolls, sergeantat-law, (fn. 47) the purchaser of Faxton and of Broughton; and
in 1609 Henry, Lord Mordaunt, son of Sir Lewis
(d. 1601), was holding the manor alone, and conveyed
it by fine to Thomas Lock and John Rowe. (fn. 48) The
Nicolls still, however, retained lands in Hardwick,
and it was as Francis Nicholls (sic) of Hardwick that
Francis, who had succeeded his uncle Sir Augustine at
Faxton and Broughton at his death s.p. in 1616, was
created a baronet in 1641. He was buried at Hardwick
in 1642. (fn. 49) His grandson, Sir Edward Nicolls, bart.,
of Faxton, bequeathed lands in Hardwick for the
augmentation of several livings. (fn. 50)
John, Lord Mordaunt (who succeeded his father
Henry in 1608, (fn. 51) and was created Earl of Peterborough
in 1628) and his brother James sold the manor for
£3,000 with courts leet, courts baron, &c., to Sir
Henry Compton, K.B., of Brambletye, Sussex, and
William Gage in 1638; (fn. 52) and in 1640 a moiety was
conveyed by Sir Henry Compton to Richard, Viscount
Lumley in Ireland, (fn. 53) the whole being conveyed in 1649
by Viscount Lumley, Nicholas Lanyon and Dorothy
his wife, and William Gage and Dorothy his wife to
William Ward and Robert Ward. (fn. 54) This was William
Ward of Little Houghton, (fn. 55) and Hardwick followed
the descent of that manor until conveyed in 1733 to
William Lock by William and Thomas Ward. (fn. 56)
Elizabeth, daughter and heir of William Ward of
Brafield, had married in 1692 Thomas Thornton of
Brockhall, and it is possibly through connexion with
the Ward family that the manor had come into the
hands of John Thornton, who was holding it in 1854.
In the latter half of the 19th century it was held by
Mrs. McKenzie, and for the last fifty years has been
held by her trustees.
Church
The church of ST. LEONARD stands
on the south side of the village, and consists of chancel, 17 ft. 6 in. by 15 ft.; nave
of four bays, 43 ft. by 17 ft. 3 in.; south aisle, 7 ft. 6 in.
wide; north porch, and embattled west tower, 8 ft.
3 in. by 7 ft. 6 in., all these measurements being internal.
The tower, the nave arcade, and the south side of the
chancel date from about 1220 and, though the chancel
arch appears to be of rather later in the same century, the
church is in plan substantially of one period. A clerestory was added on the south side in the 14th century,
and the nave windows and two in the chancel are of that
date, though probably insertions in the older walls. In
1795 the chancel was shortened by about 8 ft., and the
aisle taken down, (fn. 57) and a new south wall erected blocking the arcade, which was incorporated with it: a south
porch was also erected. In 1866 (fn. 58) the arcade was
opened out and the aisle rebuilt, a north porch added,
the east wall of the chancel reconstructed, and the
whole church re-roofed. At the restoration of the
chancel the original east-end foundation was found, but
the wall was rebuilt on its 18th-century foundation.
The church is built throughout of rubble and the
roofs are of low pitch leaded. The chancel has a
modern east window of four lights, and in the north
wall a restored 14th-century window of two lights.
There is a similar restored window at the west end of
the south wall and below it a 13th-century low-side
window of lancet form, with rear arch, opened out and
glazed in 1867. The priest's doorway is also of 13thcentury date: it has three scratch dials on the arch.
Internally the chancel is wholly restored and owing to
the demolition of the original east end no ancient ritual
arrangements remain. On the north wall outside is a
corbel carved with a bishop's head, probably an insertion. The chancel arch is of two hollow-chamfered
orders, the inner resting on half-octagonal responds
with moulded capitals and bases.
The arches of the nave arcade are of two chamfered
orders springing from circular pillars and half-round
responds, all with circular moulded bases and capitals,
the nail-head occurring in the responds. The three
windows in the north nave wall are of two trefoiled
lights with quatrefoil in the head and ogee hood-moulds,
but the tracery and mullions are modern copies of the
old work: the two clerestory windows are of similar
type restored, but without the ogee hood-moulds. The
north doorway, like the windows, is of 14th-century date.
The tower is of three stages, without buttresses, but
with a considerable set-back at the second stage. The
west window is a tall lancet without hood-mould, but
otherwise the walls in the lower stages are blank. The
bell-chamber windows consist of two grouped lancets
below a containing arch, the head pierced with a
quatrefoil opening. The parapet belongs to the 14thcentury alterations, but below it the carved heads of
the original corbel table remain. The tower arch is of
two chamfered orders dying out. There is no vice.
The west window contains some medieval glass with
a figure of St. Leonard.
The 13th-century font is one of the most interesting
in the county. The upper part of the bowl is hexagonal,
the angles supported by detached shafts with moulded
capitals and bases, carrying plain chamfered arches: the
underside of the bowl is rounded and rests on a massive
circular stem. Above the shafts the angles are chamfered upwards, the top thus forming a figure of twelve
sides. (fn. 59)
The pulpit dates from 1867 and is of Derbyshire
spar inlaid with mosaic, on a Bathstone base. The
seating is all modern. There is a chest dated 1683.
On the south wall of the chancel is the small alabaster
monument of Francis Nicholls (d. 1604), with shield
of arms, long Latin inscription, (fn. 60) and effigies of himself,
wife, and two children incised in slates, the lines being
gilded. The monument, which has been restored, also
records the death of his son Sir Francis Nicholls, bart.,
in 1641. (fn. 61) In the chancel floor are brass plates to
William Nicolls (d. 1576), Ann, wife of Francis Nicolls
(d. 1591), Edward Bagshawe (d. 1620), and Henry
Bagshawe (d. 1621). (fn. 62) There is a floor-slab in the nave
to the Rev. William Baker, rector (d. 1733).
There were formerly two bells, but the second was
sold in 1795 to defray the expense of pulling down the
aisle. (fn. 63) The other, a 15th-century bell bearing the
inscription 'Sum Rosa Pulsata Katerina vocatur', now
stands below the tower, having been displaced in 1896
to make way for a set of tubes.
The plate consists of a silver cup and cover paten of
1570, inscribed 'For the Tovn of Hardwycke', and two
silver-plated alms dishes. (fn. 64)
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) baptisms
1561–1644, 1661–1742, marriages 1561–1643, 1666–
1743, burials 1559–1643, 1664–78; (fn. 65) (ii) baptisms
1744–80, marriages 1744–54, burials 1678–1780;
(iii) baptisms 1776–1812, marriages 1756–1812,
burials 1782–1812.
The church was valued at £6 13s. 4d. in 1291. (fn. 66)
The profits of the rectory in 1535 were returned as
£8 0s. 9d. yearly, of which £1 3s. 4d. was paid annually
to the prior of St. John of Jerusalem in England. (fn. 67)
Advowson
The advowson, which was given to
St. Andrew's Priory in Northampton
about 1130, (fn. 68) and confirmed to that
house by Robert, Bishop of Lincoln, (fn. 69) was in 1199 conveyed by Walter, Prior of Northampton, to the Master
of the Knights Templars. (fn. 70) In 1249–50 Robert de
Saunford, Master of the Knights Templars, conveyed
it to Henry de Seymour, (fn. 71) but the presentation was
recovered against John de Seymour in 1304, (fn. 72) and held
by the Prior of the Hospital until the Dissolution, since
when it has been held by a succession of owners,
frequently incumbents. For over 150 years it was held
with Faxton Manor (q.v.). It was in the hands of
Francis Nicolls in 1628, and was held by Nicolls
Rainsford and his wife Mary in 1794. (fn. 73) It is now held
by the incumbent, the Rev. E. A. Richards.
Tithes were commuted in 1839 for a rent-charge of
£230.
Charities
The vicar of Hardwick receives
annually a cheque for £30 from the
trustees of Sir Edward Nicolls' Charity, which is described under the parish of Kettering.