Passenham is a small village in the civil parish of Old Stratford in south-west Northamptonshire, England. It is just north of the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wa ...

, which forms the boundary with

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, and close to (but separated by the river from)

Stony Stratford Stony Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Historically it was a market town on the important route from London to Chester (Watling Street, now the A5). It is also the name of a civil parish with a town cou ...

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

. The village's name means 'Passa's hemmed-in land'.

Governance

The village parish council is joined with the village of Old StratfordOld Stratford Parish Council
/ref> which also administers the village and both are part of West Northamptonshire. It was governed by South Northamptonshire District CouncilSouth Northamptonshire District Council
/ref> and Northamptonshire County Council until local government changes in 2021.

Landmarks

The church of

St Guthlac Saint Guthlac of Crowland ( ang, Gūðlāc; la, Guthlacus; 674 – 3 April 714 CE) was a Christian hermit and saint from Lincolnshire in England. He is particularly venerated in the Fens of eastern England. Life Guthlac was the son of Penwal ...

has a late 13th-century tower, the upper part rebuilt 1626. The chancel was built in 1626 by Sir Robert Banastre (who died in 1649). Some remarkable furnishings, stalls and misericords date from 1626. There are also original wall paintings which were restored in the 1960s. Also notable are

box pews A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in chu ...

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

and a monument to Banastre.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire Country houses in Northamptonshire History of Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District