Cotterstock is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

North Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, and was created in 2021. The council is based in Corby, the district's la ...

, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 153.

Geography

Cotterstock is on the banks of the

River Nene The River Nene ( or ) flows through the counties of Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk in Eastern England from its sources in Arbury Hill in Northamptonshire. Flowing Northeast through East England to its mouth at Lutt ...

, which flows through the city of

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

to the north east and empties into the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

The Wash The Wash is a shallow natural rectangular bay and multiple estuary on the east coast of England in the United Kingdom. It is an inlet of the North Sea and is the largest multiple estuary system in the UK, as well as being the largest natural ba ...

. The nearest larger town is

Oundle Oundle () is a market town and civil parish on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 6,254 at the time of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is north of London and south-wes ...

to the south west.

History

Cotterstock was recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

as ''Codestoche'', the name probably deriving from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

"corther-stoc" (dairy farm). In the summer of 1736 a

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...

villa was discovered when

tessera A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus. Historical tesserae In early antiquity, mo ...

e from a large mosaic pavement were uncovered during ploughing. The villa was subsequently located a second time by

aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other flight, airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wi ...

during the extremely dry summer of 1976, when parch marks of buried walls were recorded spread across three fields. A

geophysical survey Geophysical survey is the systematic collection of geophysical data for spatial studies. Detection and analysis of the geophysical signals forms the core of Geophysical signal processing. The magnetic and gravitational fields emanating from the ...

undertaken to accurately locate and amplify the aerial photographic information was carried out over a total of ten days in 1992 and 1993. A total of 19,140 soil resistance values were recorded at one-metre intervals within a grid composed of 20-metre squares. The Church of St Andrew is located to the east of the village, adjacent to the

; it dates from the late 12th century. The main period of construction was in the 13th and 14th centuries and the building was restored and extended in 1876. Cotterstock Hall was built in 1658 with alterations in the early 18th century and a main staircase added in the 19th century. The poet and playwright

John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...

was a frequent visitor and is thought to have stayed in the south-west attic room at the Hall, visiting relatives, the last of whom, Rev Sir George Booth, died in 1797. The house was later purchased by Jane Fane, Countess of Westmorland, who died there in 1857. Also of interest is the ''Old Mill'' which was built during the early 19th century. Cotterstock parish contains 20 entries on the statutory list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest, 16 of which are within the

Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

covering the eastern part of the village around St Andrew's Church and Cotterstock Hall. Tree Preservation Orders have been made on trees in and around the village. Cotterstock was the birthplace of

John Graves Simcoe Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...

, the first

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

from 1791 to 1796 and founder of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, who was born here on 25 February 1752.

Infrastructure

The village consists of a single street with Cotterstock Hall located in the centre and St Andrew's Church in the east. Cotterstock has a village hall.

In the media

In 2010, Cotterstock Hall was used as a film set for ' The Woman in Black'. Star Daniel Radcliffe said of the Hall: "Cotterstock Hall is a remarkable building bursting with Gothic grandeur – perfect for The Woman In Black".

References

External links

Oxford Dictionary of British Place NamesEast Northamptonshire WebsiteThe Roman Villa at Cotterstock, NorthamptonshireBritish History OnlineVillage churches around the Peterborough area
{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire Civil parishes in Northamptonshire