Cottesbrooke 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 ...
in
West Northamptonshire
West 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. It contains the county town of Northampton, as wel ...
in England. At the time of the
2001 census, the parish's population was 144 people, falling marginally to 143 at the 2011 census.
The villages name means 'Cott's/Codd's brook'.
Location
The village is around 1 mile north of
Creaton village off the
A5199 road which runs between
Northampton
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
and
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
. Cottesbrooke can be reached by taking the road signposted to the east towards
Cottesbrooke Hall in
Creaton.
Cottesbroke Estate
The manor of ''Codesbroc'' is listed 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 ...
of 1086, and was held
in-chief from the king by ''Dodin'', who held seven other manors as a mesne tenant, all in Northamptonshire. It consisted of 1 villager, 1 slave, 1 ploughland and the annual value to lord was 2 shillings in 1086. It was afterwards held, in whole or in part, by the family of de Buttivillar / Butvilleyne / Butvillain / Butwillam / Bontvillain. Part of the manor of Cottesbrooke, namely an estate called "Kalender" or "Kayland", was given to
Sulby Abbey by William de Buttivillar, soon after the foundation of that abbey in 1155. It became the site of a monastic grange or cell, situated in the N.W. corner of the parish of Cottesbrooke, of Premonstratensian Canons, founded soon after 1155 and probably abandoned by 1291. Juliana Butvilleyne, the daughter and co-heiress of Sir Robert Butvilleyne of Cottesbrooke, married Robert Duke of Brompton in Suffolk, whose eventual heir was the Kempe family of Gissing in Norfolk (
Kempe baronets), who quartered the arms of Butvilleyne (''Argent, three crescents gules'')
The estate with
Cottesbrooke Hall, built 1702, was bought by the Langham baronets, a family of
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
turkey merchants, in 1637, previously belonging to the Saunders family. The estate was sold in 1911 to R. B. Brassey.
Parks and Gardens – Cottesbrooke Hall's History
In 1937 Cottesbrooke Hall was bought by its current owners, the MacDonald-Buchanan family, who in 1937-8 employed Lord Gerald Wellesley (later the 7th Duke of Wellington) to make alterations to the Hall, including changing the entrance front to the other side of the house.
All Saints Church
A long, cruciform church of '' ca''1300, although the north transept has been demolished. Much restoration has been carried out on the building, most recently in 1959–60 by John Seely, Lord Mottistone. The large geometric windows cannot be relied upon and may have once been foliated. The south doorway and porch is in a good state, as is the West tower.
The tower has two-light Y-traced bell-openings supported by circular mullions, well preserved shafting on the interior windows with capitals, both carved and plain, and also a number of small exterior head-stops. It contains a ring of eight bells, comprising six bells cast by Henry Bagley II of Chacombe
Chacombe (sometimes Chalcombe in the past) is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, about north-east of Banbury. It is bounded to the west by the River Cherwell, to the north by a tributary and ...
in 1702, with the heaviest bell (tenor) weighing and two lighter bells cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain.
The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...
in 1995.
The two east windows, glazed with coloured panes, are believed to be Georgian in origin, being referred to as 'recent' additions in documents dating from 1849. The nave roof has a ceiling, the painted imitation-plasterwork in the covings being of interest, believed to be 18th century work. During the last restoration, the plaster ceilings in the chancel and the remaining south transept were removed, exposing roof timbers from the 15th century.
There is a reredos
A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images.
The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...
and communion table by ''Lord Mottistone'' in the Wrenian style. These are placed halfway along the chancel so that a vestry is formed behind. A wooden font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design.
For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...
and cover dates from the 18th century and is kept at Cottesbrooke Hall and may be viewed by appointment. The church has one of few examples of a three-tier Georgian pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...
in the county and country, and is fitted with fine 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 ch ...
. There is a staircase with baluster
A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...
s leading to the Squire
In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Boys served a knight as an attendant, doing simple but important tasks such as saddling a horse or caring for the knight's weapons and armour.
Terminology
''Squire'' ...
's pew in the south transept of similar date. There is a small 'squint', with delicately carved hood mould
In architecture, a hood mould, hood, label mould (from Latin , lip), drip mould or dripstone is an external moulded projection from a wall over an opening to throw off rainwater, historically often in form of a '' pediment''. This moulding can be ...
ing, in the junction between the chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
and the south transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
. The church plate, consisting of a Cup and Paten from 1635 and also two Flagons and a Breadholder of 1665, is held at Cottesbrooke Hall.
A number of large monuments include John Rede, d.1604 in the south chapel is of alabaster
Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...
stone with a recumbent effigy in marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
on a partially rolled mat. A flat arch spans two columns, with a large cartouche
upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...
beneath. On the ground are the figures of 10 kneeling infants. Sir John Langham, (d.1671) and his wife's monument is also in the south chapel. It is free-standing in grey and white marble with good cartouches on the tomb-chest. There are two recumbent effigies with much carving. The monument cost £290 in 1676 and is by Thomas Cartwright Senior.
Other Langham family monuments are: Mrs. Mary Langham, d.1773, in the chancel with a classical urn by Moore; Sir James, d.1795, with a long inscription and standing female figure beside an urn; Lady Langham, d.1807, with a figure of Faith standing by Bacon Junior; Marianne, d.1809, the memorial made in 1810, a simple a draped urn, by Bacon Junior; Lady Langham, d.1810, with number of columns and a depiction of the rock of Golgotha
Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified.
Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...
; Sir William, d.1812, a free-standing monument in the nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
of Coade stone, by ''Bacon Junior''.
References
Other sources
* Northamptonshire Villages, the NCFWI
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Northamptonshire
West Northamptonshire District
Civil parishes in Northamptonshire