Easton Maudit is a small 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 rural

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. It takes its name from the Maudit (or Mauduit) family who purchased the estate at what was then just Easton, in 1131. There was no residential landowner in the village until 1578 when the village was acquired by

Sir Christopher Yelverton Sir Christopher Yelverton (1536 – 31 October 1612) was an English judge and Speaker of the House of Commons. Ancestry Christopher Yelverton came from an ancient Norfolk family, tracing their descent back to Andrew Yelverton, who held conside ...

. It is about east of

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 ...

town centre. At the 2011 census the population remained less than 100 and is included in the civil parish of

Bozeat Bozeat is a village and civil parish in the postal district of Wellingborough, North Northamptonshire, England, about south of Wellingborough on the A509 road, near Wollaston. At the time of the 2011 census, Bozeat's population (including ...

. Thomas Percy was made the rector of the parish at the age of 24; he was a friend of

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

, who was a frequent visitor to the Rectory.

Church

The church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. The church floor was designed by Lord Alwyne Compton,

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...

, and includes the motto of the Marquesses of Northampton. Samuel Johnson,

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright, and hack writer. A prolific author of various literature, he is regarded among the most versatile writers of the Georgian e ...

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

and other members of the

Garrick Club The Garrick Club is a private members' club in London, founded in 1831 as a club for "actors and men of refinement to meet on equal terms". It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world. Its 1,500 members include many actors, writers, ...

, were friends of the then rector and as well as staying in the village worshipped in the church. The chief monument is to

, a

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, who composed the prayer which is still said daily in Parliament. Yelverton's son Henry was

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

. Outside the churchyard are the remains of a large oak tree - the shell of which is now artificially supported. The village and church feature in "The Hammer of God", the first episode of the 1974

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective. He is featured in 53 short stories by English author G. K. Chesterton, published between 1910 and 1936. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuition and ...

television series, starring

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this period ...

Manor house

The village once housed a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

. The house was purchased by the Compton family from

Castle Ashby Castle Ashby is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the parish (including Chadstone) was 111. Historically, the village was set u ...

and they had the house demolished. All that now remains is the plot of the house surrounded by

Lebanon Cedar ''Cedrus libani'', commonly known as cedar of Lebanon, Lebanon cedar, or Lebanese cedar (), is a species of large evergreen conifer in the genus ''Cedrus'', which belongs to the pine family and is native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediter ...

Notable resident

The actor

Derek Nimmo Derek Robert Nimmo (19 September 1930 – 24 February 1999) was an English character actor, producer and author. He is best remembered for his comedic upper class "silly ass" and clerical roles, including Revd Mervyn Noote in the BBC1 sitcom ...

lived in Easton Maudit and is buried in the village graveyard.

References

External links

Website for the excavation of the Romano-British villa at Easton Maudit

Other village pictures

File:Easton Maudit. Lane leading up to St Peter & St Paul's Church-geograph-4756010-by-Colin-Park.jpg File:EMTree.JPG, Remains of the Great Tree File:EMRectory.JPG, The Old Vicarage File:NimmoGrave.JPG, Derek Nimmo's grave File:EMPorch.JPG, The old porch to the church File:EastonFrom Grendon.jpg, The village seen from Grendon {{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire Civil parishes in Northamptonshire