Farthingstone is a village 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. It is close to the major trunk routes of the M1 junction 16,

M40 motorway The M40 motorway links London, Oxford, and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately . The motorway is dual three lanes except for junction 1A to junction 3 (which is dual four lanes) a short section in-between the exit and entry hig ...

, and

A5 road A5 Road may refer to: ;Africa * A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan * A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Bulawayo ;Americas * Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada * County Route A5 (California) or Bowm ...

, at the head of a valley and is south of Daventry and south west of

Weedon Bec Weedon Bec, usually just Weedon, is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. It is close to the source of the River Nene. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Unite ...

Demographics

The population at the 2001 census was 179, increasing to 193 at the 2011 census. The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

church, dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, dates from the late 13th century and is now grade II* listed. The church is constructed of ironstone, which was quarried locally, and the tower was added in the 13th century being located at the west end of the church. The whole church renovated in the 1920s by the Agnew family, owners of '' Punch'' magazine, as a memorial to family members killed in World War I. Since 2006, the parish has formed part of the Lambfold

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

, together with the parishes of Blakesley,

Maidford Maidford is a civil and ecclesiastical parish in West Northamptonshire and the diocese of Peterborough situated about north-west of Towcester. The population at the 2011 census was 168. It was a centre of local Northamptonshire lace-making unti ...

Litchborough Litchborough is a historic village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 300 people,

and Adstone.

Early history

The villages name probably means, 'Farthegn's farm/settlement'. Alternatively, perhaps less likely is, 'farm/settlement of Farndon's people'. To the north-east of the village, south of Castle Dykes Farm, is evidence of a

univallate hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late European Bronze Age and Iron Age. Some were used in the post- Roman period. The fortif ...

and the buried remains of a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

barrow. This is a recorded national monument. To the north of Castle Dykes Farm is Castle Dykes, a Norman motte castle with three

baileys Baileys Irish Cream is an Irish cream liqueur made of cream, cocoa and Irish Whiskey emulsified together with vegetable oil. Baileys is made by Diageo at Nangor Road, in Dublin, Ireland and in Mallusk, Northern Ireland. It is the original Ir ...

. In 1712, workmen digging on the site of the castle found a "room with a vaulted stone roof, and another room beneath and rudely carved stones with human figures on them". Farthingstone was 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 ...

as Fordinestone. Other

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

spellings include Fardenston, Ferdingstone, Fardingestun and Fardyngton. The village was given to the Earl of Moreton by his half-brother,

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

. The land belonged to the Fawsley

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

Geography

The village, which is about above sea level, lies at the headwaters of two streams that run east into 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 ...

. Farthingstone is equidistant from both Daventry to the north west, and

Towcester Towcester ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative centre of the South Northamptonshire district. Towcester is on ...

to the south east. To the north of the village, towards the village of

Everdon Everdon is a village in West Northamptonshire in England, some south of Daventry. The population of the civil parish (including Little Everdon) at the 2011 census was 356. Nearby, The Stubbs is a wood belonging to the Woodland Trust, a UK co ...

, there is extensive woodland.

Recreation

There used to be an 18 hole golf course but this was sold and then closed pending redevelopment into a high end lifestyle retreat. Every summer, the Farthingstone Foot Fest takes place, which is a marathon and other shorter distance events, and aims to raise money for charity. The course takes walkers or runners over a number of stiles and through

kissing gate A kissing gate is a gate that allows people, but not livestock, to pass through. The normal construction is a half-round, rectangular, trapezoidal or V-shaped part-enclosure with the free end of a hinged gate trapped between its arms. When th ...

s in a figure of eight loop around the village.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District Civil parishes in Northamptonshire