Greens Norton is a village and civil parish 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 ...

, England, just over north-west of

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 ...

. At the 2011 census the parish, including Caswell and Duncote, had a population of 1,526, a slight decrease since the 2001 census.Office for National Statistics: Greens Norton CP: Parish headcounts
Retrieved 10 November 2009

History

Located on

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

, in medieval times the village was known as simply 'Norton' and was a royal domain of

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

and later

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 ...

. In the 14th century the whole village was sold to Sir Henry de Grene for a total of 20 shillings, hence the name Grene's Norton, which today was modernized to just Greens Norton.

Buildings

The Grade I listed

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

is dedicated to St Bartholomew and is

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

in origin.Pevsner & Cherry, 1973, pp 239–240 Its tall spire, last rebuilt in 1957, is a landmark for miles around. The architect H. R. Gough rebuilt 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 ...

arch in 1882. There are monuments and a brass to members of the de Grene or Greene family. The church is in the Diocese of Peterborough, and the benefice of Towcester with Caldecote and Easton Neston and Greens Norton and Bradden (The Tove Benefice). There are 27 listed buildings in the parish, ''Enter parish name to search'' all but the church at Grade II. Other notable buildings include Bengal Manor and nearby farms built about 1840 by the Grafton Estate at nearby Caswell and Field Burcote.

Amenities

Greens Norton has a pub, a post office, a village shop, a primary school, a playground and playing field, a butcher and a doctors' surgery. The village is the northern terminus of the Grafton Way footpath, and there is a local nature reserve, Greens Norton Pocket Park. The village holds an annual village show, affiliated to the RHS, has a

Neighbourhood Watch A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime a ...

scheme, and produces a free bi-monthly village newsletter.

Transport

Although there was never a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

at Greens Norton, there was once a junction here, where the lines of the Stratford and Midland Junction Railway from Towcester to Stratford, and Towcester to

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

diverged. In 1910 however, the physical connection was removed, leaving two separate single lines running side by side from here into Towcester.

References

External links

Parish Council

A History of Greens Norton
archived in 2011
Greens Norton, Northamptonshire
at A Vision of Britain {{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District Civil parishes in Northamptonshire