Lilbourne 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 ...

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

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

which runs east of the village, and the

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 ...

, west of the village which marks the boundary with

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, slightly to the north is the River Avon which marks the boundary with

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

(the three counties meeting at

Dow Bridge Dow Bridge is a location in the English Midlands where the A5 road (Great Britain), A5 road (the former Roman road, Roman Watling Street) crosses the River Avon (Warwickshire), River Avon. It is the point where the three counties of Warwickshir ...

). At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 254 people, increasing to 273 at the 2011 Census, and further to 305 at the 2021 census.

History

The villages name means 'Lilla's stream'. Alternatively, the first element might be a stream-name, Lille. Just outside Lilbourne is the River Avon and the remains of a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...

castle. To the west of the castle is the local church, All Saints, which is Grade I listed building dating from the 12th century. A, smaller, motte and bailey castle lies 0.9 km to the north west of the village, at Lilbourne Gorse. No. 73 Squadron RAF was stationed at nearby RAF Lilbourne during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Lilbourne once had a

railway station 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 ...

on the former

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

line from

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the United Kingdom census, 2021, 2021 census. It is the ad ...

which closed in 1966 – one of hundreds of rural stations and lines which were closed by the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

. The station was situated away from the main part of the village, in fact across the River Avon county border, just within the parish of

Catthorpe Catthorpe is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is located beside the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon and close to the A5 road (Great Britain) ...

, Leicestershire.

Amenities

Greenhaven Woodland Burial Ground, the first privately owned natural burial ground in the UK, is in Lilbourne. As with most villages it has its own park which is part of a large Village Hall that is used for Fetes, jumble sales and general meetings as well as private hire events.

References

Villages in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District Civil parishes in Northamptonshire {{Northamptonshire-geo-stub