Pipewell is a village in the

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 ...

of Rushton, in the

North Northamptonshire North 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. The council is based in Corby, the district's la ...

district, in the ceremonial county of

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 ...

, England. It is a mile away from

Corby Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

. With 63 inhabitants, it is one of the smallest villages in Northamptonshire. A Community Governance Review concluded in February 2015 resulted in the ward of Pipewell being moved from civil parish of Wilbarston to Rushton. In the twelfth century

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

held his Midland Parliaments in Pipewell. Pipewell was the site of Pipewell Abbey, a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

, established in 1143 by William Butevilain as a daughter house of

Newminster Abbey Newminster Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Northumberland in the north of England. The site is protected by Grade II listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument status. Ranulph de Merlay, lord of Morpeth, and his wife, Juliana, daughter ...

. All of the settlement is built around three fields where this used to be, which contains the Harpers Brook, a tributary of 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 ...

, running through the centre. It was located within the old Rockingham Forest and some of its income came from sale of the timber and undergrowth. The abbey was suppressed as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in November 1538, despite the representations of local gentleman, especially Sir William Parr (later

Marquess of Northampton Marquess of Northampton is a title that has been created twice, firstly in the Peerage of England (1547), then secondly in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1812). The current holder of this title is Spencer Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton ...

). The site was subsequently granted to Parr. He intended to demolish the house, but before he could do so the property was looted by the locals. Demolition took place soon after and by 1720 no standing masonry was visible. Pipewell Hall, a Grade II mansion, was built in 1675 with some of the stone from the former abbey: the abbey remains are contained in its estate. West of the site, there is a mill pond and dam, together with a series of medieval quarries which have been worked into the twentieth century. Pipewell also holds Northamptonshire's smallest church building, known as the Abbey Church of St Mary which was built in 1881.

References

Villages in Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire {{Northamptonshire-geo-stub