Snorscombe is a ruined

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

south 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 c ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, whose rural location, now on private land, makes it extremely hard to access.

History

The hamlet was once a thriving community. The

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

residents would have worked for the local Lord under the

manorial system Manorialism, also known as the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes forti ...

and cultivated the surrounding land. The

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

at Snorscombe was held by a Philip Lovell at the time of

King John King John may refer to: Rulers * John, King of England (1166–1216) * John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237) * John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314) * John I of France (15–20 November 1316) * John II of France (1319–1364) * John I o ...

. By 1534 it had passed to the Knightley family. The

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 held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with ...

was a farmhouse by the early 18th century and all that was left of the village was that farm, a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the productio ...

and a cottage.

External links

Everdon Website
* {{coord, 52.20081, -1.12790, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SP597562), display=title Former populated places in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District Hamlets in Northamptonshire