Stanford-on-Avon 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 Stanford 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. It lies next to the River Avon, which here forms the county boundary between Northamptonshire and

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 ...

. On the Leicestershire side of the river is Stanford Hall, a historic house. Stanford Reservoir is one mile north of the village. The population is included in the

of Clay Coton. The hamlet's name means 'Stone ford' situated on the River Avon. In a field just north-east of the village there is a stone monument to

Percy Pilcher Percy Sinclair Pilcher (16 January 1867 – 2 October 1899) was a British inventor and pioneer aviator who was his country's foremost experimenter in unpowered flight near the end of the nineteenth century. After corresponding with Otto Lili ...

, a 19th century aviation pioneer who died in a glider accident at the location of the monument in 1899. The village was formerly served by Yelvertoft and Stanford Park railway station on the former Rugby and Stamford Railway which closed in 1966. The station is now a private house. Stanford-on-Avon is now the only populated settlement within the civil parish of Stanford. The parish contains the remains of two

deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the conve ...

s of ''Downtown'' and ''Stanford''.

Church

The most notable building in the village is the church of St Nicholas, which dates from the

14th century The 14th century lasted from 1 January 1301 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCCI) to 31 December 1400 (MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and natural disasters in both Euro ...

, and is

grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. It contains the oldest metal

organ pipe An organ pipe is a sound-producing element of the pipe organ that resonator, resonates at a specific Pitch (music), pitch when pressurized air (commonly referred to as ''wind'') is driven through it. Each pipe is tuned to a note of the musical ...

s surviving in Britain. The upper part of the organ-case appears to be related to the Dallam organ at

Tewkesbury Abbey The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury, commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey, is located in the town of Tewkesbury in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Conside ...

, and therefore the pipes probably date from the 1630s (i.e. before the Cromwell era when many organs were destroyed).

References

External links

*
Cyclists' Special: Cyclists' Touring Club film of touring group passing St. Nicholas Church, Sunday 8 May 1955
Villages in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District {{Northamptonshire-geo-stub