Trifter

It seems strangely mysterious when first seen that the impressive and substantial village church of Charwelton, between Banbury and Daventry in the Northamptonshire countryside, stands virtually on its own in a sea of grass almost a mile away from the village that it serves.

 However, the answer to the apparent mystery of the lonely village church is unfortunately an unromantic one.  Nevertheless, its story in terms of social history is an interesting one.

 Up until the end of the 15th century – around 1490 – two villages once stood in the area; a busy, thriving community known as Little Charwelton (later to be known as Church Charwelton), and the other known as Great Charwelton (later to be called Town Charwelton, and nowadays simply as Charwelton), the village that presently stands on the busy A361 Banbury to Daventry road.  From 1490 onwards the population of Little Charwelton suddenly began to reduce at a dramatic rate.  So much so that within a few short years it was completely and utterly deserted.

 The village up to this point was prosperous.  It contained a number of well-known and popular inns used frequently by coach travellers from Warwick and surrounding areas on their way to London.  In its time the main thoroughfare through the village was a busy one.

 So why did prosperous Little Charwelton become just another deserted medieval village?

 As is often the case in history, a number of suggestions have been put forward as to the reason for the demise of the village.  One school of thought maintains that it was destroyed by the Black Death, (1348-49), or the Great Plague as it was known.  Others state that the building of the medieval packhorse bridge, (which still stands at the roadside to this day), built in the 14th century on the Banbury – Daventry road, made Great Charwelton village made better business sense as traffic on this road increased, prompting the innkeepers and trades people of Little Charwelton to move villages. 

 But, another theory that probably has the most credibility is this one. 

 Just before the decline of Little Charwelton, sheep farming became extremely popular all over the Midlands, resulting in huge profits being made from trading in wool compared with lower profits from the sale of crops.  The landowner, who would have turned his land over to flocks of grazing sheep with only a couple of shepherds to employ, would simply have thrown the villagers, the majority of whom worked in the surrounding fields, out of their little cottages.  Every single building would then have been destroyed. 

The occupants had no rights whatsoever under English law, and would simply have been left to fend for themselves as best they could.  This theory, as harsh as it may sound, is borne out by the fact that this type of land clearance became the fate of hundreds of villages across England at that time, particularly within the Midlands area.

 Sadly there is little to show today that there was ever a village in front of Charwelton church, except for a few lumps and bumps in the ground.  But, by looking a little closer at the bumps, the area will give offer a tantalising glimpse of its past history. 

 Slightly raised areas of grass can clearly be seen where the bases of cottages and other buildings once stood.  Between some of these raised areas, narrow pathways that once ran between buildings are just visible as slight depressions in the ground.  But the most impressive aspect of the former village is the remains of that once-busy main road, running the complete length of the village, represented now as a deep, wide, grassy depression in the ground, worn into its present shape by centuries of use.

 Charwelton church itself dedicated as the Church of the Holy Trinity, and one of the finest in the area, has been a place of worship for at least 800 years, and records show that there was a religious building on the site soon after the Norman Conquest of 1066.  The church, with its sturdy tower and surrounded by its ancient churchyard exudes an air of strength and infinite longevity.

An interesting facet on the outside of the building, on a south-facing buttress, is the presence of a circular scratch or mass dial.  Much smaller than the common sundial it is marked with lines etched into the stonework radiating outwards from the centre showing the times of the various religious services during the day.  A tangible reminder from the days when all churches in England belonged to the Catholic faith.

 Inside the church, after passing through the 12th century doorway, are memorials to the landowners of the time such as Thomas Andrewes, a wealthy merchant who died in 1496, and of the Knightley family who were influential throughout Northamptonshire.  These landowners, or ‘Lords of the Manor’ as they were more commonly known, would have been responsible for providing money for the upkeep of the church building and for the paying of the priest’s salary.

There is also a list of rectors’ names covering the period from 1221 to 1961 on display in the church.

 The baptismal font, near to which hangs a brass portrait of the 1468 rector William Smarte, is richly decorated with carvings of roses and oak leaves and dates from the 15th century; the wooden, canopied pulpit is Jacobean; the altar rails are 17th century; the candelabra is Dutch and the lectern is made from Spanish chestnut.  The church also contains an old parish chest made from solid oak that once held all the parish records.

 This beautiful church is well-worth visiting, and it would be hard to find a more charming and peaceful place in the whole of the Northamptonshire countryside than – the village church that stands in the middle of nowhere.

 Other English Village Churches in this series include: Brixworth(Northamptonshire), Clifton Hampden(Oxfordshire), Cheriton (Hampshire), (more to follow).

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