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Napton on the Hill

Coordinates:52°14′42″N1°19′34″W/ 52.245°N 1.326°W/52.245; -1.326
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Napton on the Hill
TheOxford Canalviewed from Napton
Napton on the Hill is located in Warwickshire
Napton on the Hill
Napton on the Hill
Location withinWarwickshire
Population1,416 (2021 Census)
OS grid referenceSP4661
Civil parish
  • Napton on the Hill
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSOUTHAM
Postcode districtCV47
Dialling code01926
PoliceWarwickshire
FireWarwickshire
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
WebsiteNapton on the Hill
List of places
UK
England
Warwickshire
52°14′42″N1°19′34″W/ 52.245°N 1.326°W/52.245; -1.326

Napton on the Hillis a village andcivil parishin theStratford-on-Avon DistrictofWarwickshire,England. The population of the civil parish taken at the2021 censuswas 1,416.[1]

Manor

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ThetoponymNapton is derived from theOld Englishcnæppmeaning 'hilltop' andtūnmeaning 'settlement' in the Old English language. In 1086 theDomesday Bookrecorded the village asNeptone.[2]The hill on which the village is built is just over 500 feet (150 m) above sea level, commanding the remainder of the parish which for the most part is at a height of about 300 feet (91 m).[3]TheDomesday Bookrecords that in 1086Robert de Beaumont,Count of Meulanheld the principalmanorof Napton.[3]In 1107Henry Imade de BeaumontEarl of Leicesterand de Beaumont's manor at Napton became part of thehonourofLeicester Castle.[3]WhenRobert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicesterdied in 1204 leaving no male heir his estates were divided between his two sisters.[3]

Napton was included in the half that passed to his younger sister Margaret, and thereby to her husbandSaer de Quincywho in 1207 was madeEarl of Winchester.Napton was still part of the honour ofWinchester Castlein 1271[3]butRoger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchesterhad died in 1265 with no male heir, leaving his estates to his three daughters. In 1285 the husbands of two of these,Alexander Comyn, Earl of BuchanandWilliam de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby,jointly claimed view offrankpledgeover Napton.[3]There are further references to Napton'sfeudaloverlordship in the 14th century and in 1413.[3]

Parish church

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The oldest parts of theChurch of England parish churchof St Lawrence include thechancel,[4]which was built in the 12th century[3]and still has threeNormanwindows in its north wall.[4]The south doorway of thenaveis also from the end of the 12th century.[4]Prof.Louis Salzmanconsidered that the north and southtranseptswere also 12th century[3]but Prof.Nikolaus PevsnerandAlexandra Wedgwoodproposed a later date of about 1275, noting their triplets ofEarly English Gothiclancet windows.[5]The north and southaisleswere added in the 13th century[3]after the transepts.[5]The lower stages of the bell tower date from about 1300.[5]The east window of the south transept is a laterPerpendicular Gothicaddition.[5]

The south porch reuses a mixture ofEarly Englishand Perpendicular masonry and has puzzled historians.Louis Francis Salzmanthought it could have been built either at the end of the 16th century or in the 17th century[3]butNikolaus PevsnerandAlexandra Wedgwoodsuspected the involvement of J. Croft, the architect who restored the church in 1861.[5]Thevestrymay also have been added in the 17th century[3]and the upper stage of the tower was rebuilt early in the 18th century.[5]After this rebuilding a ring of five bells was cast in 1731 and hung in the tower.[6]

The tenor was recast in 1874 andJohn Taylor & Corehung all the bells in 1958.[6]The ring was increased to six bells by the addition of the treble cast byWhitechapel Bell Foundryin 1963.[6]St. Lawrence's is at the top of the hill, making it a local landmark and giving it commanding views over the surrounding countryside, especially from the top of the tower. St. Lawrence's parish is now part of a singleChurch of Englandbeneficewith the parishes ofLower ShuckburghandStockton,[7]part of the Bridges Group of parishes.[8]ActorEd Bishopis buried in thechurchyard.

Economic and social history

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Napton Windmill in 2022

In the 14th century Napton was granted amarketcharter byKing Edward IIand throughout theMiddle Agesit was one of the largest settlements in Warwickshire. However the market died out, and the population of the village today of around 1,000, is roughly the same as it was in the year 1400. Napton had a windmill by 1543.[3]The present stone-builttower millis a later structure, dating from the 18th or early 19th century that was derelict in 1966 but has since been restored. It is a Grade IIlisted building.[9]

Napton had separate schools for girls and boys until 1948 when they were merged to form the current St. LawrenceChurch of EnglandPrimary School,[10]which moved to its current premises in 1997.[11]

Canals

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The first section of theOxford CanalfromHawkesbury Junctionwas completed in 1771[12]and it reached Napton in 1774.[13]This made Napton the head of navigation for coal supplies to be forwarded by road toBanbury,Bicester,WoodstockandOxford[13]until 1777, when the canal reachedFenny Comptonwhich then took over as the trans-shipment point.[14]The Oxford Canal's chief engineer, Samuel Simcock, designed the canal to be acontour canalas much as possible, so he routed it around three sides of Napton Hill to minimise the number oflocksneeded. Even so, to climb from NaptonWharfto thesummit poundat Marston Doles required eight locks around the hill (nos. 8–15) and another at Marston Doles (no. 16), that between them raise boats by a total of 52 feet (16 m).[15]

The 11 miles (18 km) longsummit poundbetween Marston Doles andClaydonsuffered from a shortage of water so Parliament passed an Act in 1786 authorising the company to use any water supply within 1,000 yards (910 m) of the canal. Just over 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Napton it sank a well that fed the summit poundviaa 900 yards (820 m) feeder arm westwards to the canal between locks 11 and 12 and then a 1 mile (1.6 km) channel beside the canal from there to just above Marston Doles lock.[16]An engine house with a steam engine and pump were built at the well-head (grid referenceSP 4655 5910) and the well seems to have begun operation in 1793.[17]The boiler needed replacement as early as 1794 and an accident with the engine killed a workman in 1796.[17]

In 1800 theWarwick and Napton Canal(W&N) was completed, joining the Oxford Canal at Napton Junction.[18]To reach the same level as the Oxford Canal the W&N ascended three locks at Calcutt just north of Napton parish. With each passage of anarrowboatthrough Calcutt Lock the Oxford Canal lost a certain amount of water so the W&N agreed to pay the Oxford2 shillings (2/-)(10 new pence) for each such passage.[18]In 1805 theGrand Junction Canalwas completed,[19]joining the Oxford Canal atBraunston4.5 miles (7.2 km) east of Napton and completing the direct canal route betweenBirminghamandLondon.Between 1808 and 1811 the W&N built a reservoir atAshby St Ledgers7 miles (11 km) from Napton to feed both the Oxford and the W&Nviathe Grand Junction Canal.[20]This enabled the Oxford to cease regular pumping at Napton and stop charging the W&N two shillings for each boat through Calcutt Locks.[21]

A century later, in autumn 1911, the canals again suffered a water shortage so the Oxford Canal brought its well at Napton back into use.[22]The old pumping engine had long been out of action so the company hired two Oxford Steam Plough Companysteam ploughingengines to work the pump.[22]In 1974 there was another water shortage andBritish Waterwaysresorted to back-pumping water up Napton Locks.[23]In 1928 theGrand Junction Canaltook over the W&N and Warwick and Birmingham Canals to form theGrand Union Canal.[24]The Grand Union wanted to widen its route to enable it to takebarges12.5 feet (3.8 m) wide, so in 1931 anAct of Parliamentgave the Grand Union special powers over the Oxford Canal to widen the section between Braunston and Napton Junctions.[24]Between 1932 and 1947 it widened bridges between Braunston and Napton and increased the depth of the canal to 5.5 feet (1.7 m).[24]The canals are now primarily a leisure facility and Napton Junction has amarinathat offers moorings and narrowboats for hire.

Napton Festival

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On 16 September 2006 the first Napton Festival was held at Holt Farm on Holt Road. The headline act was thehard rockbandGirlschool.The festival was repeated in the same place in 2007, with two stages and withThe Sweetandthe Holliesas its main acts. In 2008 the main acts wereBad Companyon the main stage andAynsley Listerin the marquee. The 2008 festival extended to the Friday night with Jilted Generation performing in the marquee. Smaller events were held in Napton village in 2009 and 2010, both headlined by Whole Lotta DC. In 2011 the festival was held in a new site on the edge of Napton village. It was a two-day event with bands includingthe Rippson the Friday night andthe Bluetonesand the Total Stone Roses headlining the Saturday night.

Notable people

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TheBBC's Rural Affairs Correspondent and Director ofChecked Shirt TV Limited,Thomas John Gillespie "Tom" Heap,the son of theForeign and Commonwealth Office'sJohn Arnfield Heap,[25]lives in the village.[26]The American actorEd Bishop(1932–2005) is buried in the parish churchyard, having lived in the village for several years.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^"Napton on the Hill Parish in West Midlands".City Population.Retrieved30 January2024.
  2. ^"History of Napton – Napton Parish Council".
  3. ^abcdefghijklmSalzman 1951,pp. 181–187
  4. ^abcPevsner & Wedgwood 1966,p. 358
  5. ^abcdefPevsner & Wedgwood 1966,p. 359
  6. ^abcChester, Mike."Napton on the Hill St Lawrence".Church Bells of Warwickshire.Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2011.
  7. ^Napton on the Hill – St. Lawrence, Napton on the Hill
  8. ^The Bridges Group
  9. ^Historic England."Napton Windmill (1185610)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved24 April2022.
  10. ^"St Lawrence CE Primary School with Little Lawrences".Archived fromthe originalon 19 December 2009.Retrieved26 November2009.
  11. ^"A brief History of Napton on the Hill, Part 2".Napton on the Hill.
  12. ^Compton 1976,p. 19.
  13. ^abCompton 1976,p. 20
  14. ^Compton 1976,p. 22.
  15. ^British Waterways Board 1965,p. 10.
  16. ^Compton 1976,p. 48.
  17. ^abCompton 1976,p. 49
  18. ^abCompton 1976,p. 84
  19. ^Compton 1976,p. 79.
  20. ^Compton 1976,p. 91.
  21. ^Compton 1976,p. 92.
  22. ^abCompton 1976,p. 137
  23. ^Compton 1976,pp. 153–154.
  24. ^abcCompton 1976,p. 140
  25. ^"Obituaries: John Heap".The Daily Telegraph.London. 18 March 2006.Retrieved20 August2014.
  26. ^"Checked Shirt TV Limited".OpenCompany.co.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 22 August 2014.Retrieved20 August2014.

Sources

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toNapton on the Hill.
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