Loddington, Northamptonshire Explained

Official Name:Loddington
Static Image Name:St Leonard's, Loddington, Northants - geograph.org.uk - 175276.jpg
Static Image Caption:St Leonard's parish church,
seen from the southwest
Coordinates:52.3985°N -0.8036°W
Label Position:left
Os Grid Reference:SP8178
Population:520
Population Ref:(2011 Census)
Civil Parish:Loddington
Unitary England:North Northamptonshire
Lieutenancy England:Northamptonshire
Region:East Midlands
Country:England
Constituency Westminster:Kettering
Post Town:Kettering
Postcode District:NN14
Postcode Area:NN
Dial Code:01536

Loddington is a village and civil parish about 3miles west of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England.

The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 477 people including the neighbouring parish of Orton.[1] The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 520 people.[2]

Manor

The Domesday Book of 1086 records the toponym as Lodintone, meaning the enclosure, estate or homestead of Luda's people. Later spellings include Ludinton in 1199 and Lodinton in 1220.

The manor of Loddington was held in turn by the De Baud, Kynnesman, Syers, and Allicock families before being acquired by Lord Overstone.

Loddington Hall is the manor house. It was built in about 1290–1300 for Robert de Baud, then in charge of Royal works at Geddington, who had been High Sheriff of Northamptonshire 1280–88. It was remodelled for the Syers family about 1615 and passed in 1660 to the Kynnesman family. A large north wing was added in 1893. It is a Grade II* listed building.

In the 1900s the house was used as a school and a training centre. It has since been converted into flats.[3]

Parish church

The oldest parts of the Church of England parish church of St Leonard are 13th-century and include the west tower, south aisle and chapel. The present chancel was built about 1300. The church has alterations and additions from the 14th century and 1578, including a clerestory for the nave. The building was restored in 1859 under the direction of the Gothic Revival architect Ewan Christian. It is a Grade II* listed building.

The west tower has a broach spire. The tower belfry has three bells, all cast in 1803 by Robert Taylor of Loughborough, Leicestershire.[4]

Ironstone

Loddington is situated on the ironstone beds that run through Northamptonshire, and these were worked commercially up until the early 1960s by the Loddington Iron Ore Company. A metre (3 ft 338 in) gauge tramway connected the ironstone pits to the nearby standard gauge line from Kettering to Cransley. In 1958, the tramway was converted to standard gauge and worked as a branch from Cransley to Loddington.[5]

Amenities

Loddington has a pub, The Hare.[6] This public house closed down in early 2024.

Bibliography

. Eilert Ekwall . 1936 . 1960 . Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names . 4th . Oxford . . 0198691033 . Loddington .

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Loddington CP: Parish headcounts . . . 11 December 2009.
  2. Web site: Area: Loddington (Parish): Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics . . . 6 July 2016.
  3. Web site: Loddington Hall Homeowners Association.
  4. Web site: Loddington S Leonard . Baldwin . John . 9 November 2016 . . . 6 July 2018.
  5. Industrial Railway Society . Industrial Railway Record . Ironstone Narrow Gauge . Sydney A. . Leleux . June 1976 . 50 . 37–46 .
  6. http://thehareatloddington.com/ The Hare at Loddington