Wappenham Explained

Country:England
Official Name:Wappenham
Coordinates:52.1043°N -1.0889°W
Population:294
Population Ref:(2011 Census)
Unitary England:West Northamptonshire
Lieutenancy England:Northamptonshire
Region:East Midlands
Constituency Westminster:South Northamptonshire
Post Town:Towcester
Postcode District:NN12
Postcode Area:NN
Dial Code:01327
Os Grid Reference:SP6245
London Distance:70miles
Static Image:Wappenham Village.jpg
Static Image Width:250px
Static Image Caption:View Towards Helmdon, Wappenham

Wappenham is a linear village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is 5miles south-west of Towcester, north of Syresham and north-west of Silverstone and forms part of West Northamptonshire. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 266 people,[1] increasing to 294 at the 2011 Census.[2]

The village's name means 'homestead/village of Waeppa' or 'hemmed-in land of Waeppa'.[3]

Buildings

Wappenham has some of the earliest architectural works by Sir George Gilbert Scott.[4] The red-brick vicarage, east of the church, built in 1833 as a home for his father Reverend Thomas Scott who was vicar of Wappenham at the time, was Gilbert Scott's first work, built while he was still an assistant architect. Pevsner describes it as "...only remarkable for being Sir George Gilbert Scott's first building".[4] The village also contains four other houses designed by Gilbert Scott, and on the village green there is a still-functional red K6 telephone box designed by Gilbert Scott's grandson Giles Gilbert Scott.[5]

The Manor House Wappenham west of the church is dated 1704.[4]

The church is 13th century and dedicated to St Mary. There are several monuments located there to various individuals, including Thomas Lovett of Astwell Castle (d.1492), Thomas Lovett III (d.1542), Constance Butler (d.1499), and Sir Thomas Billing (d.1481), Chief Justice, of Biddlesden Abbey, Buckinghamshire.[4]

Wappenham had its own railway station until 1951, on the former Towcester/Banbury line between Helmdon and Greens Norton Junction. The last train on the line ran on 12 July 1953.[6]

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=797389&c=wappenham&d=16&e=15&g=473938&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1259188287780&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 Office for National Statistics: Wappenham CP: Parish headcounts
  2. Web site: Civil Parish population 2011. 11 July 2016. Office for National Statistics. Neighbourhood Statistics.
  3. Web site: Key to English Place-names.
  4. Book: Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision). The Buildings of England  - Northamptonshire. 1961 . Yale University Press . London and New Haven . 978-0-300-09632-3 . 306–7.
  5. Book: Cole, David . The Work of Gilbert Scott . 1980 . 441–2 . Architectural Press . London . 0-85139-723-9.
  6. http://www.smjr.info The Unofficial SMJ Society