Faxton

Further information: List of lost settlements in Northamptonshire

Faxton
Faxton is located in Northamptonshire
Faxton
Faxton
Location within Northamptonshire
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
PoliceNorthamptonshire
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List of places
UK
England
Northamptonshire
52°22′09″N 0°51′00″W / 52.369249°N 0.849925°W / 52.369249; -0.849925

Faxton is an abandoned village in the civil parish of Lamport, in the West Northamptonshire district, in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire in England. Nearby are the villages of Old, Lamport and Mawsley and the Northampton & Lamport Railway.

It is believed that the name Faxton comes from the Scandinavian Fakr and the Anglo-Saxon tun, meaning Fakr's Farm. This would indicate that Faxton grew from a Viking or Norse settler's farmstead and therefore would date from approximately the 9th century

The Domesday Book of 1086 names Faxton as the Manor of Fextone, noting that the population was of approximately 60 to 80 people. The village is documented as having consisted of a church, a rectory, a hall, an aviary, almshouses and a number of ponds. Lady Danvers founded the parish's almshouses for four persons and, six years later, Jane Kemsey bequeathed £100 to it.[1]

Archaeological evidence has been found of settlement at Faxton as early as around 1200.[2]

It has been said that in an attempt to escape the plague in London in 1665, a family relocated to Faxton with their servants, one of whom carried the fatal disease which spread and almost wiped out the village. However, this tale is disproved by comparing the number of householders recorded in the hearth tax lists for Faxton in years before and after that date. 30 householders were listed in 1662,[3] but 34 were recorded for the year ending 25 March 1674.[4]

Former residents have recalled that Faxton could only be reached by horse-drawn vehicles, as none of the roads leading to it were made up to accommodate motor vehicles; they considered that to be a major factor in the decline of the village.[5]

The parish church of St Denis suffered extensive vandalism during the early 20th century. It ceased to be used for public worship in 1939 and was demolished in 1958.[6]

There is now just one house standing on this remote hilltop location, overlooking the rolling farmland.

The Northamptonshire Record Office in Wootton holds the christening, marriage and burial registers for the parish.[7]

  1. ^ A Topographical Dictionary of England, (1848)
  2. ^ Brian Holden (2008). Faxton The Lost Village. Solihull: Roseworld Productions Ltd. p. 84
  3. ^ The National Archives: E179/254/11
  4. ^ The National Archives: E179/254/14
  5. ^ Brian Holden (2008). Faxton The Lost Village. Solihull: Roseworld Productions Ltd. p. 116
  6. ^ Brian Holden (2008). Faxton The Lost Village. Solihull: Roseworld Productions Ltd. pp. 49-59
  7. ^ "Collections We Hold - Northamptonshire County Council". Archived from the original on 28 May 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.