Church Farm 1913

Doomsday Harrington

I n1066, William Duke of Normandy, won the Battle of Hastings. He was crowned King William 1 of England and became known as William the Conqueror. Most of the lands of English noblemen were given to his followers, many of whom were created Norman knights. Many castles were built, such as Rockingham, some fifteen miles from Harrington, which is still lived in today.

Harrington is listed in the Doomsday Book which was created when William 1 ordered a survey to be made throughout the country to establish what each landowner held in land and livestock, and how much it was worth. The results were recorded in what became known as the Doomsday Book which was completed in 1086. This was not only a tax assessment but also a register of rightful possession, hence the name Doomsday, the Day of Reckoning.

Map of Harrington circa 1800 (click to enlarge)

Harrington was then known as ARINTONE. Arintone had land for ten plough with twelve villagers, thirteen smallholders and four freemen. There were four mills, which was above average for such a settlement. These would have been water mills, probably driven by teams of oxen to grind the grain. The tenants were compelled to have their corn ground and this was often a considerable source of revenue for the lord of the manor.

Oxen pulled the wooden ploughs to till the ground and swineherds tended pigs, which fed on acorns and beech mast in the surrounding woodland. The Normans were all trained in the use of bows and arrows. They were very skilful archers, often hunting deer and wild boar in the forest areas.

The smallholders held a cottage with a small piece of land allowed to them on condition that they should supply the lord of the manor with poultry, eggs and other provisions for his board or entertainment.

Falls & Fishponds

After the closure of the monasteries in 1540, the Saunders family became lords of the manor of Harrington. Part of the old Priory House was retained . In the 17th century the manor house was passed by marriage to the Stanhope and Tollemache families until it was pulled down in 1745 by Lionel, Earl of Dysart, who had other estates to maintain. No trace remains above ground- the stone may have been used in building houses, cottages and walls in the village. A stone pillar from one of the gateposts now stands in the middle of Desborough. Maybe, someday it will find its way back to Harrington .

The coat of arms of Edward Saunders of Harrington, who died in 1514 and was buried in Rothwell Church, bears three elephant heads white on black, and black on white. A coat of arms belongs to to an individual, not to a family. When the arms pass to a son there has to be some change in the design, as in the coat of arms on the memorials in the chancel of Harrington church.

The site of the old manor house is called ‘The Falls’ with the ‘Park’ ajoining. An avenue of elm trees lined a carriage drive to the village road but sadly, due to their great age and the onset of dutch elm disease, they were all felled in the 1960s.

The Falls has the remains of terraces, fishponds and a sunken garden, which may have had a fountain. This was laid out by Sir Lionel Tollemache who married Lady Elizabeth Stanhope and inherited the estate in 1675. It is now listed as an historical archaeological site.

The fishponds were constructed to supply fresh fish to the monastic house. Eel, bream,pike and perch were bred in a series ofponds of varying size fed by channels. Traces of ridge and furrow, remains of the medieval farming system can still be seen.

The Tollemache Arms, a traditional English country with thatched roof and low beams has probably served local inhabitants for over three centuries. It was originally called ‘The Red Cow’, but changed to its current name, after the Honourable Hugh Tollemache who was Rector of Harrington for 58 years and died in 1890 aged 89. A later Rector, Reverend Horace Atkins objected to his parishioners attending the pub on Sundays so he took it over, installed his coachman as landlord and closed it on Sundays. It is not known how many his congregation increased.

In the church we have an ancient wind instrument or stentophoricum, a speaking trumpet, one of only eight in the country. These horns were invented about 1670 by Sir Samuel Morland who was tutor to Samuel Pepys. They were probably intended for use at sea and later for calling people to church or vamping the accompaniment for church music.

RECTORS & SQUIRES

Visitors to Harrington often ask if any soldiers killed in the battle of Naseby in 1645 were buried in our churchyard. It is more likely that they were buried on the battlefield. Did Cromwell stable his horses in the church, as it is claimed by some places? Cromwell House, an old stone cottage stands in Thorpe Underwood opposite the footpath from Harrington churchyard.

It is known that in 1800 the church tower fell down and was rebuilt by Wilbraham, Earl of Dysart, at a cost of £429-8-6d, and that on completion the workmen were given a supper of roast beef and plum pudding, ale and a bowl of punch at The Old White Bear- cost of the supper exclusive of punch--£1-11-6d.

No trace remains of this old inn, William Wilson who was rector from 1801-1831 records in his diary in 1815 “This summer I finished pulling down the Old White Bear Public House near to the Coach Gate leading into the street. The old village road then ran from the top of the village behind Home Farm, along by the Rectory field to Appleton Farm, now just a narrow lane and right of way.

Why did such a small village have two public houses? A census of 1801 gives a population of 140 increasing to 191 in 1831 and 213 in 1881. In recent years the population of Harrington and Thorpe Underwood has been about 150.

In the early 1800s considerable alterations were made to the rectory. William Wilson mentions the building of a cellar, stable, coach house, cart shed, dairy, sheds for brewing, a cow house and pigsties. A number of village people were employed by the Rector who was also Squire of the village.

In 1817 the Earl of Dysart gave to the church a peal of six bells, which were cast in Whitechapel Bell Foundry. Sadly it is not safe for them to be rung at the present time.

In 1864 the Tollemache family sold the Harrington estate to a Mr. R C Naylor of Kelmarsh, the manor house having been pulled down in 1745. The catalogue of sale stated that iron ore of considerable richness had been discovered upon the property and made mineral sources of great value including limestone.. Several fields had limestone kilns.

In 1913 Desborough Cooperative Society saw great possibilities in the development of ironstone working when they purchased Harrington estate, becoming the last in the long line of squires to own the lands and properties of Harrington and Thorpe Underwood.

Tollemache Arms & Church Farm 1913

MEMORIES OF HARRINGTON

Having bought Thorpe Underwood Estate in 1911 for the princely sum of £9000, 1913 saw the complete Harrington Estate also purchased by the Desborough Co-operative Society. The red chestnut tree at the top of the village on the triangle of grass was planted to mark this important event. In 1927 the estate was broken up and properties were sold to private buyers. In this time of economic depression only 9 lots were sold out of 55 offered.

There were 10 feeding and dairy farms also various smallholdings and allotments. Horses were used for ploughing, haymaking harvesting and general farm work. Most men were skilful with a scythe and hedge cutting. In world War 11 the land girls replaced men serving in the forces.

Tree Planting Ceremony 1913

The village street was very quiet with only a few horse drawn vehicles or a early motor car. Most cottages had thatched or tinned roofs. Water had to be carried from the village pump. Children could play in the road with their hoop or whip and top. They all walked to school many from outlying farms. Most people worked within walking distances of their home.

The schoolroom was built in 1825 by the Earl of Dysart as a Sunday School, which taught not only the scriptures but also reading and writing. Later it became a day school and the main expenses were paid by the Rector Reverend H F Tollemache, with some children contributing a few coppers. When Mr, Naylor bought the estate he put the school under Government Inspection and appointed the Reverend H Atkins and churchwardens as managers. Small grants were made upon the results of childrens work as reported by HM.Inspector until 1902 when all schools came under the County Council.

Snowdrops, harebells and wild campions grew on the banks and grass verges. Cowslips, meadowsweet, pink and white campions grew in the meadows, bluebells and primroses grew in the woods. Many were gathered to make May Day garlands, posies for Mothering Sunday or to decorate the church for Easter.

The Roll of Honour in the church lists the names of twenty three men from Harrington who served in the Great War. A memorial bears the name of six men who died. The end of the war began a period of great change.

View of High Street 1913

Harrington’s War

A black Liberator B24 against the moon was a common sight in the summer of 1944 as the “Carpetbaggers” flew their secret missions from the USAF station 179 at Harrington to drop more than 4,500 tons of supplies to underground resistant fighters in occupied Europe and parachute 556 agents into Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Germany to carry out espionage activities against enemy forces. Over 3,000 missions were flown between April 1944 and April 1945 during which 208 aircrew were lost.

So secret were all the operations from the base that even people living near the airfield were unaware that it was the headquarters of Operation Carpetbagger, the 801st/492nd American Eighth Air Force Bomb Group, code-named ‘Carpetbagger’ after the fly-by-night tricksters of the Wild West. The whole unit was later awarded the Croix de Guerre for it’s daring exploits.

Originally built in 1943 by the Americans as a Class A airfield intended for heavy bomber use by B17 Flying Fortresses it was handed over the RAF for training Wellington bomber crews and then officially handed back to the American Commanding Officer of the ‘Carpetbaggers’ on May 1st 1944 to become a secret base for aiding resistant movements.

In the construction of the airfield, The Fox Inn, which stood almost opposite the Foxhall cottages near the turn from the B576 to Loddington and was a favourite meeting place for all the locals, was demolished in less than an hour.

Damage Claim Form for Hurricane Crash 1941
(Click to improve resolution)

After VE day operations ceased and the Carpetbaggers returned to America in July 1945. The airfield then fell into disuse until it was selected in the early 1960s to be one of the RAF’s top security Thor missile sites.. Deployment of Thor rockets began in December 1958 being mounted daily as practice for the four-minute warning until they were phased out in 1963. The buildings, runways, most of the roads and taxiways were then demolished and the airfield once again returned to agriculture.

The memorial dedicated to the memory of the 208 American air crewmen who did not survive the war is on the B576 just beyond the Foxhall turn on the site of one of the former aircraft dispersal points. It depicts a Liberator B24 taking off from the airfield in front of the Foxhall cottages. On Saturday 19th September 1987 Colonel Fish and about 50 ex-servicemen returned for the dedication ceremony, which included an Honour Colour Guard from REF Alconbury and a very moving address from a leader of the French Resistance.

The Harrington Carpetbagger and Northants Avaition Museums have fascinating exhibits and displays of life on the base during World War II.

Past to Present

The early English style church of St Peter and St Paul Harrington once dedicated to St Botolph stands where it has for centuries and is still used for regular worship, and for baptisms weddings and funerals,. Since 1966 it has also been the venue for the Harrington Concert Season during the late summer and autumn featuring well known choral and orchestral groups.

View of High Street 1913

It has been served by at least 38 Rectors from Henry de Tresqoz in 1218 to Tim Roper who retired in January 1999. The new Rector to the benefice(Arthingworth, with Harrington and Great Oxendon with East Farndon) is David Isiorho.

Harrington is still an attractive unspoiled village with a single main street and old stone walls. Some stone houses and cottages are over 200 years old and have been tastefully restored or modernised. There have been a number of barn conversions, some cottages have been made into single dwellings and most of the original council houses have been purchased privately.

As a conservation village since the mid 80’s new building is limited. The newest house was built on farm land in 1988 with its style and finish in keeping with the general character of other village buildings.

Farming at the century’s end would be hardly recognisable to earlier generations. Farms are highly mechanised employing fewer people. Gateways have often been widened to make way for the huge combines, tractors and farm machinery. Crops and animals travel greater distances to market. Fields grow different crops, the golden blaze of oilseed rape and the delicate rippling blue of flax, tall crops of maize- gone are the small areas of vegetables and orchards which fed families and livestock, to be replaced by extensive areas of crops with favourable subsidies. Some fields are barren due to the policy of ’set aside’, a percentage of acreage each year which cannot be cultivated to avoid the build up of grain mountains. At this time the farmers are facing great difficulties with low market prices for cattle, sheep, pigs and grain.

Thorpe Underwood House 1913

The early 1990s saw a major change in the landscape of the parish with the construction of the A14 as a national A1-M1 link road. The road leading to the B576 was partially straightened to facilitate a bridge over the A14 and there was some loss of farmland, trees and hedges. The new road provides good access to the major road network, but also considerable background noise which varies with wind direction, and more frequent low level haze.. It also seems necessary to dust more often!!

Although we have had no Post Office since 1980, we have a very efficient daily postal service from Northampton. Papers and milk are delivered daily, various traders visit the village, Kettering Borough Council is responsible for road cleaning, grass mowing and refuse collection. Our parish council attends to village affairs and we have a Neighbourhood Watch.