# Castlethorpe > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Castlethorpe > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Castlethorpe.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlethorpe > Source revision: 1346213571 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Castlethorpe** is a village and [civil parish](/source/Civil_parishes_in_England) with a population of about 1,000 in the [unitary authority area](/source/Unitary_authorities_in_England) of the [City of Milton Keynes](/source/City_of_Milton_Keynes), [Buckinghamshire](/source/Buckinghamshire), England.[1] It is about 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of [Stony Stratford](/source/Stony_Stratford), 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of [Newport Pagnell](/source/Newport_Pagnell) and 7 miles (11 km) north of [Central Milton Keynes](/source/Central_Milton_Keynes). It is separated from the county of [Northamptonshire](/source/Northamptonshire) by the [River Tove](/source/River_Tove). ## History The village is relatively more recent than those around it, and it started out in life as a castle belonging to the [lord of the manor](/source/Lord_of_the_manor) of nearby [Hanslope](/source/Hanslope).[2] A settlement of [servants](/source/Servant_(domestic)) and manual workers grew up around the castle and this became the village of Castlethorpe (*thorpe* is an [Old Norse](/source/Old_Norse) language (particularly Danish) word for *homestead*, and it is not unreasonable to assume that there may well have been a Danish settlement nearby as the area was, if not part of, certainly close to, the [Danelaw](/source/Danelaw)). The castle was damaged in 1215 in a feud between [Foulkes de Brent](/source/Foulkes_de_Brent) – who had been sent by [King John](/source/John_of_England) – and William Mauduit, the castle's owner.[2] Mauduit was reputedly [in rebellion against the King](/source/First_Barons'_War). Although Mauduit returned to claim his seat after the King's death, the castle was demolished shortly afterward.[2] All that is left today are the grassy mounds of the former [Motte-and-Bailey castle](/source/Motte_and_bailey). Multi-dwelling fires in the village have been reported in local media, notably those of 1899 and especially 1905 (when 13 cottages were destroyed, leaving 36 people homeless).[3] ### Listed buildings and structures The parish has one [scheduled ancient monument](/source/Scheduled_ancient_monument) (Castlethorpe Castle),[4] one grade I [listed building](/source/Listed_building) (the Church of St Simon and St Jude),[5] and twenty grade II.[6] ## Ecclesiastic parish [Church of St Simon and St Jude](/source/Church_of_St_Simon_and_St_Jude,_Castlethorpe), the [parish church](/source/Parish_church), is dedicated to [St Simon](/source/Simon_the_Canaanite) and [St Jude](/source/St_Jude), and possibly dates back to [Anglo-Saxon](/source/Anglo-Saxons) times: although no evidence of a pre-Norman building survives, its existence has been conjectured from the structure of the north [arcade](/source/Arcade_(architecture)).[2] In 1350, the [nave](/source/Nave) was widened and the [chancel](/source/Chancel) rebuilt.[2] The church at Castlethorpe was originally superior to that of Hanslope but [Bishop Grosteste](/source/Robert_Grosseteste) changed the precedence in about 1250.[2] Castlethorpe has grown up around the church and some traditional old stone [cottages](/source/Cottage) at the centre of the village which is designated a [conservation area](/source/Conservation_area). ## Rail and canal The [West Coast Main Line](/source/West_Coast_Main_Line) runs alongside the west side of Castlethorpe, and the village had its [own railway station](/source/Castlethorpe_railway_station) until September 1964 when, to the outrage of the village, it was closed down.[7] The [Grand Union Canal](/source/Grand_Union_Canal) also runs by on the outskirts of the village, and it is a short walk along the towpath to the neighbouring village of [Cosgrove](/source/Cosgrove,_Northamptonshire) in Northamptonshire. ## References 1. [Parishes in Milton Keynes](http://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/parishes/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=17026) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090608003948/http://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/parishes/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=17026) June 8, 2009 at the Wayback Machine - Milton Keynes Council. 1. ['Parishes : Hanslope with Castle Thorpe'](https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp348-362), [Victoria History of the Counties of England](/source/Victoria_History_of_the_Counties_of_England), A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 4 (1927), pp. 348-362. 1. ["Castlethorpe Fires"](https://www.mkheritage.org.uk/cv/docs/Fire1905/fire1905.html). *Milton Keynes Heritage Association* 1. ["Search Results for 'Castlethorpe, Milton Keynes'"](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/results/?searchType=NHLE+Simple&search=Castlethorpe%2C+Milton+Keynes&page=2). Historic England. Retrieved 22 November 2022. 1. [Castlethorpe Station Closure - 6 September 1964](http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/cv/docs/railway/closure.html) - Milton Keynes Heritage Association ## External links - [Parish Website for the village of Castlethorpe in Milton Keynes](http://www.castlethorpevillage.org.uk/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160923181914/http://www.castlethorpevillage.org.uk/) 23 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine - [Castlethorpe page at UK & Ireland Genealogy](https://web.archive.org/web/20050829020434/http://met.open.ac.uk/genuki/big/eng/BKM/Castlethorpe/Index.html) - [Castlethorpe Village Historical Records & Photographs](http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/cv/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160927191247/http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/cv/) 27 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Castlethorpe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlethorpe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlethorpe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.