# Faxton

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{{Short description|Abandoned village in Northamptonshire, England}}
{{further|List of lost settlements in Northamptonshire}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name        = Faxton
| civil_parish         = [Lamport](/source/Lamport%2C_Northamptonshire)
| country              = England
| region               = East Midlands
| coordinates          = {{coord|52.369249|N|0.849925|W|region:GB_type:city|format=dms|display=title}}
| os_grid_reference    =
| post_town            = 
| postcode_area        = 
| postcode_district    = 
| dial_code            = 
| unitary_england      = [West Northamptonshire](/source/West_Northamptonshire)
| lieutenancy_england  = [Northamptonshire](/source/Northamptonshire)
| hide_services        = 
| population           = 
| population_ref       = 
| area_total_km2       = 
| static_image         = The Remains of the Church of St. Denis. - geograph.org.uk - 427756.jpg
| static_image_caption = Remnant of the Church of St Denis, Faxton
| website              =  
}}
thumb|The last inhabited house on the remote hilltop
'''Faxton''' is an [abandoned village](/source/abandoned_village) in the [civil parish](/source/civil_parish) of [Lamport](/source/Lamport%2C_Northamptonshire), in the [West Northamptonshire](/source/West_Northamptonshire) district, in the ceremonial county of [Northamptonshire](/source/Northamptonshire) in England. The site is a [scheduled monument](/source/scheduled_monument).<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1003899|desc=Medieval village of Faxton}}</ref> Nearby are the villages of [Old](/source/Old%2C_Northamptonshire), Lamport and [Mawsley](/source/Mawsley) and the [Northampton and Lamport Railway](/source/Northampton_and_Lamport_Railway).

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

==History==
It is believed that the name ''Faxton'' comes from a Scandinavian personal name ''Fakr'' and the [Anglo-Saxon](/source/Old_English) ''tun'', meaning ''Fakr's Farm''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Faxton |url=https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/Northamptonshire/Faxton/53286a7eb47fc40bba000570-Faxton |website=Survey of English Place Names |publisher=University of Nottingham |access-date=3 April 2025}}</ref> This would indicate that Faxton grew from a [Viking](/source/Viking) or Norse settler's farmstead and that the name would date from approximately the 9th century.

The [Domesday Book](/source/Domesday_Book) of 1086 names Faxton as the Manor of ''Fextone'', noting that the population was of approximately 60 to 80 people. Archaeological evidence has been found of settlement at Faxton as early as around 1200.<ref>Brian Holden (2008). ''Faxton The Lost Village''. Solihull: Roseworld Productions Ltd. p. 84</ref> The village is documented as having consisted of a church, a [rectory](/source/rectory), a hall, an aviary, [almshouse](/source/almshouse) and a number of ponds. In 1730 Lady Danvers founded the parish's almshouses for four persons and, six years later, her sister Jane Kemsey bequeathed £100 to it.<ref>''A Topographical Dictionary of England'', (1848)</ref>

It has been said that in an attempt to escape the [plague in London](/source/Great_Plague_of_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,<ref>The National Archives: E179/254/11</ref> but 34 were recorded for the year ending 25 March 1674.<ref>The National Archives: E179/254/14</ref>

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.<ref>Brian Holden (2008). ''Faxton The Lost Village''. Solihull: Roseworld Productions Ltd. p. 116</ref>

The [Northamptonshire Record Office](/source/Northamptonshire_Record_Office) in [Wootton](/source/Wootton%2C_Northamptonshire) holds the [christening, marriage and burial registers](/source/Parish_register) for the parish.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/councilservices/community/archives/pages/collections-we-hold.aspx |title=Collections We Hold - Northamptonshire County Council |access-date=2013-07-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528193600/http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/councilservices/Community/archives/Pages/collections-we-hold.aspx |archive-date=2013-05-28 }}</ref>

==Church==
The [Church of England parish church](/source/Church_of_England_parish_church) was dedicated to [St Denis (or St Denys)](/source/Saint_Denis_of_Paris). The church stood in an isolated position and consisted of chancel and [clerestoried](/source/clerestorey) nave with a south aisle. Over the west gable was a [bell-cote](/source/bell-cote) containing two bells.<ref name="bho">{{Cite web |title=Parishes: Faxton {{!}} British History Online |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/northants/vol4/pp167-172 |access-date=2026-03-10 |website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref>

The church ceased to be used for public worship in 1939.<ref>Brian Holden (2008). ''Faxton The Lost Village''. Solihull: Roseworld Productions Ltd. pp. 49-59</ref>  In ca 1940 the church (interior and exterior) was painted by [John Piper](/source/John_Piper_(artist)) for the wartime [Recording Britain](/source/Recording_Britain) project. It was demolished in 1959.<ref>{{cite news |title=Destruction of Faxton Church |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005376/19591111/007/0001 |access-date=2 April 2025 |work=Peterborough Evening Telegraph |date=11 November 1959}}</ref>

Wall monuments were removed to the stables of Lamport rectory; in 1965, the [Victoria and Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum) in London accepted four monuments as a gift and another (the monument to Hester Raynsford, died 1763) was installed in the [Church of All Saints, Lamport](/source/Church_of_All_Saints%2C_Lamport). The silver cup and [paten](/source/paten) of 1670 are in All Saints', Lamport.<ref name="bho"/><ref name="Pevs">{{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |title=The Builings of England; Northamptonshire |date=1973 |publisher=Penguin |edition=2nd}}</ref> The [baptismal font](/source/baptismal_font) is now in All Saints' Church, [Kettering](/source/Kettering).<ref>{{cite web |title=Font |url=https://kettallsaintschurch.chessck.co.uk/Home/Font |website=All Saints Parish Church, Kettering |access-date=30 March 2025}}</ref> A treble bell ('St Denys') for the [Church of St Laurence, Stanwick](/source/Church_of_St_Laurence%2C_Stanwick), was cast using the [metal](/source/Bell_metal) of two bells from Faxton in 1957.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Church Bell Inventory of Northamptonshire and Rutland. |url=https://inventory.pdg.org.uk/S.html |access-date=31 March 2025 |quote= "ST. DENYS Waist: 1703 / HENRY PENN FOR FAXTON MADE US TWO / 1957 / [JOHN TAYLOR](/source/John_Taylor_%26_Co) FOR STANWICK MADE US ONE"}}</ref>

The Faxton Group is a [Church of England benefice](/source/Benefice) of nine parishes: [Arthingworth](/source/Arthingworth), [Draughton](/source/Draughton%2C_Northamptonshire), [East Farndon](/source/East_Farndon), [Great Oxendon](/source/Great_Oxendon), [Harrington](/source/Harrington%2C_Northamptonshire), Lamport with Faxton and [Hanging Houghton](/source/Hanging_Houghton), and [Maidwell](/source/Maidwell).<ref>{{cite web |title=Faxton Benefice |url=https://www.faxtongroup.org.uk/welcome.htm |access-date=31 March 2025}}</ref>

== Governance ==
Faxton was formerly a [chapelry](/source/chapelry) in the parish of Lamport,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/7930|title=History of Faxton, in Daventry and Northamptonshire|publisher=[A Vision of Britain through Time](/source/A_Vision_of_Britain_through_Time)|accessdate=10 May 2024}}</ref> in 1866 Faxton became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Lamport.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10274450|title=Relationships and changes Faxton CP/Ch through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=10 May 2024}}</ref> In 1931 the parish had a population of 31.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10274450/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Faxton CP/Ch through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=10 May 2024}}</ref>

==Augustine Nicolls (1559-1616)==
[[File:WLA vanda Nicolls monument.jpg|thumb|Monument to [Augustine Nicolls](/source/Augustine_Nicolls), now in the [Victoria and Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum)]]
Faxton's most famous resident was [Sir Augustine Nicolls](/source/Augustine_Nicolls), a judge of the [Court of Common Pleas](/source/Court_of_Common_Pleas_(England)) under [James I of England](/source/James_I_of_England). He was a [Knight of the Bath](/source/Knight_of_the_Bath), born in Faxton in 1559; he died in 1616. The manor of Faxton passed to his nephew [Sir Francis Nicolls, 1st Baronet](/source/Sir_Francis_Nicolls%2C_1st_Baronet).<ref>{{Cite DNB |wstitle= Nicolls, Augustine |volume= 41 |first= Gerald le Grys |last= Norgate |author-link= Gerald le Grys Norgate |pages= 48-49 |year=1900|short= 1}}</ref>
A memorial to Augustine Nicolls, in black marble and alabaster, was removed from the parish church before the church was demolished in 1959. The [Victoria and Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum) accepted the monument in 1965 and spent three years restoring it. The museum attributes the monument to the sculptor [Nicholas Stone](/source/Nicholas_Stone).<ref name="V&A">{{Cite web |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O77815/monument-to-sir-augustine-nicolls-relief-stone-nicholas-the/ |title=Monument to Sir Augustine Nicolls |access-date=2018-03-05}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://india.british-history.ac.uk/george-image.aspx?pubid=270&placeid=3991&compid=55130&img=25031NW1&sheetid=6109&mapx=4580&mapy=1987&mapzm=1 An 1887 map of Faxton] from British History Online.{{dead link|date=August 2013}}
*[http://strum.co.uk/palimps/village.htm When is a Village?] - an article on the history of Faxton.

Category:Former populated places in Northamptonshire
Category:Former civil parishes in Northamptonshire
Category:Scheduled monuments in Northamptonshire
Category:West Northamptonshire District

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Faxton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faxton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faxton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.