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| Moreton Pinkney | |
|---|---|
 Lodge and gateway to the manor house | |
.svg)  Moreton Pinkney Location withinNorthamptonshire | |
| Population | 371 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SP5749 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Daventry |
| Postcode district | NN11 |
| Dialling code | 01295 |
| Police | Northamptonshire |
| Fire | Northamptonshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Moreton Pinkney |
| |
Moreton Pinkney is a village andcivil parish inWest Northamptonshire, about 7.5 miles (12 km) north ofBrackley. The2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 371.[1]
The villages name means 'Moor farm/settlement'. It was held by the family of Pinchengi from 1199. In the 13th century, it was known as Geldenmortone, fromOld English 'gylden' meaning, 'golden', probably because of its especial wealth.[2]
In the reign ofEdward the Confessor one Leuric held themanor of Moreton "freely",[3]i.e. without afeudal overlord. He was dispossessed after theNorman Conquest of England and theDomesday Book of 1086 records that one Geoffrey held the manor of Gilo, brother ofAnsculf de Picquigny.[3] In the 12th century Henry de Pinkeny(sic) held the manor.[4] In both surveys the manor was assessed at one and a halfhides.[3][4]
The earliest evidence of Christianity in the parish is a fragment of anAnglo-Saxon stone cross in the churchyard of theChurch of England parish church ofSt Mary the Virgin.[5] The church itself was built in the 12th century,[6] which is the date of itsNorman north door and three-bay northernarcade.[5] Thepiscina and west tower date from about 1300.[5] St Mary's is aGrade II* listed building.[6]
TheAugustinianCanons Ashby Priory had appropriated "the spirituality" of St Mary's by 1254.[7]John Dalderby,Bishop of Lincoln, sanctioned this retrospectively in 1309.[7]
Thechancel was rebuilt in 1846 in aGothic Revival of a 13th-century style.[5]
St Mary's has aring of six bells. Hugh II Watts, who had foundries inBedford andLeicester,[8] cast the tenor bell in 1629.[9] TheWhitechapel Bell Foundry cast the other five bells in 1996.[9]
St Mary's parish is a member of theBenefice ofCulworth withSulgrave andThorpe Mandeville andChipping Warden withEdgcote and Moreton Pinkney.[10]
Moreton Pinkney village is a mixture of traditional houses in grey stone and brown ironstone.[5]
The parish school was built in 1822 and enlarged in 1876.[5] Moreton Pinkney Manor was built in 1859 and altered in 1870.[5] The entrance arch designed by the architectE.F. Law of Northampton, built in 1859 and bears the arms ofLord Sempill.[5] Please note: Historic England Listing, place the Manor earlier than 1859. It notes that irregular gable ends at rear of building existing C17 yet remodelled in 19C.
Moreton Pinkney once had threepublic houses: The Red Lion and The Dun Cow on Upper Green, and The Crown Inn on Brook Street.[citation needed]
The Red Lion was more recently named England's Rose, a reference toDiana, Princess of Wales, which suddenly closed in 2004 due to serious structural failure.[11] After being closed and remaining derelict for 12 years, the historicGrade II listed public house dating back to 1604 was fully and sympathetically restored as a pub and restaurant which was subsequently renamed The Four Candles by public vote.[1]
The Four Candles which is set within a protected conservation area is now the only pub left in the village and re-opened to the public on 26 May 2016 after a 10 month renovation.[12]
The Four Candles was repossessed from the leaseholders by administrators after the freeholder declared bankruptcy in the summer of 2017. The pub and restaurant freehold was subsequently purchased in February 2019 and is currently under minor renovation and retrofit before being re-opened to an as-yet, undisclosed date.
The parish had two railway stations. TheEast and West Junction Railway (later theStratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway) was built through the parish withMorton Pinkney railway station being opened in 18731⁄4-mile (0.4 km) north of the village on the parish boundary withCanons Ashby.
TheGreat Central Main Line fromNottingham Victoria toLondon Marylebone was built through the parish in the 1890s and opened in 1899. Its nearest station wasCulworth, which was actually in Moreton Pinkney parish about3⁄4-mile (1.2 km) southwest of the village on the road toCulworth. In 1900 theGreat Central Railway added a branch line from Culworth Junction in the parish toBanbury inOxfordshire.
British Railways closed Morton Pinkney station in 1952 and Culworth station in 1958. The 1963The Reshaping of British Railways report recommended that BR close the Great Central main line, which it did in 1966.
