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| Napton on the Hill | |
|---|---|
 TheOxford Canal viewed from Napton | |
  Napton on the Hill Location withinWarwickshire | |
| Population | 1,416 (2021 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SP4661 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SOUTHAM |
| Postcode district | CV47 |
| Dialling code | 01926 |
| Police | Warwickshire |
| Fire | Warwickshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Napton on the Hill |
| |
Napton on the Hill is a village andcivil parish in theStratford-on-Avon District ofWarwickshire,England. The population of the civil parish taken at the2021 census was 1,416.[1]
Thetoponym Napton is derived from theOld Englishcnæpp meaning 'hilltop' andtūn meaning 'settlement' in the Old English language. In 1086 theDomesday Book recorded the village asNeptone.[2] The hill on which the village is built is just over 500 feet (150 m) above sea level, commanding the remainder of the parish which for the most part is at a height of about 300 feet (91 m).[3] TheDomesday Book records that in 1086Robert de Beaumont,Count of Meulan held the principalmanor of Napton.[3] In 1107Henry I made de BeaumontEarl of Leicester and de Beaumont's manor at Napton became part of thehonour of Leicester Castle.[3] WhenRobert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester died in 1204 leaving no male heir his estates were divided between his two sisters.[3]
Napton was included in the half that passed to his younger sister Margaret, and thereby to her husbandSaer de Quincy who in 1207 was madeEarl of Winchester. Napton was still part of the honour ofWinchester Castle in 1271[3] butRoger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester had died in 1265 with no male heir, leaving his estates to his three daughters. In 1285 the husbands of two of these,Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan andWilliam de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby, jointly claimed view offrankpledge over Napton.[3] There are further references to Napton'sfeudal overlordship in the 14th century and in 1413.[3]
The oldest parts of theChurch of England parish church of St Lawrence include thechancel,[4] which was built in the 12th century[3] and still has threeNorman windows in its north wall.[4] The south doorway of thenave is also from the end of the 12th century.[4] Prof.Louis Salzman considered that the north and southtransepts were also 12th century[3] but Prof.Nikolaus Pevsner andAlexandra Wedgwood proposed a later date of about 1275, noting their triplets ofEarly English Gothiclancet windows.[5] The north and southaisles were added in the 13th century[3] after the transepts.[5] The lower stages of the bell tower date from about 1300.[5] The east window of the south transept is a laterPerpendicular Gothic addition.[5]
The south porch reuses a mixture ofEarly English and Perpendicular masonry and has puzzled historians.Louis Francis Salzman thought it could have been built either at the end of the 16th century or in the 17th century[3] butNikolaus Pevsner andAlexandra Wedgwood suspected the involvement of J. Croft, the architect who restored the church in 1861.[5] Thevestry may also have been added in the 17th century[3] and the upper stage of the tower was rebuilt early in the 18th century.[5] After this rebuilding a ring of five bells was cast in 1731 and hung in the tower.[6]
The tenor was recast in 1874 andJohn Taylor & Co rehung all the bells in 1958.[6] The ring was increased to six bells by the addition of the treble cast byWhitechapel Bell Foundry in 1963.[6] St. Lawrence's is at the top of the hill, making it a local landmark and giving it commanding views over the surrounding countryside, especially from the top of the tower. St. Lawrence's parish is now part of a singleChurch of Englandbenefice with the parishes ofLower Shuckburgh andStockton,[7] part of the Bridges Group of parishes.[8] ActorEd Bishop is buried in thechurchyard.
In the 14th century Napton was granted amarket charter byKing Edward II and throughout theMiddle Ages it was one of the largest settlements in Warwickshire. However the market died out, and the population of the village today of around 1,000, is roughly the same as it was in the year 1400. Napton had a windmill by 1543.[3] The present stone-builttower mill is a later structure, dating from the 18th or early 19th century that was derelict in 1966 but has since been restored. It is a Grade IIlisted building.[9]
Napton had separate schools for girls and boys until 1948 when they were merged to form the current St. LawrenceChurch of EnglandPrimary School,[10] which moved to its current premises in 1997.[11]
The first section of theOxford Canal fromHawkesbury Junction was completed in 1771[12] and it reached Napton in 1774.[13] This made Napton the head of navigation for coal supplies to be forwarded by road toBanbury,Bicester,Woodstock andOxford[13] until 1777, when the canal reachedFenny Compton which then took over as the trans-shipment point.[14] The Oxford Canal's chief engineer, Samuel Simcock, designed the canal to be acontour canal as much as possible, so he routed it around three sides of Napton Hill to minimise the number oflocks needed. Even so, to climb from NaptonWharf to thesummit pound at Marston Doles required eight locks around the hill (nos. 8–15) and another at Marston Doles (no. 16), that between them raise boats by a total of 52 feet (16 m).[15]
The 11 miles (18 km) longsummit pound between Marston Doles andClaydon suffered from a shortage of water so Parliament passed an Act in 1786 authorising the company to use any water supply within 1,000 yards (910 m) of the canal. Just over 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Napton it sank a well that fed the summit poundvia a 900 yards (820 m) feeder arm westwards to the canal between locks 11 and 12 and then a 1 mile (1.6 km) channel beside the canal from there to just above Marston Doles lock.[16] An engine house with a steam engine and pump were built at the well-head (grid referenceSP 4655 5910) and the well seems to have begun operation in 1793.[17] The boiler needed replacement as early as 1794 and an accident with the engine killed a workman in 1796.[17]
In 1800 theWarwick and Napton Canal (W&N) was completed, joining the Oxford Canal at Napton Junction.[18] To reach the same level as the Oxford Canal the W&N ascended three locks at Calcutt just north of Napton parish. With each passage of anarrowboat through Calcutt Lock the Oxford Canal lost a certain amount of water so the W&N agreed to pay the Oxford2 shillings (2/-) (10 new pence) for each such passage.[18] In 1805 theGrand Junction Canal was completed,[19] joining the Oxford Canal atBraunston 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east of Napton and completing the direct canal route betweenBirmingham andLondon. Between 1808 and 1811 the W&N built a reservoir atAshby St Ledgers 7 miles (11 km) from Napton to feed both the Oxford and the W&Nvia the Grand Junction Canal.[20] This enabled the Oxford to cease regular pumping at Napton and stop charging the W&N two shillings for each boat through Calcutt Locks.[21]
A century later, in autumn 1911, the canals again suffered a water shortage so the Oxford Canal brought its well at Napton back into use.[22] The old pumping engine had long been out of action so the company hired two Oxford Steam Plough Companysteam ploughing engines to work the pump.[22] In 1974 there was another water shortage andBritish Waterways resorted to back-pumping water up Napton Locks.[23] In 1928 theGrand Junction Canal took over the W&N and Warwick and Birmingham Canals to form theGrand Union Canal.[24] The Grand Union wanted to widen its route to enable it to takebarges 12.5 feet (3.8 m) wide, so in 1931 anAct of Parliament gave the Grand Union special powers over the Oxford Canal to widen the section between Braunston and Napton Junctions.[24] Between 1932 and 1947 it widened bridges between Braunston and Napton and increased the depth of the canal to 5.5 feet (1.7 m).[24] The canals are now primarily a leisure facility and Napton Junction has amarina that offers moorings and narrowboats for hire.
On 16 September 2006 the first Napton Festival was held at Holt Farm on Holt Road. The headline act was thehard rock bandGirlschool. The festival was repeated in the same place in 2007, with two stages and withThe Sweet andthe Hollies as its main acts. In 2008 the main acts wereBad Company on the main stage andAynsley Lister in the marquee. The 2008 festival extended to the Friday night with Jilted Generation performing in the marquee. Smaller events were held in Napton village in 2009 and 2010, both headlined by Whole Lotta DC. In 2011 the festival was held in a new site on the edge of Napton village. It was a two-day event with bands includingthe Ripps on the Friday night andthe Bluetones and the Total Stone Roses headlining the Saturday night.
TheBBC's Rural Affairs Correspondent and Director ofChecked Shirt TV Limited,Thomas John Gillespie "Tom" Heap, the son of theForeign and Commonwealth Office'sJohn Arnfield Heap,[25] lives in the village.[26] The American actorEd Bishop (1932–2005) is buried in the parish churchyard, having lived in the village for several years.[citation needed]
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