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Easton Neston is situated in the southern part of Northamptonshire, England. Though the village of Easton Neston that was inhabited until around 1500 is now gone, the parish still exists and retains the name. At the 2011 UK census the population of the civil parish remained less than 100 and was included in the town of Towcester with which it has a border on the southwest. It is a parish now in the unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. From 1974 until April 2021 it was part of the South Northamptonshire District of Northamptonshire, England. [edit] HistoryThe villages name means 'Eadstan's farm/settlement' or 'Aethelstan's farm/settlement'. The rural civil parish has a population of about 70 and covers about 1,800 acres (730 ha) of mainly farmland and woods around the South Northamptonshire communities of Easton Neston House, and the hamlets of Hulcote and Showsley. The ecclesiastical parish of Easton Neston is much larger, with a population of approximately 1200. Easton Neston House was built for Sir William Fermor (later Lord Leominster ("Lem-ster")) in 1685-1695 and remodelled by Nicholas Hawksmoor in 1700-1702. It was built on the site of Easton Nestone village, the main Oxford to Northampton road being re-routed to the west. The grounds also have 18th century stables and a temple dated 1641. There are entrance lodges on the old Towcester Road northwest and southwest of the house of about 1822. There is a public footpath which runs from the northwest lodge east to Hulcote. The Parish Church of St Mary is on the south side of Easton Neston estate and in the Church of England's Diocese of Peterborough. Its origins are 13th century and it has box pews. There are several monuments to the Fermor-Hesketh family from the main house including Sir Richard Fermor (d.1552). [edit] IndustryThe parish was not always as agricultural as it now appears. Quarries for either iron ore or limestone existed in the 1870s in the vicinity of Showsley and Shutlanger. An ironworks was constructed at the junction which smelted the Hulcote ore between 1875 and 1882 when the works closed. The quarries at Hulcote operated with short breaks until 1920. The first Hulcote iron ore quarries were on the east side of the Northampton to Towcester road on both sides of the minor road to Showsley. A clay pit was dug close by on the west side of the main road and a brick works built next to it to make bricks from the clay. Sidings were installed on the railway branch to serve the works. The brickworks and claypit operated until about 1900. For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Easton Neston. [edit] Research Tips[edit] A Vision of Britain through TimeA Vision of Britain through Time describes parishes and former parishes from a gazetteer of 1871; provides an outline of the historic administration links for parishes. The OS map of 1900, the OS map of 1935, and the OS map of 1965 all show parish boundaries and settlements within parishes. These maps are all expandable to show individual parishes and are useful for inspecting changes occuring over the 20th century. [edit] Archive Centres
[edit] Northamptonshire Family History SocietyThe NFHS website describes the activities of the society. The Society is presently transcribing the deposited Marriage Registers for the period 1754 through 1837. These transcriptions may provide more details than can be found on other databases where subscriptions are charged. [edit] GENUKIThe main GENUKI page for Northamptonshire lists a number of topics for research. [edit] Victoria County History
[edit] Online DatabasesFindMyPast includes (list checked July 2018)
While Ancestry offers (list checked July 2018)
FamilySearch also has an extensive database online. It is free, but may not always provide the original images provided by the services one pays for. Categories: Northamptonshire, England | Easton Neston, Northamptonshire, England | Cleley Hundred, Northamptonshire, England | Potterspury Rural, Northamptonshire, England | Towcester Rural, Northamptonshire, England | South Northamptonshire District, Northamptonshire, England | West Northamptonshire, Northamptonshire, England |