Place:Furtho, Northamptonshire, England

the text in this article is a condensation of one in Wikipedia

Furtho is a deserted medieval village and former parish in West Northamptonshire. In 1951 it was abolished and the area split between Cosgrove and Potterspury. (Sources: Ordnance Survey map of 1944 and Ordnance Survey map of 1965).

Furtho is east of Potterspury, west of Cosgrove and about 2 miles (3 km) northwest of Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire. Towcester is 5 miles (8 km) to the northwest.

Furtho was a parish of 693 acres (280 ha) and bounded on one side by the River Tove. By the 1720s only four houses remained in Furtho, and by the 1830s this had declined to two.

The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded three estates totalling less than four hides, all held of Robert, Count of Mortain. The largest was a manor of two hides that by the 1240s was held by a Walter de Furtho.

The village was depopulated by the Furtho family inclosing its land in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In 1572 Thomas Furtho inclosed the demesnes and gave villagers 20 acres (8 ha) of land in the common fields in exchange for their plots and for giving up their ancient right of way to Watling Street. In 1621 Edward Furtho died without issue so the Furtho estate passed to his surviving sisters, Anne Staunton and Nightingale Mansel. The Stauntons sold their half in 1625 to Sir Robert Banastre. He died in 1649, leaving his estate to his grandson Banastre Maynard, 3rd Baron Maynard, who sold the estate in 1666.

The manor house has been lost but its 15th-century dovecote survives. It was restored in 1917 and 1990. Its present conical roof is 20th-century and the upper stage is only partially complete. It is a Grade II* listed building.

The Church of England parish church of St Bartholomew is partly 12th- and 14th-century, but was mostly rebuilt in 1620. It was last used for worship in 1921, when the ecclesiastical parish was united with that of St Peter's, Potterspury. St Bartholomew's is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It is also a Grade II* listed building.

Research Tips

A Vision of Britain through Time

A 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.

Archive Centres

• Northamptonshire Archives is located at Wootton Hall Park, Northampton, NN4 8BQ, Telephone from the UK: 01604 767562 (from overseas replace the "01" with "44"). The website gives opening times and facilities available.
• Northampton Central Library, Abington Street, Northampton, NN1 2BA (Telephone from the UK: 01604 26771 (from overseas replace the "01" with "44").

Northamptonshire Family History Society

The 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.

GENUKI

The main GENUKI page for Northamptonshire lists a number of topics for research.

Victoria County History

• the Victoria County History of Northamptonshire produced online by British History Online (founded by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust in 2003) contains only some of the Hundreds of Northamptonshire in its collection. Articles that do exist will be referenced under the relevant hundred and parish.

Online Databases

FindMyPast includes (list checked July 2018)

• Northamptonshire Parish Records (Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, and Probate Index)
• Northamptonshire Freeholders 1795-1797
• Northamptonshire Hearth Tax, 1674
• Northamptonshire Military Tribunals 1916-1918
• Northamptonshire Militia Lists 1771
• Northamptonshire, Northampton General Hospital Admissions 1774-1846

While Ancestry offers (list checked July 2018)

• Census & Voter Lists 1841-1911.
• Northamptonshire Birth, Marriage & Death
• Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1532-1812
• Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1912
• Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Marriages, 1754-1912
• Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1912
• Other Birth, Marriage & Death collections related to Northamptonshire. (32)
• Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Confirmations, 1870-1911
• Other Schools, Directories & Church Histories collections related to Northamptonshire. (34)
• A calendar of wills relating to the counties of Northampton and Rutland : proved in the court of the archdeacon of Northampton
• Other Wills, Probates, Land, Tax & Criminal collections related to Northamptonshire. (23)
• Reference, Dictionaries & Almanacs collections related to Northamptonshire. (21)
• Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers collections related to Northamptonshire. (7)
• Northamptonshire Stories, Memories & Histories

Genealogy of the descendants of Thomas French: who came to America from Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire, England and settled

Works of Reverend James Hervey, 1713-1758

The Orlebar Chronicles in Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, 1553-1733, or the Children of the Manorhouse

Descendents of Thomas Chichele of Higham-Ferrers, Northampton, England

Rockingham Castle and the Watsons

Other Northamptonshire Stories, Memories & Histories (14)

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.