Place:Hardingstone, Northamptonshire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Hardingstone from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"HARDINGSTONE, a parish, a [registration] sub-district, and a [registration] district in Northamptonshire. The parish lies on the river Nen, the Grand Junction Canal, and the North-western railway, averagely 2 miles S by E of Northampton, but containing the Northampton station of the Northwestern railway. It includes the hamlets of Cotton-End, Far-Cotton, and Delapre Abbey; and it has a post-office under Northampton. Acres: 3,060. Real property: £9,784; of which £600 are in quarries. Population in 1851: 1,196; in 1861: 1,915. Houses, 396. The increase of population arose from the erection of houses at Far-Cotton. The property is divided among a few. Lieut. Gen. E. W. Bonverie, of Delapre Abbey, is the chief landowner. A Queen Eleanor's cross, of three stones, octagonal, and on 8 steps, is near Delapre Abbey, and was built by Edward I., and restored in 1762. A circular camp, enclosing upwards of 4 acres, and supposed to have been formed by Sweyn, the father of King Canute, is on a commanding eminence to the SW of Eleanor's cross. A battle, commonly called the battle of Northampton, between Warwick the king-maker and Henry VI., was fought, in 1459, at Hardingstone-Fields. Paper mills are at Far-Cotton; and wharfs and warehouses are on the canal at Cotton-End. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough. Value: £534. Patron: the Lord Chancellor. The church is ancient, and was well restored in 1869. New schools were recently erected; and there are charities £103. James Hervey, the author of Meditations, was a native."

Hardingstone was, for the brief time of 1894 to 1896, an urban district. In 1896 the urban district status ended and it became part of Hardingston Rural District. While the urban district was in existence the following neighbouring parishes were also considered within its bounds: Dallington, Dallington St. James, Duston, Duston St. James and Far Cotton.

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.