Barnwell, Northamptonshire
Encyclopedia
Barnwell is a village in the district of East Northamptonshire
East Northamptonshire
East Northamptonshire is a local government district in Northamptonshire, England. Its council is based in Thrapston and Rushden, which is the largest town in the area...

 in England, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the town of Oundle
Oundle
Oundle is an ancient market town on the River Nene in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 5,345 or 5,674 . It lies some north of London and south-west of Peterborough...

, 78 miles (126 km) north of London (via the A1 road) and 14 miles (22.5 km) south-west of Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...

. The River Nene
River Nene
The River Nene is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in the county of Northamptonshire. The tidal river forms the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk for about . It is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom, and is navigable for from Northampton to The...

 runs north of the village separating it from Oundle.

Demographics

The 2001 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 showed there were 362 people living in the village, 171 male, 191 female, with average age 40.54 years in 150 households.

Governance

The village has its own Parish Council and is part of East Northamptonshire District Council, where it is in Barnwell Ward, and Northamptonshire County Council where it is in Thrapston
Thrapston
Thrapston is a small town in Northamptonshire, England. It is the headquarters of the East Northamptonshire district, and in 2001 had a population of 4,855. By 2006, this was estimated to be over 5,700....

 division.

Barnwell is part of the parliamentary Constituency of Corby
Corby (UK Parliament constituency)
Corby is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system, and is currently a marginal seat between Labour and the Conservatives....

.

Facilities and other buildings

The village has two Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 churches reflecting the fact that the village is formed from two separate ones. St Andrew's is externally mostly 13th century including a tower. There are monuments to Christopher Freeman (d.1610) and Rev Nicholas Latham (d.1620). All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...

' is also 13th century but only the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

 remains after the rest was demolished in 1825 and that retains the Montagu monuments: Henry Montagu (d.1625), Dame Letice Montagu (d.1611).

South-east of the church are Latham's Almshouses (founded 1601, rebuilt 1874).

Barnwell railway station
Barnwell railway station
Barnwell railway station is a former railway station in Barnwell, Northamptonshire on the former Northampton and Peterborough Railway line which connected Peterborough and Northampton....

 on the Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

 to Peterborough line closed in 1964. The building remains preserved as a private residence in Church Lane.

There is a traditional English pub The Montagu arms in a thatched building.

Barnwell St Andrew Church of England Primary School was closed by the county council in 2005 in spite of protests. Children are now bussed to the primary school at Oundle.

Barnwell Country Park

Like many similar areas on the River Nene, the Barnwell Country Park was developed from abandoned sand and gravel workings on the flood plain of the river just south of Oundle in the part of the area known as Rockingham Forest
Rockingham Forest
Rockingham Forest is a former Mediæval royal hunting forest in the East Midlands region of England; most of which was in the county of Northamptonshire but also extended slightly into the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Lincolnshire .The forest originally stretched from Stamford down...

. The park is bounded on the north-west and south-west by a flood channel loop of the River Nene, known as 'the Backwater', and on the east by the A605
A605 road
The A605 road is a main road in the English counties of Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire.-Route :The A605 strikes north from junction 13 of the trunk A14 road through the eastern parts of Thrapston, skirts the village of Thorpe Waterville, bypasses Oundle to its east, crosses the River Nene,...

 Barnwell Road. It consists of a series of willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

-fringed lakes, short mown grass, coarser vegetation, conservation grassland and small wooded areas. The lakes, picnic meadows, river and the resident water birds make the park very attractive to visitors and in particular young families. The irregular shapes of the lakes provide different views around each corner and give a sense of "progressive revelation‟ to visitors.

The park is flat and very accessible with a network of stone paths suitable for prams and wheelchairs. There is a park shop manned daily by Information Assistants on hand to help with visitor's queries and provide assistance wherever. In 2007 to 2008, 191,874 visits were made to the park (electronic car counter, assuming 3.5 people per car). From the 2007 visitor surveys, picnicking, dog walking, leisurely strolls, feeding the water birds, fishing and watching the wildlife are the main reason for visits. There is a hard standing car park for 50 cars and the recreational meadows are used for overflow parking.

The park, totalling 37 acres (15 ha), is owned by Northamptonshire County Council. The Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...

 grid reference is TL 036874.

Barnwell Castle

Barnwell Castle
Barnwell Castle
Barnwell Castle is a ruined castle, south of the town of Oundle, and west of the village of Barnwell, Northamptonshire . It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument....

 is in the northern part of the village and believed to have been built around 1266. It is describe as 'the first example in Britain of the most monumental type of castle architecture. The site is private property by can be seen from the road

Barnwell Manor

Barnwell Manor
Barnwell Manor
Barnwell Manor is the historic former home of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. It is located by the village of Barnwell, near Oundle, Northamptonshire in England.-The house and estate:...

 is the historic former home of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
Duke of Gloucester
Duke of Gloucester is a British royal title , often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England, the next in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; this current creation carries with it the...

 and is part of the Barnwell Castle Estate. The manor was granted to the Montagu family in 1540 by King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

. In 1938 Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, bought the house and estate and the family still retain it but now live in an apartment in Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and...

, London.
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