Harringworth

A Medieval History of the Manor of Harringworth, Northamptonshire

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Context and local history are in purple.

Harringworth in Northamptonshire is about 30 kilometres to the east of Leicester, and about 50 kilometres northeast of Coventry.

c 1000

Before the Norman Conquest, the land was held by an Anglo-Saxon lord named Thorkil the Dane. The name may mean an enclosure of the dwellers at the stoney place or may relate to a personal name, Hering or Haerra.

1066

Following the conquest, King William granted Harringworth to his niece, Countess Judith. In 1075, Judith's husband, Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria, joined the Revolt of the Earls against William. It was the last serious act of resistance against the Norman Conquest of England. Some sources claim that Judith betrayed Waltheof to the bishop of Winchester, who informed her uncle, the king.

1086

The Domesday Book of 1086 reveals that Harringworth was a thriving, substantial settlement. It was recorded in the Hundred of Corby with 47 households, placing it in the top 20% of largest settlements in England at the time. The estate featured 16 ploughlands, a watermill valued at 5 shillings, and significant woodland and meadow assets. (Powell-Smith, Anna, Harringworth, Open Domesday).

1232

By 1232, the manor passed to the baron William I de Cantilupe.

1234

Around 1234, William I de Cantilupe established a substantial 600 acre deer park, which was formally stocked with royal deer sent directly from nearby Rockingham Forest. The family significantly built up the village's status. By the end of the thirteenth century, Harringworth’s parish church had expanded to become one of the four largest in the entire region.

1273

When the last male heir, Sir George de Cantilupe, died in 1273, the manor passed to his sister Millicent and her husband, Eudo de la Zouche. Their descendants became known as the Zouche of Harringworth branch.

Under the la Zouches, Harringworth evolved into an official noble seat

1308

In 1308 William la Zouche was officially summoned to Parliament as the 1st Baron Zouche of Haryngworth, locking the village's identity to the peerage.

1387

In 1387, William la Zouche obtained a royal charter to hold a weekly market and an annual fair. He was also granted a licence to crenellate, allowing him to transform the local manor house into a fortified castle complex complete with a great hall, a private chapel, and managed fishponds.

1485

The la Zouche family's fortunes shifted dramatically during the Wars of the Roses. The 7th Baron Zouche remained staunchly loyal to King Richard III. Following Richard’s defeat at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, the baron was attainted by Henry VII, meaning the family temporarily lost their titles and lands.

However, because the Zouche family shared stepfamily ties with Henry VII, via Elizabeth St. John, the family was eventually pardoned and their Harringworth lands were restored.

c 1500

By the early Tudor period, the family had resumed their regional prominence.

John Zouche, the 8th Baron Zouche, operated the estate throughout the early 16th century.

1550

On 10 August 1550, the 8th Baron died at Harringworth, passing the title and manor to his son Richard Zouche, the 9^th Baron.

1569

On 19 June 1569 George Zouche, 10th Baron Zouche, died at the family estate. His 13-year-old son, Edward Zouche, succeeded as the 11th Baron Zouche.

c 1600

Facing financial strain, Edward Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche, sold the family's ancestral estates at Harringworth and nearby Bulwick to Francis Foxley. This ended over three centuries of the Zouche family's direct lordship in the village.

1617

Francis Foxley died. In his will, he divided the Harringworth property and lands among nine of his children, splintering the estate.

1619

Based on Sampson Baker (BAK00008)'s Will, and pedigrees for the Vincent family in the Visitation of Leicestershire, 1619 (Camden, William (1551-1623) and others, The visitation of the county of Leicester in the year 1619, College of Arms, page 79) there are hints of connections to a Baker family of Harringworth, in Northamptonshire.

c 1620

Moses Tryon, a wealthy London merchant of Flemish origin, systematically bought back the divided shares of the estate from the Foxley children. He took up residence at Harringworth Manor, establishing a new gentry presence.

1630

A detailed manorial map of the village was drawn, recording the layout of the fortified Harringworth Manor house, documenting an inner and outer courtyard with extensive buildings ranged along the north and west sides.

1652

Moses Tryon died. Following his death, Harringworth permanently ceased to be the primary seat of a resident landowning family.

Mid-to-Late 17th Century

Deprived of its role as a primary manorial seat, the grand medieval fortified manor house was largely dismantled and demolished for materials. Concurrently, the Lords of the manor aggressively bought up local copyholds (tenant land rights).

Late 1600s

The physical layout of the village shifted. While the grand manor disappears, a number of substantial, high-quality stone houses are built by affluent locals, many of which survive to the modern day.

1695

The surviving Parish Registers for Harringworth officially began recording local baptisms, marriages, and burials.

Bibliography

Harringworth, in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Northamptonshire, Volume 6, Architectural Monuments in North Northamptonshire (London, 1984), British History Online.

Harringworth Manor, Gatehouse.