The Old Post Office stands at the corner of High Street and Well Lane, long serving as the village’s postal hub.
It opened in 1856, issuing an undated postmark that January. This mark was applied to the reverse of letters sent or received, while postage stamps themselves were date‑stamped later at the Head Office in Daventry.
Nationally, undated marks were withdrawn in 1860, and Welton did not receive a date‑stamp until 1896, when a rubber version was supplied, used mainly for postal orders.
The photo below taken around 1890 shows the post office as the tall building on the right with the hanging sign.
Kelly’s Directories of 1890, 1894 and 1898 list Richard Houghton as sub‑postmaster, baker, grocer and beer retailer. Born in 1824, he began his working life as a shoemaker before becoming a grocer by 1881. During his time at the post office, letters arrived from Daventry at 6.55am and were despatched at 6.10pm, with a Sunday arrival at 9.10am.
In September 1902, the office was upgraded to a Telegraph Office, enabling villagers to send telegrams. By 1906, Miss Annie Leeson, a stationer, had become sub‑postmistress, a role she is documented as holding until at least 1931. In 1911 Annie lived with her mother Betsy and brother Charles Benjamin; Annie and Charles were still there in 1939.
It seems that in 1910 there was an attempt to sell to property which has been owned by a Mr Houghton, likely a relative of Richard.
By this period, postal traffic had increased to two arrivals from Daventry at 6.55am and 11.55am, and three despatches at 7.00am, 11.55am and 6.30pm, with Sunday delivery at 9.05am.
By the early 1950s the office was run by Mr F. Woodward, followed by the Knights from at least 1955. Mr Knight is remembered for suffering a sizeable lump on his head after a robbery at the premises. Memories from Mr Knight’s time from villagers include:
“Four fruit salad chews for a penny! He used to moan that people let their dogs pee up his wall outside!”
— Welton Villager
Many villagers remember buying sweets from the post office, and in the photo below, taken in the late 1950s, you can see a Walls ice cream sign outside the building on the left.
Jack and Molly Brown are recalled as later occupants.
In the 1980s the post office was run by Mr and Mrs Doreen Loveridge, before relocating to The Gables at the corner of Well Lane and Ashby Road, when it was operated by Val Hamblin. When Val wished to retire in 1987 there was an attempt to find someone to take over:
For a while it looked like Irene Kitchener of Ashby Road would take on the role as post mistress, having done it on a temporary basis since Val retired, but alas plans must have fallen through as Welton finally lost its post office in 1887.
The original post office building is today known as The Old Post Office and is a family home. Photo below taken 2026.
Kiln Lane some time around 1910, Wisteria Cottage on left
Wisteria Cottage began as two small estate cottages, maybe used for workers from Welton House, (although there is no evidence it formed part of Welton House’s estate) with a third neighbouring cottage later demolished. You can see the three cottages on the photo above on the left. One of the original pair was known as Rose Cottage. The name Wisteria Cottage probably appears only in the second half of the 20th century, as no census records use it.
There is a carved stone, believed to be from the original building and now remounted in the wall of the rear extension. This bears the date ANNO 1637.
The building may have suffered 17th–18th‑century fire damage, and later alterations joined the two cottages, removed the central chimney, added modern facilities, and revealed two saltbox niches beside a fireplace. Before the conversion, one cottage was regularly rented by school teachers or residents awaiting new homes.
Late 1960s showing the building as two cottages
There is a belief that the building may once have operated as a shop.
The cottage appeared in 2003 on the C4 programme House Doctor (Season 6, Episode 11), although sadly this is unavailable to view anywhere at the moment.
What else do we know about the residents?
Mid‑century residents included Mrs Edgar, 1950 who advertised for a nurse for a baby due in October. Mrs Foy, 1952 lived in the house and wanted a second hand hoover. Mr Henry Samuel Songhurst, 1956 lived there and gave evidence in a court case regarding insurance, licence and tax offences by ‘two youths’ who crashed outside his house. And newlyweds Diana Vivienne Bradley Jones and William Gordon Cullen made the cottage their home in September 1958.
In the late 1960s–70s, owner Mrs Clare Kaddy—likely responsible for merging the cottages—hosted local art exhibitions to raise funds for local causes. We believe many of Eric Fleming’s paintings were shown and bought at these events.
Wisteria Cottage in Welton News and views
October 1989:
At the Wine and Cheese Gathering at Wisteria Cottage, The Green, on Monday October 30th at 8pm, we are having one stall only, for cakes. (Please, all our friends, support us, even if you can’t come!) Also please bring, or send with a friend, a small item suitable for an auction. This should take place at about 8.45pm. Proceeds to Church Urban Fund and St. Martin’s Bell Fund.
George and Lil Goodman
In the 2000s it was owned by a family named Patten who moved to the Isle of Man, and later that decade two pilots named Karen and Peter Banner lived there for a few years. They sold to the current owners.
It is believed the door from their kitchen was one of the original doors salvaged after the fire at Welton House. This is borne out by this memory from a villager:
Wisteria Cottage? If it’s the door into the kitchen from the ‘snug’, I got it from the ruined house and had it hung – it weighed a ton to drag(!), even though the journey was short…
For nearly half a century, one particular man helped shape the character and life of Welton: Rev. Daniel Darnell, Vicar of St Martin’s Church for an extraordinary 48 years. His story forms part of a wider family legacy that travelled across Britain and around the globe. The Darnells were a family committed to learning, faith, and public service — and their impact stretched far beyond Welton.
Darnell Family Tree
Click the button below to open the Darnell Family Tree on Ancestry. You’ll need an account to view (totally free to set up).
Rev. Daniel Darnell was born in 1812 into a household where education was central. His parents, James Darnell, a schoolmaster, and Sarah Stevens, married in 1799 in Chesham, Buckinghamshire. The baptism register of St John’s Church, Clerkenwell, shows Daniel and his siblings — Esther, James, William and Sarah — were baptised together on 14 September 1814. Group baptisms were not unusual at the time, often done for reasons of cost or convenience.
This early influence of his father may well have shaped Daniel’s future. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, earning both his B.A. and M.A., before embarking on a career that would take him far from England.
Across oceans: ministry in the Bahamas
Daniel was ordained a deacon in London in 1837 and a priest in Jamaica in 1839. His early ministry unfolded across the Caribbean, where he held several significant posts:
Curate, Christ Church, New Providence (1839)
Headmaster, King’s College School, Nassau (1842)
Commissary and Sequestrator General for The Bahamas
Rector, St Matthew’s Church, Nassau
During these years he married Frances Charlotte Brigman, around 1838–39, and the couple had four children while living in New Providence. It was during this period that Daniel became acquainted with the Hill family, later associated with The Firs in Welton.
Return to England: the Welton years
The family returned to England in 1845, first to London, where another son was born. By 1846 they had settled in Welton where Daniel became Vicar of St Martin’s Church, a role he would hold for nearly half a century, and had a further daughter.
The 1851 and 1861 censuses show the family living at the vicarage/The Stone Housewith their children and a lively household of private pupils. In 1851, seven boys aged 11–16 boarded there to be taught by the vicar; in 1861, five remained. The household also included several servants, including a nurse. By 1881, the school had closed and only family members and domestic staff were listed.
The vicarage and The Stone House were physically joined at this point and it may be that the Darnells lived in the vicarage whilst using The Stone House fully as a school – with the family moving into the The Stone House (which Darnell owned) in later years after the school closed.
He was by all accounts a benevolent man, much concerned for the welfare of his parishioners. Around 1890, he was the driver behind the formation of the “Welton Institute” with the aim of providing a library, lectures and entertainment during the winter for a “nominal charge”.
As president of the Institute, Darnell was supported by Mr George Smith of Coalville who was elected vice -president; Col Clarke was elected treasurer and Mr Quelch, the newly appointed school master, the secretary and librarian. The committee included Mrs Clarke, Mrs Darnell and Miss Stansfield. Its overall aim was to support the youth of the village.
Restoring St Martin’s Church
Between 1866 and 1871, Rev. Darnell worked closely with his friend Colonel Richard Trevor Clarke to restore the interior of St Martin’s Church. Their efforts revitalised the building, preserving its structure and enhancing its appearance for future generations.
The two men oversaw restorations to the roof and floor and the installation of stained glass windows.
The answer to a mystery?
In July of 1858 , an alarming train accident had occurred on the Ramsgate and Margate branch of the South-Eastern Railway, near Chilham station, between Ashford and Canterbury. Several people were killed, and many more injured.
The report includes this paragraph, the first detail is stating where the injured were taken: At the “Saracen’s Head” Inn, Canterbury.—The Rev. D. Darnell, Vicar of Welton, near Daventry, Northamptonshire, arm badly fractured. Mrs. Darnell (wife), contused arm. Master Darnell, contusions. The nurse, with four other children of the same family, escaped unhurt, beyond the shock to the system.
Whilst we can’t be 100% sure, we believe what we are seeing below is a picture taken later in 1858 when Darnell is still recovering from his injuries. The man on the right is Richard Trevor Clarke.
The next generation: teachers, clergy – and loss
Daniel and Frances’ children inherited their parents’ commitment to education and service:
Frances Sarah Darnell (Barrett-Lennard) 1840–1857 — born in the Bahamas
Rev. Daniel Charles West Darnell, 1841–1903 — founder of Cargilfield School; born in the Bahamas
Mary Esther Darnell, 1843–1858 — memorial in St Martin’s; born in the Bahamas
Rev. Henry Arthur Darnell, 1845–1912 — born in the Bahamas
Rev. Francis Aubrey Darnell, 1846–1917 — born in London
Emily Maria Jane Darnell (Soames), 1851–after 1901 — born in Welton
Herbert Brigman Darnell, 1852 – 1855- born in Welton
The Darnells lost three of their children. Mary’s short life is recorded poignantly in the 1851 census: a ten‑year‑old girl living at the Vicarage with her parents, siblings, seven pupil‑boarders, and four female servants. She died aged just fifteen. Their first daughter also died young at just short of 18 years, she had married Charles Edward Barrett-Lennard. And the couple’s youngest son Herbert died before his third birthday.
Later years
Darnell suffered more personal loss in 1867 when his first wife, Frances, died aged 58. Four years later, he married Jane Stansfeld at Sowerby Parish Church in Yorkshire; both were approaching sixty.
Daniel retired in 1894, becoming the longest‑serving vicar of St Martin’s. He continued to live at The Stone House until his death in 1897 at the age of 85. Jane had predeceased him in 1896.
Memorials to Daniel, Frances, Jane, and daughter Mary can be seen on the wall beside the pulpit in St Martin’s Church.
Rev. Daniel Charles West Darnell: from Welton to Portsmouth – via Edinburgh
Born in Nassau in 1841, Daniel Charles West Darnell (known as Charles) followed his father into the church and went on to found Cargilfield school in Scotland.
Charles was a scholarly boy and was educated at Pembroke and Downing Colleges of Cambridge University. Here he was ordained – in 1864 – in preparation for a career in the church.
His early teaching career began at the Stone House School. He later taught at a preparatory school in Hillmorton and then Rugby School under Dr Temple.
Darnell moved to Edinburgh in 1873 aged 32 and, with his wife Elizabeth and their five children. The couple ultimately had seven children, losing daughter Winifred aged 3. The beginnings of the school were when he invited a group of boys to his home, Cargilfield Villa in Trinity. The school opened officially on 19th September 1873 – initially to just a handful of boys.
This was the start of Cargilfield School, Scotland’s first preparatory school. His aim was:
“to provide a liberal education and teach the merits of hard work and honesty under conditions of happiness and well‑being.”
Cargilfield thrived, preparing boys for Fettes College and attracting pupils from across Scotland and northern England. Charles retired in 1898 and became Vicar of St Thomas’s Church, Portsmouth the following year.
He died in 1903 after contracting septicaemia from an injury incurred during church repairs. His obituary in The Scotsman praised his ability to recognise moral qualities in every child. A road in the Trinity area of Edinburgh was named after him in 1904 and is today a highly sought-after side street, lined with traditional, stone-built period terraces and flats.
Dorothy Gwynn Darnell: artist and founder of the Jane Austen Society
One of the most culturally significant Darnells was Dorothy Gwynn Darnell, born in Edinburgh in 1876, youngest daughter of Rev. Daniel Charles West Darnell and Elizabeth Fisher.
Dorothy moved to London and studied art under the renowned (and reportedly very anti-establishment) painter Sir William Nicholson – a rather daring thing to do – and exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts and Paris Salon several times between 1904 and 1914. Her works were mainly of female figures, notably painting musician Emily Daymond, and a few are shown below:
Portrait of Emily Daymond
Study of a female figure
Poor and content is rich and rich enough
She exhibited at least five further works.
Her painting career spanned 1904 – 1922 and for much of this time she lived in Camden House Road in Kensington. By 1921 she was living with her mother and two unmarried sisters, Elizabeth Alicia and Amy Beatrix. After their mother died, the three sisters moved to Pembroke Street in Kensington.
Dorothy had been a staunch ‘Janeite‘ (a devoted fan of Jane Austen) since the age 0f 15. Once whilst driving through Alton in Hampshire, she stopped at Chewton Cottage, Austen’s home from 1809–1817. The cottage was split into three tenements, each rented out for half a crown a week. She vowed that it should be restored and made available for the public.
By the 1939 register the three sisters had moved to Alton – Elizabeth described as an invalid, Amy as retired but Dorothy still described as an artist. Dorothy, who by this time was 63, worked for the Women’s Voluntary Services for Air Raid Precautions. In 1940 she founded the Jane Austen Society, with the aim of preserving and restoring Chawton Cottage, now the Jane Austen Museum. She got to work with appeals for funds to buy the cottage.
The Society attracted the attention of a benefactor, solicitor T.E. Carpenter, who bought the house for £3000, and endowed it to the nation, as a permanent memorial to his son, Philip Carpenter, who had been killed in action in Italy in 1944, aged just 22. Dorothy served as secretary alongside novelist Elizabeth Jenkins, while Amy was treasurer.
Her first act of restoration was to retrieve a cast iron grate, removed to make way for a gas fire and thrown into a heap of nettles. After this, Dorothy worked tirelessly, writing numerous letters to the extended Jane Austen family and to auction rooms, exploring every possibility of recovering objects for the museum and preserving oral histories.
Dorothy had a deep enthusiasm for the project until the end of her life, and practically all the local knowledge and artefacts of Jane Austen recovered for the museum was down to her. Dorothy died at Brook Cottage, Lenten Street, Alton, in 1953, the home she still shared with Amy who lived on to 1970.
A legacy that takes us through Welton and beyond
With a legacy across Caribbean classrooms, Scottish preparatory schools, Welton’s Vicarage and the founding of the Jane Austen Society (yet another literary connection to Welton), the Darnells were a family whose influence crossed continents and generations.
Some of their memorials remain in St Martin’s Church, but their influence lives far beyond its walls — in the schools they founded, the art they created, and the heritage they helped preserve.
When people hear the name Liddell, they often think of Alice Liddell, the child who inspired Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. But the Liddell family tree stretches beyond Oxford and Lewis Carroll’s imagination. One of its more interesting branches for Welton History Group leads us to Alice’s second cousin, Rev. Canon Edward Thomas Liddell (their fathers were cousins)- who, for a while, at the turn of the 20th century, was vicar of Welton — and through him, to a remarkable woman whose talent and influence seem to have been almost lost to history: Christina Catherine Fraser Tytler.
Christina : A forgotten writer
Born near Bombay (Mumbai), Christina Catherine Fraser Tytler (1847 – 1927) grew up between India and the Scottish Highlands. After her mother died giving birth to her sister, the renowned artist Mary Seton Fraser Tytler, Christina and her two siblings were raised at Aldourie Castle on Loch Ness. Her father, who worked for the civil service in India, remained there.
The Fraser Tytler sisters — Christina, Etheldred, and Mary — formed a tight, affectionate trio. The girls spent ten years growing up in the Highlands before their father retired and returned to Scotland with his second wife Harriet, in 1861. He also brought with him the girls’ half siblings, sons Charles, Edward and William and a daughter Eleanor, known as Nelly. Another half sister Eva had died in India.
Shortly afterwards, Charles moved the whole family to a new home, Sanquhar House, a grand 19th-century Elizabethan-style mansion situated roughly three-quarters of a mile south of Forres, Moray.
Christina was determined to write. In an era when women’s literary careers were often dismissed, she persisted — and succeeded. Her debut, Sweet Violet and Other Stories (1868), was well reviewed, praised for its characterisation and emotional insight. She went on to publish:
A Rose and a Pearl (1870)
Jasmine Leigh (1871)
Margaret (1872)
Mistress Judith: A Cambridgeshire Story (1875)
Jonathan (1876)
Making or Marring (1879)
The Other Half of the World (1881)
She published under several names — C. C. Fraser‑Tytler, Mrs Edward Liddell, and Fraser Tytler — probably to avoid the stigma attached to women novelists. Her poetry often explored Christian themes, reflecting her deep faith and her fascination with life, death, and spiritual longing.
Christina in the Victorian artistic world
Christina’s life was threaded through the artistic circles of the 1860s. She and her sister Etheldred visited Freshwateron the Isle of Wight for the first time in 1867, where they fell under the lens of the groundbreaking photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.
In an interesting twist, Cameron’s granddaughter lived briefly in Craven Cottage in Welton during the early 2020s.
Cameron was captivated by the sisters, photographing them repeatedly — often calling Christina “Christiana,” a poetic flourish that suited her ethereal presence. These photographs — The Rosebud Garden of Girls, The Three Sisters, and others — captured the sisters’ beauty, closeness, and artistic sensibility.
Through Cameron’s circle, Christina met renowned painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts, known as “England’s Michelangelo”. It was she who introduced her younger sister Mary to him, setting in motion a celebrated artistic marriage of the Victorian era, despite a thirty year age gap between the couple. Watts greatly admired Christina’s writing, once remarking that her poems carried “a waft of sweet air” and that he envied her gift with words.
Christina, Mary and George: A creative triangle
Christina’s relationship with Mary and George was unusually close. Mary’s private diaries reveal that Christina was not just an occasional visitor to their house, Limnerslease, but a central figure in their daily life. She read with them, debated ideas, shared books by progressive thinkers, and collaborated on artistic projects.
One diary entry describes the three sitting together in the intimate reading alcove at Limnerslease, “his arm round us each,” a scene that suggests a complex emotional dynamic. Christina’s presence certainly seemed to shape their conversations, their creative decisions, and even their philanthropic ideas.
Mary’s diaries reveal that Christina conceived the idea for Watts’ famous Memorial to Heroic Self‑Sacrifice in Postman’s Park, London — although the work has always been attributed solely to George. The slideshow below shows some of the moving memorials displayed there.
Christina was in many waysa bridge between Mary, a celebrated artist in her own right, and George, one of the most successful British artists of the 19th century. She was the person who first connected them, and the person who continued to influencethem with her insight, affection, and artistic sensibility.
Enter Edward Thomas Liddell
Christina’s marriage to Rev. Edward Thomas Liddell (1845 – 1914) brought her into another distinguished family. Edward was the son of Hon. George Augustus Frederick Liddell (an English cricketer for Hampshire, Marylebone Cricket Club and England) and Lady Cecil Elizabeth Jane Wellesley (who incidentally was the niece of the Duke of Wellington!)
Christina met Edward in 1868 while travelling in europe. Christina, along with her family, embarked on a grand tour ofItaly and Germany that year. It was during this continental journey that their paths crossed. The couple courted for roughly three years following their european introduction, before marrying at St John’s Church in Forres in September 1871, and honeymooning in the Lake District.
Family journals from that week reveal the sheer relief surrounding the marriage. Edward suffered from deep, recurring bouts of severe clinical depression and mental illness. He had fallen gravely ill in April 1870 and nearly died. It had taken almost 18 months of recovery before he was physically strong enough to stand at the altar
Educated at Christchurch, Oxford, Edward began his ministry as Rector of Wimpole (1872 – 1876), a wealthy parish on his cousin’s estate. But he felt uneasy living “in so easy a cure” and resigned, choosing instead to serve in Jarrow, one of the harshest industrial towns in England.
Edward moved from rural comfort to Jarrow in 1876, becoming Rector of St Paul’s. The contrast could not have been greater. Jarrow was dominated by shipbuilding, poverty, and harsh working conditions. Edward threw himself into social and missionary work among labourers and their families.
The strain was immense; the physical and emotional demands of Jarrow “broke him down with premature paralysis,” leaving him with chronic illness for the rest of his life.
His efforts in Jarrow did not go unnoticed; he was later made Honorary Canon of Durham Cathedral. He resigned from his position at St Paul’s due to ill health in 1882. His mental health was not helped by his father dying around 1888, after which Edward was reported to have had a nervous breakdown.
Christina and Edward then spent some time in Italy to allow Edward to recover, although ill health dogged him for the remainder of his life. They returned and settled in Hertfordshire for a while, before Edward resumed his ministry in the rather less stressful position as vicar of Welton.
The move to Welton
On the retirement in 1894 of the long standing vicar of Welton, Rev Daniel Darnell, Edward took up the role, moving into the vicarage behind The Stone House where Darnell continued to live. He purchased The Stone House (at the time called Hillside) on Darnell’s death in 1897, and let it out.
During his time in Welton he continued to convalesce, yet he remained committed to social welfare. He organised woodwork and carving lessons for unemployed young men, whose handiwork still survives in our church today, in the elaborate carvings of the pulpit and an alms box.
Despite Edward’s declining health, the marriage seemed warm and intellectually rich. Christina continued her writing, and Edward his studying, preaching, and academic works — including his illustrated history St Alban’s Abbey (1897) – a book still available on Amazon today!
A move to be near her sister
Edward retired in 1902 and the couple moved to Puttenham, near Mary and George Watts’s home Limnerslease. Their house, Birdshanger, still stands. They retained ownership of The Stone House, continuing to let it out, even after Edward died in 1914.
Christina remained deeply connected to Mary and George. Their relationship — a combination of family, friendship, and creative partnership — was one of the most important of her life. In 1904, it is even said that George called for Christina on his death bed.
She continued writing into her later years, completing a biography of her husband in 1916 called A Shepherd of the Sheep; The Life-Story of an English Parish-Priest. When she died in 1927, she left nearly £6,000 to Mary (around £300,000 in today’s money).
Edward and Christina are buried together at Compton Cemetery, near George and Mary Watts. Their gravestone reads “Edward Liddell – Priest 20/4/1845 – 22/5/1914 and his wife Christina Catherine 14/2/1847 – 29/6/1927″. It seems in death she became once again simply a vicar’s wife.
A legacy worth remembering
During research into Welton’s history we have come across many a cutting that describes Mrs Liddell baking a cake, opening a fete or providing tea on the lawn. But she was so much more than that. Christina Catherine Fraser Tytler was a talented novelist, poet, and a central figure in Victorian artistic networks.
And it’s tempting to view Edward Thomas Liddell as a short footnote to the massively influential and long serving Daniel Darnell. But he was a man of deep conviction who sacrificed comfort for service, even though he suffered with his physical and mental health. And surely, to have had a successful marriage with Christina, an unusually liberal man for the time. Together, they represent a couple defined by creativity and compassion.
We felt their story — from India to Scotland, Freshwater to London, Jarrow to Welton — deserved to be told.
The Clarke family had been associated with the parish of Welton since the 1500s but little has been unearthed by way of detail. Through accessing old wills (that are very hard to read), we have found :
Thomas Clarke Yeoman of Welton 5th August 1646 PROB 11/197/198
Thomas Clarke husband man of Welton 22nd January 1663 Ref PROB 11/310/90
Robert Clarke Yeoman of Welton 8th February 1686
William Clarke gentlemen of Welton 3rd June 1729 PROB 11/630/159
Joseph Clarke of Welton Northamptonshire 27th November 1773 PROB 11/992/411
Richard Clarke of Welton 20th December 1774 PROB 11/1003/233
John Clarke of Welton Place 28th June 1805 PROB 11/1427/306
John Plomer Clarke of Welton Place 1st December 1826 PROB 11/1719/25
These wills are accessible through the National Archives using the reference number given. The earlier Clarkes match approximately with information gleaned from Ancestry sites and that are shown on the family tree. As you go back further in time, records are often less accurate and so some of the dates differ slightly but we are still confident that the wills relate to the people on the tree.
Once we get to Joseph Clarke, we have much more information – so this history focuses on the family’s impact from that generation.
By the 17th and early 18th centuries, the Clarkes had become prominent local gentry, acquiring estates such as Drayton Manor in Daventry. Prior to the Clarke era, Welton’s manorial seat (Welton Manor) had shifted locations from the top of the village down to the bottom, but the Clarke family would establish a new principal residence in the village, Welton Place.
Their rising status culminated in Joseph Clarke (1697 – 1773) serving as the High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1758. It was in the same year that he embarked on building Welton Place, a stately Georgian mansion with lake and landscaped park, for his family.
Joseph died in 1773 without marrying, and his brother Richard Clarke of Nortoft (near Guilsborough) inherited Welton Place, although he died shortly afterwards in 1774, leaving the estate to his widow.
A change of name
The heir to the Clarke fortune was Richard’s grandnephew (through Joseph and Richard’s sister Mary), John Plomer, who changed his name to John Plomer Clarke (senior) in 1774, a condition of Richard’s will. He was married to Mary Child. Whilst he attained the Clarke estates at this point, he did not actually own the house until 1804 when he purchased Welton Place from Richards’s widow and became lord of the manor in Welton.
John Plomer Clarke senior died shortly afterward in 1805, and the house passed to his oldest son John Plomer Clarke junior. This John was another influential man, who also served as High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1814 and raised the Daventry Volunteers, a part-time local citizen infantry unit. John Plomer Clarke junior married the daughter of Sir John Nelthorp, Miss Anne Marie Charlotte Nelthorp. When John Plomer Clarke junior died in 1826, the house passed to his brother, Captain Richard Clarke, who continued to manage the estate and farmland at nearby Thrupp.
The debts start to mount
The Clarke family appeared to still be prospering during the nineteenth century, by which time they had bought the estate of Welton Manor and were also still managing farmland just down the road at Thrupp. The lands they held are those marked in yellow in the map below as surveyed in 1887 by Mr Rogers of Bedford and measured “827 acres, 2 roods and 34 perches” showing the Clarkes to have been extensive landowners.
However, other documents show that they had a huge mortgage and rents from their tenants were often not forthcoming. As a result, the debts mounted.
In the 1820s the family were forced to put part of the estate up for auction but eventually were able to take out another mortgage to cover the debts. Despite the financial difficulties, the Clarke family did what they could for the people of the village, for example building the first school in 1820. This school was adjoined to the White Horse, where the village hall carpark now stands, and this was later handed over to the National Society who were running Church Schools.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, Colonel Richard Trevor Clarke (Captain Richard’s nephew) was making a name for himself in the world of horticulture. He was a founder member of the RHS Scientific Committee, worked with Charles Darwin and is quoted in one of Darwin’s books and spent considerable time developing hybrids of begonias and cotton plants. His work led him to be awarded the Gold Medal by the Cotton Supply Association of Manchester. He was also a Northamptonshire County Magistrate. Here he is on the left on the lake at Welton Place.
In the early twentieth century Captain James Richard Plomer Clarke JP, nephew of Richard Trevor and son of Richard’s brother, Rev John Clarke, resided at Welton Place. He served as a Justice of the Peace and upheld the family’s social status locally.
But by 1907 the family chose to let out Welton Place to Major Sebastian Garrard of Royal Jewellers fame. The Garrards were to stay at Welton Place until 1946. (see The Garrard Family).
The last member of the Clarke family to occupy Welton Place was Captain James’ son, Lt Col Richard Alexander Owen Clarke, a career soldier, and heir who returned to England after the second world war, having been a Japanese prisoner of war.
In 1947, following the death of Major Garrard, the decision was taken to convert the house into multiple flats. Colonel and Mrs Clarke were still living there, presumably in one of the flats, in the early 1960s with their golden labradors Nerna and Wendy and are remembered by people living today.
After centuries of continuous family ownership, the Clarke family finally sold the estate to developers in the 1960s. The mansion fell vacant and into dereliction and was demolished in 1972.
The Clarke name lives on in Clarkes Way, built on the site of the house.
Joseph Clarke, a hugely wealthy Welton landowner, built the Georgian mansion, Welton Place, in 1758 approximately on the site of present numbers 4 and 6 Clarkes Way. Welton Place was known to the locals as ‘The Big House’ and it was in the possession of the Clarke family for a further two centuries after its completion.
It stood in 711 acres of grounds planted with trees collected worldwide, including rare Cedar trees some of which are protected and can still be seen today, mostly collected by Lt. Col. Richard Trevor Clarke (see below), who was awarded an RHS medal for his work in plant hybridisation. Mickle Well supplied the owners with soft, pure drinking water and feeds into a man-made lake, still existing, which hosted winter skating parties.
Inheritance through the Clarke family
Joseph died in 1773 and his brother Richard Clarke of Nortoft (near Guilsborough) inherited Welton Place, although he died shortly afterwards in 1774, leaving the estate to his widow.
The heir to the Clarke fortune was Richard’s grandnephew (through his sister Mary), John Plomer, who changed his name to John Plomer Clarke (senior) in 1774, a condition of Richard’s will. He was married to Mary Child. Whilst he attained the Clarke estates at this point, he did not actually own the house until 1804 when he purchased Welton Place from Richard’s widow and became lord of the manor in Welton.
John PC senior died shortly afterward in 1805, and the house passed to his oldest son John Plomer Clarke junior. This John was another influential man, serving as High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1814 and raising the Daventry Volunteers.
John Plomer Clarke junior married the daughter of Sir John Nelthorp, Miss Anne Marie Charlotte Nelthorp.
He also commanded the West Northants Militia. He enlarged the building, extended the plantings and shrubberies, and built a new approach to the house through pastureland.
When John PC died in 1826 without any children, the house passed to his brother, Captain Richard Clarke, who continued to manage the estate and farmland at nearby Thrupp.
He was a captain in the 3rd Dragoon Guards. Richard died in 1829 and the estate was left to his nephew Richard Trevor Clarke, a noted horticulturist who had worked with Charles Darwin. Here he is in the photo below sailing on the lake at Welton Place (left). He died in 1897.
The 20th century – the Garrards’ tenure
Captain James Richard Plomer Clarke JP was associated with the house in the early 1900s. He was Richard Trevor’s nephew.
He served as a Justice of the Peace and upheld the family’s social status locally. By this time the family faced mounting debts and high mortgages, leading to the gradual sale of their estate, starting in 1915 when 11 Lots were sold off by James, Styles and Whitlock of Rugby (now part of Cluttons).
In 1907, the house was leased to Major Sebastian Henry Garrard, a director of the renowned Crown Jeweller, and folklore states royalty visited during the twenties and thirties.
Until recently we had no proof of this, but have now found this photo showing the Duke of York – later King George VI – attending a hunt meeting at Welton Park in 1928. Other press cuttings suggest the Duke and his brother were regular visitors.
The Garrards remained at Welton Place until the Major’s death in the mid 1940s. (see The Garrard Family).
During the Garrard’s tenure the house was a social hub, hosting summer garden parties, hunt balls, easter egg hunts and May time fetes. Many of the village residents worked at Welton Place, which employed a large staff.
The Garrards were active members of the community and seem to have been generous in allowing villagers to effectively use the grounds of Welton Place as a public park.
A hut for Brownies and Guides was built in the grounds, and the village cricket pitch was sited at the end of the close until its closure in 1970 after 57 years.
The scene of a tragic discovery – and later decline
Tragically a newborn baby’s body, wrapped in London newspaper was found on the ice of the lake in 1929 by two local boys. This was a particularly gruesome occurrence as the baby girl was cut in half. Click here for more information.
After the death of Garrard in 1946 the house was occupied by the last member of the Clarke family to live at Welton Place, Lt Col Richard Alexander Owen Clarke, a career soldier who returned to England after the second world war, having been a Japanese prisoner of war.
In 1947 the decision was taken to convert the house into five flats. The report left is from 1948.
Adverts to let the flats appeared regularly throughout the 1950s and early 1960s such as this one in 1954.
Colonel and Mrs Clarke were still living there in the early 1960s with their golden labradors Nerna and Wendy. Another family living in the flats was the Bordmans, for whom Jean Emery (see The Rosary) looked after their children at the weekends when their nanny went home! After centuries of continuous family ownership, the Clarke family finally sold the estate to developers during the 1960s. The mansion fell vacant and into dereliction and was sadly demolished in 1972.
Before it went, a clearance sale was held with many villagers buying items.
“I remember going to the house clearance sale. I went with my Aunt Nell and cousin Yvonne. Yvonne bought a portable Dansette record player.”
The lake, which was part of the grounds, remains to this day.
The photo below shows redevelopment of the site to Clarke’s Way, the people being Norman Cooper the developer and Stephen Bichener who worked on the site. The old stable block can still be seen top right of photo behind the caravan (compare this to the ‘cricket’ image earlier).
“I worked on that site, building the new houses. The old house stood where second and third houses on right hand side going into Clarkes Way are. One house is over a well. The stone was used and sold as were timbers and tiles – I used some bits of oak flooring to repair a chest at Ashby church. All the spoil was tipped around the lake to increase its depth.”
A current resident of Clarke’s Way has the remains of ‘vaults’ – believed to be part of the heating system for the greenhouses – in his garden. We are looking forward to seeing what he uncovers!
The image below shows Clarke’s Way in modern times from across the lake alongside the same view of Welton Place.
🏛️ Click here to read Description of Welton Place (written in 1811)
A description of Welton Place written in 1811
This spot has many natural advantages and has been improved exceedingly by the good taste of its last, but most particularly by that of its present, possessor.
It is situated in one of the most eligible parts of the proverbially pleasant county of Northampton and was selected for the site of a mansion about the middle of the last century by Joseph Clarke Esquire. To him and his brother Richard, succeeded John Plomer Esquire, their nephew who assumed the name and arms of Clarke in 1775, and having made considerable improvements, closed a life of great and general utility in 1805, and was succeeded by his eldest son John Plomer Clarke Esquire, the present possessor, who married the eldest daughter of the late Sir John Nelthorpe, Bart., of Scawby in the county of Lincoln.
By the present possessor very tasteful improvements have been made; He has enlarged the building, extended the plantations and shrubberies, and formed a new approach to the house, by means of a road through the several pastures, now thrown together and planted in a park like style. The mansion is built of a remarkably hard stone of a pleasing grey tint, found near the spot and contains many excellent apartments, adorned with some good paintings.
It is situated on the South side of and half way down a bold, abrupt hill on a terrace commanding a most delightful prospect of the town of Daventry, 2 miles distant, which, with adjacent country, forms a most delightful landscape. The hill rising immediately from the back of the house, planted with forest trees and shrubs of all sorts, sheltering it from the north, conceals a large and excellent kitchen garden, orchard, and nursery ground, surrounded by very picturesque and sequestered walks. A steep sloping lawn upon the principal front is terminated by a broad sheet of water, whose boundaries are well concealed and fringed with shrubs.
Not far from the house a very fine spring of water rises, in a curious ancient, vaulted cave of hewn stone and good masonry; It is called Mickle Well perhaps from its never failing abundance, and flows through several fish ponds, falling at length into the water before mentioned. One of these ponds, which is made to assume the form of a small meandering rivulet, is also part of the large sheet of water in front of the house. On the same hill with Mickle Well, two other springs also rise; The one of pure soft water, which by means of pipes supplies the mansion, the other a strong chalybeate.
The church, (the tower of which containing a set of well-toned bells, four of which were cast by Watts of Leicester in 1629), is seen over the centre of the house and is dedicated to St Martin and is a venerable edifice, built of a red stone, early in the second period of the pointed style. The windows, however, are none of them primaeval but have been constructed in the last or perpendicular period of the before named architecture.
The number of inhabitants of the parish was in 1811, 567. The Vicarage is but of moderate annual value. Near the house skeletons, Roman earthen urns, copper coins, glass, green and wooden beads have been dug up and are now in possession of Mr. Clarke.
Welton Place once stood where Clarkes Way is today — a grand Georgian mansion that shaped village life for centuries. From around 1907, it was leased by the Garrard family, renowned for their craftsmanship as Crown Jewellers, appointed by Queen Victoria and continuing in that role until 2007.
Major Sebastian Henry Garrard (1868–1946)
As a director of Garrards, Major Garrard oversaw some of the most significant royal jewellery commissions of the early 20th century. In 1911 he created Queen Mary’s Crown for the Coronation, and the Imperial Crown of India worn by King George V at the Delhi Durbar. Garrards later remounted the Imperial State Crown in 1937 and adjusted it again for Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation in 1953 (after Major Garrard’s death).
Note: Examples of his work can be viewed via the Royal Collection Trust by searching “Sebastian Henry”:
A centre of society
Under the Garrards, Welton Place became a lively social hub. The Pytchley Hunt met regularly on the grounds, with Major Garrard organising the annual hunt ball. Garden fêtes, flower shows, and charitable events filled the lawns with village and county visitors.
The Duke of York — later King George VI — and his brother are known to have stayed at Welton Place during this period, drawn by friendship with the Garrards.
Lady May Eleanor Garrard
May Eleanor Garrard (née Cazenove) came from the distinguished Cazenove family of Cottesbrooke. Her great‑uncle Philip Cazenove founded the prestigious City stockbroking firm Cazenove & Co.
Lady Garrard became a well-integrated figure in Welton, appearing frequently in local newspapers. She served as president of both the Women’s Institute and the Women’s Conservative Association, and got involved with the guides and helping children to read at the school. She was also very active in the local St Johns and a trustee of the Towns Lands Trust.
Family life at Welton Place
The 1911 census shows the Garrards at Welton Place with their six daughters, supported by fifteen household staff — a sign of the family’s social standing and the Garrard goldsmith legacy
Bertha Phyllis Garrard — Born 1895, died 1991. The eldest daughter, living through nearly the entire 20th century.
Marjorie May Garrard — Born 1897, died 1994. Married Ronald Henderson in 1917. A long-lived second daughter, also spanning most of the 1900s.
Barbara Joan Garrard — Born 1902, died 1989. The third daughter, married Mr Roland Findlay in 1927.
Joyce Gladys Garrard — Born 1904, died 1970. Fourth daughter, part of the younger group of siblings. Married H.M.P. Hewitt in 1930 in India.
Pamela Viola Garrard — Born 1910, died 1987. Married Sir Arthur Wilmot in 1936, becoming Lady Wilmot. One of the two youngest daughters, twin to sister Ruth.
Ruth Harrietta Garrard — Born 1910, died 1966. The other twin-year daughter; Married Donald Hamilton Fuller in 1935
Major Garrard died in 1946, leaving an estate worth about £3.7 million in today’s money.
A new home in post‑war Britain
After her husband’s death, Lady Garrard wished to remain in Welton – she clearly loved the village – but no longer needed the vast spaces of Welton Place. She commissioned local builder Frank Emery Senior to construct a new home.
Post‑war building restrictions capped the value of any new private house at £1400. To meet the rules — and Lady Garrard’s expectations — Frank built two semi‑detached houses, each valued at £1400. Lady Garrard lived in one half, her staff in the other.
When her cook resigned, tired of carrying meals outdoors between the houses, Frank revealed a clever solution: a wall designed to be easily removed. For under £10, the two houses were joined into a single five‑bedroom home.
The council attempted to challenge the alteration, but unsuccessfully. The story reached national attention in the Daily Mirror under the headline “Hole‑in‑wall beats house law.” The house still stands today and is known as Welton Brook.
Lady Garrard died in August 1955 and her funeral was held at St Martin’s Church. With her death the Garrards’ association with Welton ended.
One thing that has become clear during our history research is just how cold and harsh Welton’s winters once were. Snow lay deep on the ground most years, and the lake at Welton Place regularly froze solid.
During these long winters the Garrards, who leased the house from the early 1900s to the mid 1940s, often hosted ice‑hockey matches on the ice, and local boys earned a few shillings retrieving the pucks.
The lake in front of Welton Place
In early February 1929, a match was underway between a team from Weedon Barracks and a side led by Col. Finlay. Among the boys collecting pucks were Roy Smith (father of Keith and Derek) and his friend Norman Henley, both young teenagers. As they worked their way across the frozen lake, they made a discovery that surely stayed with them for the rest of their lives.
Norman noticed a brown‑paper parcel lying on the ice and gave it a kick. It felt unusually heavy. Curious, he cut the string and opened it, revealing a tin box.
Inside was the lower half of a newborn baby girl. Shocked, he called Roy over, and one of the boys ran to fetch Mr Smith, the parish constable.
An inquest was opened at the Red Lion, led by Coroner C. H. Davys. Dr W. Arnold Clements of Daventry examined the remains and confirmed that the child had been cleanly cut just below the ribs with a knife. The body showed no signs of decomposition, preserved by the freezing conditions, and the umbilical cord was still attached.
With so many questions unanswered, the inquiry was adjourned for further investigation. Yet no new information ever emerged. The only later reference we could find simply recorded the verdict: the baby was “found dead,” and the case was closed.
One cannot help wondering who that baby girl was, and what awful circumstances led to her life ending even as it had hardly begun. It certainly doesn’t feel like she received any justice.
🖼️ Click to reveal press report
Note: before the widespread development of courts, public houses were frequently used to hear court cases as they were one of the few public spaces that could accommodate a number of people.
From the moment the Romans arrived around 2000 years ago, Britain began developing a taste for communal drinking, thanks to the tabernae they set up along the roads to keep their troops supplied with wine.
A few hundred years later, Saxon life reshaped this culture, with home‑brewed ale becoming the norm and surplus batches sold straight from the houses of alewives, giving rise to the earliest village alehouses.
After 1066, the Normans expanded things further: monasteries and newly founded inns offered travellers a warm meal, a drink, and a bed for the night, creating the first recognisable network of English hospitality.
Jump forward to 1830 and the Beerhouse Act. This allowed almost any householder to brew and sell beer for a small fee—it was an attempt to curb gin drinking that instead sparked an explosion of tiny, often short‑lived beerhouses across towns and villages.
It’s a tale of how pubs gradually transformed from simple roadside wine stops for Roman soldiers into the beating heart of British community life — and Welton was part of the story. Like many villages, it relied on its pubs as social hubs where everyday life unfolded.
In 1841, Welton had a population of 635 ‘souls’. How many drinking establishments could be supported by such a number?
The one we all know
The White Horse circa 1895 – 1905
We are all familiar with The White Horse on High Street, shown above around the turn of the 20th century. Our lovely, CAMRA recognised village hub, The White Horse is a historic two-storey, thatched-roof inn, with its origins over 400 years ago.
Its age shows in the drop from the street – the pub existed when the road was a dirt track, and as it became developed and surfaced over hundreds of years, created that step down.
Located at the heart of the village on the High Street, it has served the community for centuries and continues to do so today. It was frequently used to hold auctions and sales, and many newspaper cuttings show the pub being central to the social life of the village.
Northampton Mercury 30 August 1935
You can find a fuller history of The White Horse here and you can see some historic photos of the pub here.
The one that’s now a house
Many readers will also know the Red Lion Inn – now a home known as the Old Red Lion at the bottom of Churchill Road.
The Red Lion was part of village life for 250 years or more. Its roots reach deep into the 1700s, with a 1750 licence noting Edward Munday taking over from John Thomas as landlord.
Throughout the 1800s it appeared on local maps and in multiple press cuttings as an integral part of the village. For much of its time as an inn, The Red Lion was a modest thatched building.
The structure standing today dates from the late Victorian or early Edwardian period, starting to appear on photographs around the turn of the 20th century.
In 1960 the pub called last orders for the final time and the property was delicensed and became the private residence now known as The Old Red Lion.
You can read a very detailed history of the Red Lionhere including fascinating information about some of its residents stretching across the empire.
The one that was just a rumour
For a long time we’d heard tell about a third pub in Welton, but had no name to go with the rumour. The census didn’t help, and the business directories we checked listed only the familiar pair — the White Horse and the Red Lion.
Then came a breakthrough; we were given a village memory written by Tom Pearcey in 1841. In it, while describing Welton’s inns, he mentions “Wheatsheaf John – his name was Boys.” That raised the intriguing question: was there really a Wheatsheaf in Welton, or had John Boys worked at the one in Braunston or Daventry – or was it all a figment of Tom’s imagination?
The 1841 census does list a John Boys and his family, though without an occupation, and by 1851 they seem to have left the village.
Our next clue came from an 1841 Welton business listing for the Fawsley Hundred, where we saw it in black and white in an official document: “Boys John, victualler, Wheatsheaf.” This was a clear suggestion that a pub called The Wheatsheaf had existed in the village.
The trail strengthened when we tracked down a copy of the 1847 Kelly’s Directory for Welton — an early form of Yellow Pages. There it was again: “John Boyes, tavern keeper, Wheatsheaf.”
Finally, after more digging, the definitive evidence appeared in an 1840 newspaper cutting, confirming beyond doubt that Welton once had a third inn: The Wheatsheaf.
We believe the Wheatsheaf was towards the top of the village, based on where we estimate John Boys to have been living on the 1841 census. It was likely a similar modest building to the original Red Lion, and would have been John’s family home as well as an inn. It disappears as an inn by about 1850 although the building may well have existed after that time.
Edit: whilst researching Welton railway station we came across another interesting cutting below from 1846. We have our Mr Boyes again, and the wording – ‘old established’ – suggests the inn was at least 18th century. As a side note, the solicitor mentioned is the father in law of the Countess Wratislaw who lived for a short time in Welton House.
So three pubs for 641 people sounds excessive, but village inns of the past were far more than places to drink. They were the warm, social heart of the community at a time when homes had no electricity, no running water, and very little heating. People gathered there to talk, share news, and escape the cold. Pubs also doubled as essential public spaces: they hosted local courts before dedicated courtrooms existed, and they were common venues for sales, auctions, and all sorts of village business. In a world with few other communal buildings, the pub was where life happened.
And finally, in case people didn’t fancy any of the three pubs, thanks to the 1830 Beerhouse Act mentioned earlier, we had people like Jane Farr.
She’s mentioned in the Fawsley Hundred listing as a “beer-retailer” and talked about fondly in the Tom Pearcey account: “I was just a passer by who fancied the fare of Jane whose beer until this day does rest upon my lips.” Her beer clearly left a strong impression!
Do you know anything about ANY of the pubs in Welton? If you can add to our story do comment below.
For many centuries, parishioners had to pay a mandatory tithe, which was a religious tax requiring them to give a percentage (often one tenth) of their yearly income or produce to the church. This payment supported the local parish priest and the upkeep of the church building.
Northamptonshire records library holds the original documents that lay out the tithes that were due to the vicar in Welton in 1623. As you can see opposite, they were beautifully handwritten.
A group of local men were appointed to come to an agreement between the vicar, Richard Patrick, and parishioners about the level of tithes. Their decision set out, in detail, what the vicar was entitled to receive and how parishioners should pay it. Both sides agreed to these rules.
It makes for fascinating reading. Below is a summary of what every parishioner would have to give. It seems taxation worries have been with us for a very long time!
Calves and Cows
If a farmer had ten calves in a year, the vicar received one calf as his tithe.
If fewer than ten calves were born, the vicar received no calf, but small payments were due if calves were killed for household use or sold.
New milking cows required a small payment to the vicar, depending on how long they were kept and whether they were sold.
Sheep and Wool
Sheep kept from New Year’s Day until shearing owed tithe wool.
Selling sheep before 1 June required a half‑penny per sheep instead.
Complex rules covered situations where sheep were sold and then bought again before shearing, ensuring the vicar still received his fair share.
Lambs
All lambs born in the parish were titheable.
On Holy Rood Day, the owner chose two lambs, and the vicar took one‑fifth of the remainder.
If lambs had to be sold early, the vicar chose and marked his tithe lambs, which the owner kept for him until Holy Rood Day.
Other Livestock
Pigs were tithed in the same way as lambs.
Pigeons were tithed “as they fall” — meaning whenever they were produced.
If fewer than nine lambs were born, no lamb was due, but a small payment was made instead.
Honey, Wax, and Bees
The vicar received one‑tenth of the money from honey, wax, and similar goods.
If a hive was used entirely in the household and nothing sold, only a half‑penny per hive was due.
Fruit and Hemp
The vicar received tithes of all fruit grown in the parish — apples, pears, plums, cherries, and more.
Hemp grown in the village was also titheable, but in return the vicar had to provide bell‑ropes for the church.
Household Payments
Every householder paid four pence per year:
Two pence at Easter
Two pence at Martinmas
Every servant and every communicant son or daughter paid one penny at Easter.
Eggs and Goslings
On Good Friday, parishioners paid tithe eggs:
Two eggs per hen or duck
Three eggs per cock or drake
Goslings were tithed in the same way as lambs.
Mortuaries and Burials
Mortuaries were paid according to national law.
Burials inside the church cost three shillings and four pence, paid to the vicar.
Agreement
Both the vicar and the parishioners agreed that these customs were correct, and the arbitrators signed to confirm the settlement.
If you would like to see a transcription of the original pages you can click on the box below.
The Award, Judgement & final Determination of Richard Marriott, George Beadles,
William Willis, & Richard Rogers indifferently chosen as well of Richard Patrick
Vicar of the Parish Church of Welton in the County of Northampton, as John Newport Esq …
Read more…
….. William Tims Esq., Edward Adams,
William Adams, Thomas Clarke, Richard Hickman, William Gough, & other the Inhabitants within
the Town of Welton aforesaid do award & determin of & upon all Suits & Controversies moved
between yᵉ Parties, & for & concerning yᵉ right manner of Tythings & Offerings in Welton for
the time to come, made the second Day of April 1623, hereafter in these Presents particularly
expressed.
First We award that all the said Suits & Controversies shall cease & determine, and be no further
proceeded in.
Item we award, judge, & determine Every Parishioner of Welton aforesaid having in any one Year
ten Calves in the Parish of Welton the Vicar ought to have one of them in kind for Tythe due to
him at one Month’s end; but if he have not full ten Calves, the Vicar ought not nor hath not
accustomed to have any tythe Calf in kind; provided always that the selling of one or two so near
calving, or in good part wintered shall not hinder his tythe Calf in kind.
Item if any Parishioner in Welton hath heretofore sold, or shall…
If any Calf before the Day of St Martin the Bishop in Winter being alway the eleventh of November
then the Vicar hath used & ought to have the tenth part of the Money for which ye sd Calf hath been
or shall be sold. But if in Case any Parishioner have killed or shall kill for his own Use and Family
any Calf, then the Vicar hath accustomed & shall have only one half penny for every Calf so killed &
spent. Yet nevertheless if the Parishioner have sold or shall sell any part of ye Flesh of ye sd Calf
to any Person whatsoever then the Vicar hath accustomed & ought to have ye tenth part of ye Worth of
ye said Calf so killed, part thereof being sold.
Item If any Parishioner hath reard reard or bred, or shall breed any Calf or Calves sale within ye
aforesd Parish of Weston, then ye sd Parishioner hath also used & ought to pay to the sd Vicar for
every Calf so reard reard or bred one half penny only, half ye same Calf or Calves so reard or bred
be sold before the Feast of St Martin next immediately after ye rearing thereof, then the same
Parishioner hath accustomed & ought to pay to the Vicar ye tenth part of ye Money yt the Calf so
reard reard or bred shall be sold for.
Item Every Parishioner hath accustomed & ought to pay to ye Vicar for every new milch Cow giving Milk
ten Days after ye Calf is taken off only two Pence. If any new Milch Cow remain but only ten Days in
ye Custody of any Parishioner giving Milk as aforesd & afterward sold, then for yt Cow is due to…
…the Vicar only two Pence. And if any, or ye same new Milk Cow be sold to one, two, or three
Inhabitants, or more of ye Parish of Wilton, & remain ye space of ten Days or upwards in his, her, or
their several Custodies giving Milk as aforesd. then every one of ye sd. Parties severally hath
accustomed bought to pay to ye Vicar two Pence apiece for the Milk of that one & the same Cow: for
every old Milk Cow and Parishioner one only one Penny is due to ye Vicar, payable in that manner
before expressed for another Milk Cow. The Money due for Beasts, Calves & Milk is to be paid at
Martlemas.
Item Every Parishioner having Sheep within the Parish on New Years Day, since fraud, and keeps them
till they be shorn, the Vicar hath accustomed bought to have Tyth Wool in hand of the same: but if he
hath sold or shall sell any of the said sheep to one fide, before ye first Day of June then ye
Parishioner hath used to pay bought to pay for every Sheep so sold one Half penny. If ye same
Parishioner that sell buy Sheep again before Shear time, if the Number bought do exceed the Number
sold, then the Parishioner is to pay Wool in kind for so many Sheep as he sold, for the Overplus only
one Half penny a piece: but if ye Number bought be less than ye Number sold then to pay Wool in kind
for as many as he bought, & for ye Residue sold one Half penny a piece: Provided alway if any Sheep
sold do break a Tyth, then ye Parishioner hath used to pay and ought to pay a Tyth Fleece for ye Tyth
so broken, provided likewise there be no Fraud in selling or buying, in having, or not having Sheep at…
New Years-tide.
Item If any Parishner hath sold or shall sell any Sheep upon or after yᵉ first Day of June, & before
Shear time, then yᵉ Parishner shall pay for as many Sheep as be sold Wool in kind out of those yᵗ
remain, or Money, according as the Fifthe of yᵉ Sheep sold shall be thought worth.
Item All Lambs falling within yᵉ Parish are tytheable to yᵉ Vicar. The manner of them is as follows.
If any Parishner on Holy rood Day have ten Lambs, the Owner is to choose two, & the Vicar to take his
Fifthe out of the rest, and after this Order, what Number soever any Man hath, if any Man hath between
ten & seven, the Owner is to take his two choice Lambs, and then the Vicar one for his Fifthe, paying
to yᵉ Owner so many half pence as there want of yᵉ Number of ten. If any Parishner shall be constrained
upon any Occasion to sell his Ewes & Lambs before Holy rood day, then yᵉ said Parishner hath always,
ought to make known his Intent to the Vicar, that yᵉ said Vicar may choose & mark his Lamb, or Lambs
out of those wᶜʰ the Owner doth purpose to sell, which Lambs by him chosen and marked, the same are to
be kept by the said Owner for yᵉ said Vicar until Holy rood Day then next following, together wᵗʰ such
Ewes as shall be yᵉ Dam or Dams of yᵉ said Fifthe Lambs without fraud or Guile.
Owner hath under 9 Number of young Lambs, by reason whereof the Vicar hath no Tithe Lamb paid, then ye
Owner of those Lambs is to pay to ye Vicar one half penny a piece for said. Halfpenny is to be paid on
Holy rood Day.
Item, If any Parishiner hath or shall bring in Sheep into ye Parrish after New years tide, then there
hath been accustomed ought to be paid to ye Vicar one half penny a piece for every sheep so brought in.
The Half penny is to be paid at Easter time following without Guile.
Item, If any Parishiner hath the Number of ten Sheep to die or to be kill’d after New years Day, & before
Easter time, then the Vicar hath accustomed to have the tenth Parcel of ye said Sheep so dying or being
kill’d. If under ye number of ten or seven, then Halfpence a piece.
Item The Vicar hath always had & ought to have ye tenth part of ye Money that all sweet Ware as Honey,
Wax &c is sold for, but if in case any Hive of Bees be taken up & spent in the Owners own House, & none
of it be sold, then only one Halfpenny is due to the Vicar for every Hive so taken up & wholly spent.
Item If the Pigs are to be kept a whole Month for the Vicar to be received by him at all times as they
fall, after the order of Lambs.
The manner of tything of Wool is after this manner, to be paid at the shears. First ye Owner takes two
Fleeces out of ye ten laid out, then ye Vicar is to lift ye Cable, beginning at wch ten he pleaseth, and
one of those two Fleeces he lifts he is to take for his Tythe. The like manner of tything is to be used
for all Tythe Lambs, & tythe Pigs yt fall within ye Parish of Melton aforesaid.
Tythe Pidgeons are due to the Vicar as they fall.
Item there is due to the Vicar Tythe of all Fruits, as Apples, Pears, Plumbs, Cherries &c. The Tythe of
Hemp growing within ye Town is due to ye Vicar, provided always the said Vicar must find sufficient
Bell-ropes for ye Bells as oft as Need requireth.
Item The Vicar is to have a Garden Penny & Backside Penny paid at Easter. Every Householder is to pay
four Pence the Year, two Pence at Easter & two Pence at Martlemas. Every Servant also & communicant Son
or Daughter is at Easter, when they receive to pay to ye Vicar a Penny apiece.
Item The Vicar is to have Tythe Eggs to be paid on Good Friday; for every Hen & Duck, two Eggs apiece,
for every Cock & Drake three Eggs apiece.
Item Tythe Goslings are due to ye Vicar, to be chosen…
…before as of Lambs, if any be sold, & to be kept by the Owner of them for yᵉ said Vicar until Lammas.
Item Mortuaries according to the Statute, & three Shillings & four Pence for burying in the Church are
due to the Vicar.
These Customs being shown to the Vicar, & Parishioners, as well the said Vicar, as yᵉ said Parishioners
did mutually consent and acknowledge to be true. In Witness whereof the Arbitrators have hereunto set
their Hands. &c
With thanks to Jackie Hibbert for her invaluable help on parts of this article
The Stone House 2020
The Stone House—known at various times as Hillside, Hillcrest House, Chetwynd Cottage, The Cottage, and Welton Cottage—has a long and complex history.
Note:
In old census records, if a cottage did not have a name or the road wasn’t numbered,
it was recorded simply as [name of village] Cottage. This meant several properties could have the same
name. The term “cottage”
once referred to any stone-built village house, regardless of size.
The main structure dates back to the 1600s and began life as a tenanted farm. The L‑shaped wing was originally a three‑bay hovel with a cobbled yard, likely used for livestock.
Records trace the house through the Northamptonshire archives as a working farm. By the mid‑18th century it formed part of the Lucas family’s Welton estate.
Lucas → Harris (1767–1799)
In 1767, John Barlee Lucas died, leaving the estate to his son JKB Lucas, who sold it to Thomas Harris of Rugby. The sale included the house, its homestead, and over 144 acres in Crockwell Field, formerly occupied by William Haslock, now by Edward Perkins.
By 1799, land tax documents describe two houses with barns and closes—around 150 acres—occupied by John Perkins and owned by Harris. When the estate was later broken up (see Harris – Darby below), one portion was likely purchased by John Plomer Clarke. Church records show he exchanged it for an old dilapidated vicarage with 1/3 acre plot which he incorporated into his garden – sited approximately on the corner of Welton Park opposite the church.
February 1801 – see reference to John Perkins
Harris → Darby (1801)
In 1801, Ann Harris (possibly Thomas’ wife) sold the remaining property to Richard Darby for £101. The sale covered an old cottage, garden, and home close. Several cottages had already been built on parts of the homestead and sold to local buyers including one of the Welton Clarkes, Robert Starmer, John Elliott, William Darby Howard and Thomas Howard.
Darby → Dobney → Howard (1815–1856)
After Richard Darby’s death, (the Richard Darby referred to in the article being his son) trustees sold the property in 1815 to Michael Dobney of Daventry. Dobney built three cottages on the homestead—these were maybe St Martins, Craven, and Virginia although we can’t be totally sure.
1st July 1815 – Northampton Mercury
When Dobney died in 1830, his beneficiaries sold the main house and the three cottages to Samuel Howard, a Welton brickmaker, for £400.
Howard later mortgaged his Welton and Braunston holdings in 1853, listing three cottages occupied by Rebecca Bird, Lydia Dean, and John Baseley.
In 1856, Howard’s creditors sold the estate to Charles Coleman for £400. The sale included the main house, two adjoining cottages, and a special right to use a well on neighbouring land owned by Clarke, Starmer, and Elliott.
16th February 1856 – Northampton Mercury
Coleman → Andrew → Darnell (1863–1864)
Charles Coleman died of typhoid while serving in the American Civil War, and his mother Mary Andrew inherited the property. Mary left her estate, including the house, to her sons‑in‑law to sell, William Clarke (no relation to Welton Clarkes), husband of her daughter Elizabeth and Arthur Dix, surgeon, husband of Mary. The 1864 sale listed:
Lot 1: A detached house with brewhouse, stabling for six horses, dairy, coach house, cowshed, piggeries, wagon hovel, and two cottages.
Lot 2: An orchard behind Lot 1.
Rev Daniel Darnell, Welton’s longest serving vicar, who had already been renting the house and orchard for £20 per annum, purchased the property for £400.
Rev Daniel Darnell (1846–1897)
By 1846, Rev Darnell was renting the house and using it as part of the vicarage. The two buildings were physically joined (see Darnell – Liddell below) and The Stone House operated as a boys’ boarding school for children of friends in the West Indies where Darnell had also lived. Census records from 1851–1871 show up to seven boarders, although by 1881 the school had closed and it is just the family and staff listed.
Darnell’s school at The Stone House
A beam in the ‘L’ part of the house still bears the initials FD, the only children with the initials FDs found on census information are two of Rev Darnell’s children – Francis and Frances so we like to think they were inscribed by one of them.
On 5th July 1847, just one year after moving in, Darnell was granted a £350 mortgage by the Governors of Queen Anne’s Bounty, taking advantage of a law passed in 1767 that allowed the fast tracking of mortgages applied for to help maintain houses owned by the clergy. It was taken over 35 years, with interest payments of £3 10s per year, and was witnessed by Henry Louis Jackson, a Welton grazier.
The plans below were drawn up and these original documents still exist today. The red areas are the improvements Darnell wanted to make – however there is no evidence that these were ever implemented. These plans also make us aware of a cellar in the house – something that no longer exists today.
Darnell resigned as vicar of Welton in 1894 due to age and infirmity but continued living in the house, then known as The Cottage, until his death in 1897.
Darnell → Liddell (1897–1927)
In 1897, the property—now called Hillside—was sold to new vicar Rev Canon Edward Liddell. Although Liddell lived in the new vicarage behind the Stone House, early maps show the two buildings attached, and later legal disputes confirm they had once been treated as a single property.
The Liddells let the Stone House out over the next 25 odd years. Rev Liddell died in 1914 but his wife Christina maintained ownership of The Stone House, at this time seemingly reverting to the name of Welton Cottage.
Tenants included:
1897:Rev John Henry Stork – who clearly responded to the advertisement below. He was the vicar at Ashby St Ledgers.
1901:Leonora Howard‑Vyse the widow of Granville William Richard Howard-Vyse, with her nephew Hubert Kelly, cousin Katherine Dyer, a governess Alice Smith, and servants Alice Oliver, Emma Overton and Florence Overton. Leonora’s husband had been a major in the Royal Artillery and had died aged just 38 in Kashmir
1911:Mrs Maud S. Hunter, living alone apart from her servant Francis Bullas. By the 1921 census she had moved to Newnham.
In March 1917 Welton Cottage was advertised to let. The Liddells had moved to Guildford after the Rev Liddell retired in 1902 to be near Mrs Liddell’s sister, the renowned artist and ceramicist Mary Watts.
1920 – 1925:Robert Ashby of Watford Lodge. He is shown on 1921 census with wife Sarah, his son, two grandchildren and a servant.
1924 – 1929 :Mrs A. F. Summers of Woodford Halse
By 1927, ownership interest had passed to Captain D. Liddell, likely a relative, although the Liddells had no children themselves, so perhaps a nephew.
1930s–1940s: Van Den Arend → Ernest Martin
By the early 1930s a Rugby businessman and his wife, Captain Frederick and Isabelle Van Den Arend, were living at ‘Welton Cottage’. He was in the cigar business, and his name crops up repeatedly during this time in newspaper clippings.
He is noted as leaving Welton around 1933 and it seems he returned to Rugby as he and his wife appear there in 1939 records, living on Hillmorton Road. No other census information is showing for him.
We can perhaps sympathise with Captain Van Den Arend as he complains of a problem a we are all familiar with.
The house seems to be offered for sale in February 1933 – possibly after the Van Den Arends returned to Rugby?
It may have been at this point that it was bought by Mr E. B. Law as the house was sold again in November 1937 under his instruction.
Between 1938 and 1947 the house, now known as Hillcrest House, was occupied by Ernest Martin, a former commissioned officer of the RAF during the 1914 -1918 war who subsequently became Managing Director of Cedos Saunders Engineering Co Northampton, as referenced in the 1934 Who’s Who in the Motor Trade.
He owned an astonishing collection of military paraphernalia which was displayed all over the house – see newspaper report below:
Northampton Mercury - Friday 18 October 1946
Behind the blue-painted exterior of Hillcrest House, Welton is the largest collection of military badges, buttons, medals, rifles and swords, and other paraphernalia of war that I have ever seen outside of a museum, writes our Daventry representative.
They belong to Mr Ernest Martin, a former commissioned officer of the RAF during the 1914 -1918 war who is now on engineering work for the Cedos Engineering Co Northampton.
If you want to become a collector of some standing, start young, is the advice of Mr. Martin, who first ……
Read more…
took up his hobby when he was only 8. The result – over 10,000 different military badges and buttons, more than 200 medals, between 70 and 80 muskets and rifles and over 100 swords.
He has over 100 different badges of the Northamptonshire regiment alone. And in addition to this Mr. Martin is recognised as an authority on badges and has written treaties for the Army Historical Research, along among many other authoritative bodies.
Mr Martin’s chief difficulty is where to house this mass collection so that he may adequately display his trophies. At present they are in a room only large enough to accommodate the bulkier specimens on the floor and around the walls. The badges and buttons are relegated to large packing cases, where they are mounted upon layer after layer of cardboard. Another room in this by no means small house is entirely given over to a library of military books. A copy of almost every book on military matters ever published is there and one of the oldest in a perfect state of preservation is an army list dating 1642.
Back in the ‘armoury’ I edged between the various exhibits the better to examine some of the lesser familiar pieces. On the floor at my feet was a naval mortar with the date 1773, together with a cannonball as big as a croquet ball.
Overhead, hung from an old oak beam, were two tattered flags relics of the First World War. On one with the words in red lettering ‘flag of the 100th MG Coy’ and on the other a double three domino upon which were the autographs of sixteen officers of the company.
These flags were obtained from the late Lieut Colonel Hutchinson whose death recently robbed the country of another keen collector. I saw 4 racks of rifles and muskets each with its bayonet fixed and in a corner a German machine gun captured by the late Lieut Colonel Hutchinson. On a shelf above the fireplace were bombs, hand grenades and mortars, some cut into sections to show the mechanism. On a window cill was a captured German Periscope.
There was a case full of pistols and revolvers and Mrs Martin pointing out an old Verey Light pistol told me that on VE Day her husband fired from it Verey catridges taken from the Germans during the 1914-18 war and they were in perfect condition.
Mr. Martin has a collection of OTC badges given by schools all over the country. Mounted were many ENSA badges and press correspondent shoulder flashes which he has shown in the Museum of the Royal United Services Institute in London. Tray upon tray of British medals were there, many of them bearing the full compliments of bars. One VC was valued at £95.
Mr Martin sounds like a rather entitled individual. He frequently appeared in local newspapers for minor offences such as causing an obstruction with a motor vehicle, inconsiderate driving and displaying a light after blackout. He became embroiled in several disputes, including:
A controversy involving the forced removal of belongings from a tenant’s cottage
A rent tribunal brought by tenant Walter Stoddart, a Daventry BBC employee who was renting Virginia Cottage from him.
He also had a legal boundary dispute with his neighbour, the vicar Rev John Whitehall Cheshire, in 1945. It is in the report of this dispute that we see proof of the vicarage and The Stone House having been one property at some time in the past.
Poor Mr Martin also suffered the loss of his chickens in a fire. Maybe sabotage, maybe bad luck. Some might call it karma.
Martin appears to have put the house up for sale in 1947 with an advert appearing several times in the Northampton Mercury during the spring of that year, advertising Hillcrest House as an ‘attractive old world L shaped country house with many oak beams and old world features’. Advertised as separate lots were a gardener’s cottage (St Martin’s Cottage) and Virginia Cottage (next door to Craven Cottage).
He also tried to sell off some of his armoury with several advertisements appearing, including one for a 12-bore hammerless shot gun selling for ‘best offer over £20’ – around £650 today.
Mid‑20th Century Owners (1947–1996)
Subsequent owners included a Mr Bertram Howell Bishop, a caterer, who, in 1953, was jailed for gross indecency!
The next resident was Welton’s vicar, James Edwin Wright – as referenced in the house deeds.
1958 saw the house sold to Mr Cyril Douglas and Mrs C Abbott, Mr Abbott being a bank manager in Daventry. They lived with their son Nigel, who went on to be a vicar in Tiffield.
Mr Abbott acted as church warden – the crucifix above the pulpit in the church is recorded as beinggiven in 1964 by churchwarden’s wife, Mrs. C. Abbott of The Stone House. (although this was after they left the house).
They put the house up for auction in July 1962 – under the only reference we can find to Chetwynd Cottage.
The Cox Family (1963–1996)
Edwin and Jean Cox purchased the house in 1963. Jean’s mother and aunt lived in St Martin’s Cottage, which formed part of the estate.
Jean had grown up in London, moving to Welton (from ‘a semi in Muswell Hill’ according to their son) when her husband took a teaching post at Birmingham University.
She got involved in the village hall committee and then the local conservative party, despite rather left leaning politics. This led to her becoming leader of Daventry District Council, a position in which she was much respected and was ultimately awarded an MBE in 1992 for services to local government.
Here she is drawn by local cartoonist David Davies in an edition of Welton News and Views.
Edwin Cox was a respected religious educator and author. On finishing school, he became a clerk in Holy Orders and then the school vicar in Cheltenham.
He studied at London University and taught at Birmingham University, was Emeritus Reader of Education, University of London and Associate Fellow, University of Warwick.
Edwin had many books published on religious education and was known for challenging the traditional way the subject should be taught. Their children were daughter Nicky, son James, a BBC Scotland journalist who presented the Radio 4 Sunday show The World This Weekend for more than a decade from the mid-1990s, and son Tony, a music producer, who featured The Stone House’s garage on an album cover.
Fox Ridge bungalow was later built on the vegetable patch for Jean. After her death, the Stone House was briefly offered for sale without any luck in 1991.
Ultimately Tony Cox bought out his siblings and lived there for a while . Fox Ridge was sold separately in 1993 to the current owner. Tony eventually sold the house to Dr Chris and Mrs Meryl Lovatt in 1996. It was then that St Martin’s cottage was sold as an independent dwelling.
The Stone House was bought by the current owners in 2016.
Bridges’ Directory for the Fawsley Hundred, an ancient administrative division of the county of which Welton was a part, is a comprehensive survey originally compiled by the 18th-century historian John Bridges.
John Bridges (1666—1724) was a country gentleman and London lawyer. He split his time between his estate at Barton Seagrave and his chambers in London, holding a succession of lucrative government posts
He began collecting material in 1719 with a personal visit to every parish in the county. He also hired researchers and artists to record legal, historical, and parochial details. By the time of his death he had amassed some 30 folio volumes (plus many other loose pieces and smaller volumes) of material.*
However, nothing had been written. In his will, Bridges directed that his historical books and records be kept separate from the rest of his library as a family heirloom (the rest of his collection was sold). His brother William then attempted to get the work printed. *
A publisher was found, a writer, Dr. Samuel Jebb, was retained, and the project moved forward. It was decided to publish the work as a series of fascicles and subscriptions were sought (at 4 guineas). The first numbers duly appeared after a few years, but then the publisher went bankrupt and the project stopped. Many of the engraved plates were scattered.*
Then in 1755 a number of the gentleman of the county formed a committee under the leadership of Sit Thomas Cave to see the project through. They bought up the materials, paid off Jebb, and recruited Peter Whalley to compile the volume. Gradually, the elderly gentlemen of the committee died off and the project sputtered to a halt near the finish line, with much of the work languishing with the Oxford University Press for seven years. Eventually, a new committee took over and the book finally appeared in 1791 (over 65 years after Bridges died) in two volumes totaling near 1400 pages.*
Most of Bridges’ materials ended up at the Bodleian.*
The result is highly detailed historical database of the region which, whilst published in 1791, was written much earlier.
This is Welton’s entry and it gives a fascinating history of the village from the time of the Domesday Book.
We’ll admit it’s a bit of a long haul – but even if you don’t read to the end, you get a real sense of the history in Welton and just how old the village really is.
Note: The full history text below uses the modern letter s in place of the long ſ for ease of reading.
The original material has been broken into paragraphs to improve readability.
The genealogical table in the source has not been transcribed, as it contains inaccuracies and so is omitted here. The paragraphs struck through are known to be inaccurate.
Lists of clergy and incumbents in source have not been transcribed in this version.
Welton Overview
Location: West of Long Buckby, south of Watford, east of Braunston, north of Daventry.
Landscape: Long village rising up a hill, stone causeway through centre. 84 houses.
Features: Middle‑well grotto, fish‑pond, four hills, six named springs.
Church: St Martin’s, medieval origins, bells dated 1629.
Read the full historical description of Welton
Welton on the east hath Long Buckby, Watford on the north, Braunston west, and Daventre on the south. The town is long and situated on a great ascent. It rises with the hill from Daventre, and has a stone causeway running quite through it.
There are in it eighty‑four houses, including six called the Town‑houses, which are set apart as dwellings for the poor.
The greatest extent of the lordship is computed to be two large miles. Daventre‑brook, which takes its rise from springs in the common fields of Drayton and of this parish, divides it from Daventre, and bounds it to the south and east, whence it passes to Whilton‑mill, and there joins the Nyne. Another rivulet, called Smith‑meadow‑brook, divides it in part from Watford, and passing on to Long Buckby falls into this brook in the common field.
There are four hills here, and six springs distinguished by name; of which Middle‑well spring is the most remarkable. It falls into a kind of grotto enclosed with pales, which is judged to be curious. Over it are built two large rooms, and the water passing through the walls supplyeth a fish‑pond.
It belongs to Mr. Richard Clarke of this town. Mr. Adams, the present Lord of the Manor, has one seat in the parish, and Mr. Ashley of Legers‑Ashby another, but of less note than the former. The Watling Street touches twice upon this lordship; first on the side towards Norton, where it enters into the common field, and crossing it passes a little way through Murcote, and then dividing Welton from Watford in part bounds it to the north.
At Domesday survey Leuric held half a hide, and one virgate wanting the fifth part of half a hide in Welton and Thorp of the Countess Judith the Conqueror’s niece. The arable land was one carucate. In demesne was half a carucate, with two cottagers; and the whole was valued at 8s. This Leuric was in possession of it in the reign of King Edward. By the same survey Osborn held in Welton three hides wanting one virgate of Hugh de Grentemaisnil. The arable land was seven carucates. In demesne were two, and three servants with five villanes had four carucates. There was a mill of the yearly rent of 12d. and eight acres of meadow. The whole was valued at 40s. In King Edward’s time it was rated at 20s. and was the freehold of Baldwin.
In King Henry II’s time William de Welton held here two hides and a half, and two small virgates of the fee of Leicester. Hugh, called Vicecomes, had five small virgates and a half of the fee of Berkhamsted, which were held of him by the monks of Daventre. And Richard Mallore had two small virgates; but by what tenure he held them is not mentioned.
This William de Welton was descended from Allelm the son of Rory, who came into England with the Conqueror, and whose posterity enjoyed the lordship of Welton for many generations.
In the eighteenth year of Edward I, Philip de Montgomery levied a fine of this manor. He died in the twenty‑third year of this reign, jointly seized of it with Felicia his wife, and left it to Anne, his sole daughter by Felicia, who at the time of his decease was a minor of three years.
In the ninth year of Edward II, John Mallore was Lord of Welton, in whose male line this lordship continued for some time, and then descended to Margaret, wife of Thomas Peyton, Esq. of Iselham in Cambridgeshire, the sole daughter and heir of Elen, daughter and heir of John Mallore by Jane his wife.
From this gentleman it descended to Thomas Peyton his grandson, of whom it was purchased in the second year of Richard III by William Catesby of Leghers Abbey, Esq., who levied a fine of it in the same year, and from whom it was named Catesby’s Manor.
Upon the attainder of William Catesby, it was granted to William Owen, Esq., in the fourth year of Henry VII. Of whose son Sir David Owen, in the ninth year of the same reign, William Stafferton held three messuages and one hundred acres of arable land in Welton by an unknown service.
From the family of Owen it passed into the hands of John Newport, Esq. In the fifth year of Queen Elizabeth, William Warde of Yelvertoft held certain lands and tenements in Welton as of his manor of Welton.
This gentleman was the son of John Newport of Pelham in Hertfordshire, by Joan the daughter of Sir Thomas Mountford of Kingshurst in Warwickshire. He married Catherine the daughter of Anthony Jenkinson of Swell, Esq; by whom he had issue four sons and nine daughters. In the seventeenth year of this reign, he levied a fine of this Manor, and was succeeded in it by John his eldest son.
The present Lord of the Manor is William Adams, Esq; whose ancestors have enjoyed it for several generations. The first mention that occurs of this family is in the eighteenth year of King James I. at which time died William England, Gent. seized of large possessions in Welton, which were divided after his decease amongst his sisters and coheirs, Joyce the wife of Thomas Harris, Agnes the wife of Edward Adams, and Elizabeth the wife of Robert Smith.
These possessions were then held of John Newport, Esq; as of his Manor of Welton. Edward Adams had issue by Agnes his wife five sons and two daughters: William, his second son, married Anne the daughter of John Newport, Esq; and by this marriage it should seem the Manor was transferred into that family.
Gentlemen who possess estates in this lordship besides Mr. Adams, are Mr. William Clarke, Mr. Ashley of George’s Ashby, Mr. Richard Clarke of Drayton, and Mr. Barker of Daventre.
The lands which were given to the monks of Daventre were first granted upon the dissolution of that convent to Cardinal Wolsey, and upon his fall to King Henry VIII’s new foundation in Oxford. These were sold in the sixth year of Queen Mary to Gregory Isham, Esq; under the name of King Henry VIII’s College Manor.
Part of the town owes suit and service to Mr. Breton’s court at Norton.
The church, dedicated to St. Martin, consists of a body, two aisles, and a chancel leaded, with a porch on the south side tiled. The steeple is a plain coped tower, in which are four bells, all bearing date in 1629. The church is forty‑eight foot nine inches long, and thirty‑nine foot seven inches broad. The chancel is in length thirty‑one foot one inch, and fifteen foot nine inches in breadth. The whole length of church and chancel is seventy‑nine foot ten inches. The register begins in 1578.
This church was originally a chapel to the church of Daventre, and given by William de Novo‑Mercato, Lord of Welton. At the time of the general taxation by the bishop of Norwich in the year 1254, it does not appear to have been endowed; but in 1291, 19 Edw. I. the vicarage was rated at five marks, the usual stipend in that age to a capellane or curate. In 1535, 26 Hen. VIII. the vicarage was valued at virl.
The rectory which had been given to Cardinal Wolsey towards the erection of his new colleges at Ipswich and Oxford, and upon his fall was resumed by the crown, was then in the hands of the master and fellows of St. Frideswide’s College in Oxford, and let for 14 l. per annum.
The tithes, called Ayre’s tithes, which formerly belonged to the convent of Daventre, were purchased of the crown by John Marshe in the sixteenth year of Queen Elizabeth. This vicarage stands discharged from the payment of first fruits and tenths, as amounting in the clear yearly value to no more than 23 l. 2 s. 8 d. It is in the deanery of Daventre.
All asterisked paragraphs: Reference material: Nichols, John. Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century, vol ii, 1812.
July 1913 saw the formation of Welton Cricket Club when Major Garrard, Rev Sugden and Messers Bond, Clarke, Dench, Bugden, Owen, Emery and Haynes met at Welton Place.
The subscription was fixed at 2/- per year and no member could be allowed to play or practise until their subscription was paid.
The pitch was sited in the grounds of Welton Place, just beyond the stable block (which can be seen on the left in the painting below), a part of which was later loaned to the club to use as a tearoom and changing room.
During the winter of 1913/1914, work commenced in sourcing kit and equipment and fencing off the cricket square.
A fund-raising dance was held on the 29th of December 1913 which raised £2. 2s. 4d. towards the costs.
Major Garrard was elected as president with Rev Sugden as captain and Mr Clarke as vice-captain. Fixtures were sought from neighbouring villages, Daventry and Hillmorton.
The season started with 26 members which included the family names Tebbit, Haynes, Emery, Benjamin, and Starmer. The balance sheet for 1914 season showed a deficit of £2. 10s. 10d.
The original club was short lived – advent of WW1 meant closure, but on 3rd February 1921, a meeting was held at The Old School to discuss restarting it.
Names of those involved included Nicholls, Walldron, Holland, Cox, R Emery, J Emery and S Clarke.
Screenshot
Once again Major Garrard was elected president, with 2 vice-presidents, E B Joynson and Rev Sugden. Other officials included Walt Dench as captain, Sam Cox as vice-captain, George Smith as secretary and C Gregory as treasurer.
The subscription was set as 2/6d but with a discount to 1/6d for boys under 16. Mr Gregory clearly did a good job as the balance sheet for 1921 wiped out the old debt and showed a healthy surplus of £9. 0s. 6d.
In 1926 Major Garrard was elected president again – he was after all providing the grounds – along with five vice presidents. Sixteen matches were played that season, with membership growing to 46, 9 of whom were junior members.
The minutes of the AGM in October 1926 recorded:
‘After a lengthy discussion regarding an accident which befell the wicketkeeper Sam Cox on July 24th 1926 and which necessitated a new set of false teeth, it was carried unanimously that a whist drive and dance should be held to benefit him’.
The club flourished over the following years, finishing each season with a surplus, partly from subscription gifts from the president and vice presidents but also from social function profits and money raised by the ladies who supplied tea.
And so it continued until WWII when the club again suspended operations until 1946, the last match being against Long Lawford on the 26th August 1939.
October 16th 1946 saw the club being restarted with the subscription held at pre-war levels.
The AGM of 1948 decided that the following season would start Sunday games, and then vicar Rev Horne, an active member of the club, decided that he must resign as a matter of principle.
Back row: John Kemp (score keeper), George Goode, Ernest Holland, Dennis Kemp, Joe Needham, Jack Clarke, Curly Miller, Ned Coles, John Holland (umpire)
Front row: Vern Cox, Roy Smith, William (Bun) Moss, ??, Les Overton
In 1952 a Mr M Mawby presented a cup to be awarded annually to the player who, in the opinion of a judge appointed by the committee, performed most consistently throughout the season.
By 1959 things were hard for the club, and the finances took a downward turn.
The club did survive however, and on 1st May 1960, H (Curly) Miller was elected onto the committee. Curly was remarkable in that he had an artificial leg but still was an excellent wicket keeper and was able to score a few runs.
AGM in 1962 showed a small surplus of 8/-, but whist drives and dances, together with a weekly tote, kept the club afloat.
Back Row L-R Trevor Emery, Derek Birch, Gary Wilson, Tim Goode, ?? Derek Smith, Nipper Smith, Edwin Cox
Front row Ronald Harmer, Ellis Price, John Emery, Doug Marlow
Stan Clarke was the first person to be made a Life Member in 1963 for his services to the club. During the 60s membership dwindled, with the club closing for good in 1970 after 57 years.
Welton House was possibly built on the site of a medieval mansion once owned by Henry Campioun. However, the first definitive records show ownership by the Eyre family, whose name had been tied to Welton since the 13th century. During the 15th century, Henry Eyre inherited both his brother’s property in Welton (which later became Welton House) and his uncle’s estate in nearby Braunston.
At this time, the original manor in Welton was managed by the Catesby family of Ashby St Ledger. John Catesby eventually purchased Welton House from Henry Eyre, securing it as one of the most prestigious properties in the village.
17th century onwards
The version of the house known in living memory likely dated back to the 17th century. Throughout this era, the owners of the Ashby St Ledger’s estate retained ownership of Welton House, a connection that lasted into the 20th century.
In 1810, the Reverend John Wilson was living in the house when his young son John Charles sadly died. June 1833 saw Miss Catherine Ashley dying in the house.
Her link to Rev Wilson is unclear but it seems he continued to lived there as Welton House was advertised to let in 1834, described as ‘late in the occupation of the Rev John Wilson’.
Mr John Lathbury lived there in 1843, marrying Miss C Woodin in that year, but by the following year it was again advertised to let
1847 saw Charles Clarke, Curate of Norton and Chaplain to the Daventry Union as the occupier, he wrote this rather fiery letter to the press which we are struggling to decipher. Clearly he was most upset about something!
Reverend Clarke was still there in 1852 when his son was born and references are found to his family being in Welton House in 1854.
Later records place a P. Lee in situ in 1860. 1871 has Margaret Watson, widow of the late Walter Watson, her three daughters and her son living in the house and in 1873, Margaret died there. By 1890, records show the residents were the “Watson misses” The logical conclusion is that they were related to Walter and Margaret. The 1891 census clarifies this reference, identifying them as Lydia Watson, Margaret’s daughter, and her sister-in-law, Eliza.
At this point, the road the property stood on was known as Stockwell Green. Local records from this era mention cottages on Stockwell Green; based on the residents’ occupations, these were highly likely workers’ cottages serving Welton House.
20th century
While Welton House appears in the 1901 census, it lists only the servants: Sarah Whittington, Edith Groom, Florence Henman, and Emily Oates. This omission occurred because the census only recorded individuals physically present on the day it was taken, probably meaning the owners were away.
However, we know that Gerald Martin Soames, a brewer, lived in the house at least between 1900 and 1907.
The quick turnover of occupiers continues with Mrs Gifford living there in 1908.
By 1911, and until at least 1916, the house was occupied by Mr Henry Ernest Courage, a director of the brewing firm Courage & Co. and Vienna Works Limited, his wife Isabel and six servants. Mr Courage was also a prominent figure in the local Pytchley Hunt. They had two sons, Ronald and Kenneth. Both boys were at boarding school and so did not appear on the census.
Kenneth sadly died in 1913 at just 15 years old, of pneumonia following measles. We have found a long report on his funeral, his coffin was taken from Welton House to the church in Long Buckby for burial. Interestingly, Mr and Mrs Gerald Soames (see earlier) attended the funeral. As Gerald’s occupation was a brewer, we wonder if he worked for Henry Courage. The ‘indoor and outdoor’ staff of Welton House are recorded as sending their condolences.
The next record of occupation dates to 1919, when Countess Frances Wenzel Wratislaw lived in the house briefly. The house’s contents were recorded as part of her estate following her time there. The Wratislaw family belonged to the Czech nobility, and her father-in-law, Count William Ferdinand Wratislaw, had been born locally in Rugby and practised law there.
Her’s is another sad story; her husband Count Wenzel Ernest Wratislaw committed suicide by shooting himself at their home in Barby in early 1919. He had a history of drug taking and depression.
She moved to Welton House but died herself just a few months later, aged only 40. The couple’s infant daughter Valerie had died in 1903 and one can’t help wondering if this was the start of the family’s problems. All three are buried in St Marie’s Catholic church in Rugby.
The interwar years
The next recorded resident was Mrs Mary Young Joynson, a 42-year-old from Liverpool. The 1921 census shows her living in the house with her three daughters—Rosemary, Margaret, and Frances—alongside her nephew and three domestic servants. An E.B. Joynson is noted as a member of the village cricket team around this time – maybe the nephew listed on the census who is named as Beric B. Johnson – quite likely a mis-transcription of Eric. Mrs Joynson sold the property in 1924.
Between 1924 and 1931, newspaper archives and local mentions frequently associate a Mary Elizabeth and Major H. W. Hibbert with ‘Welton House’. In one incident from 1930, Mrs Hibbert was fined for employing “a servant without a licence.”
Sir Halford Reddish purchased the property sometime in the early 1930s, we are not sure of the exact year. He was certainly living in Welton by 1935 as this press report in November of that year tells of a nasty car accident he suffered on his way home along what we now know as the A361.
The Reddish era
Regardless of the exact purchase date, Sir Halford Reddish made Welton House his home from the early 1930s, with his wife Valerie presumably joining him there on their marriage in 1946. They lived at the house until their respective deaths in the 1970s. Sir Halford was the chairman of Rugby Portland Cement and a celebrated industrialist who was knighted in 1958 for services to industry.
The couple were in many ways generous to the parish, donating a portion of the house’s estate to the village so that the Village Hall could be built and Lady Reddish paying for the build. They did, however, impact the village in more negative ways too, removing gravestones from the churchyard to give themselves easier access from the house.
During their residency, Welton House was rumoured to hold the largest solid oak dining table in Europe. While this claim was never formally documented and may have been a proud boast by Sir Halford, the selling off of his assets did feature a “magnificent” oak table.
At its peak, the Welton House estate was a grand operation. It featured impressive heated stables, expansive greenhouses, and several properties. These included Wisteria Cottage, Stockwell Cottage, and Southgate—the estate’s lodge house, which sits on the corner of what is now Halford Way and Kiln Lane. The estate’s farm manager, latterly a Mr Day, resided at Northgate on Station Road.
Welton House circa 1950
Local memories recall Sir Halford’s Bentley pulling up outside the house every morning at exactly the same time, ready to take him to his work in Rugby.
Sir Halford’s pride in his home is captured by an item held by the Welton History Group: a custom jigsaw puzzle of Welton House, which Sir Halford commissioned in 1961 as a Christmas gift for his staff and business associates.
Decline, Fire, and Redevelopment
Following Sir Halford’s death in 1978, the estate began to fragment. The house and its immediate grounds changed hands several times, and the 63 acres of accompanying farmland were sold off separately.
In its final active years, the historic house was converted into commercial offices. Local lore suggests that an application to convert the building into residential apartments was submitted and rejected during this time, though no records have been found to confirm it.
Disaster struck on the night of 8 March 1986, when a devastating fire broke out, requiring 40 firefighters to control it. At the time, the property was owned by Mr David Green, the owner of Staverton Golf Club.
Archival photographs—including coverage from the Chronicle and Echo on the following day—show damage concentrated around the roof.
One villager remembers playing in the ruins as a child:
I have many fond memories of exploring the burnt-down house as a kid, despite assemblies at the school being devoted to how dangerous it was. The woodshed, the huge morgue-like tiled kitchen, the cellar with its damp and rats, the upstairs bathroom with a loo that had fallen through the floor, the mysterious room downstairs that was full of phones. It was like a real-life Cluedo board.
After sitting derelict for several years, the site was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), who ultimately demolished the remaining ruins. They kindly donated a portion of land behind the house to the village, now known as The Spinney.
The land was subsequently cleared for housing redevelopment. Though an initial prospective developer failed to complete the project, the housebuilding firm Francis Jackson took over the site in 1997, completing the residential close we know today as Halford Way.
Welton House originally stood on the right-hand side of Halford Way as you enter from the main road. Positioned at a right angle to Kiln Lane, the footprint of this once-prestigious building now rests beneath the gardens and houses of the modern road.
