Abthorpe
| Abthorpe | |
|---|---|
 Village street |
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 Abthorpe
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| Abthorpe shown within Northamptonshire | |
| Population | 285 307 (2010 est) |
| OS grid reference | SP6546 |
| • London | 63 miles (101 km) |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Towcester |
| Postcode district | NN12 |
| Dialling code | 01327 |
| Police | Northamptonshire |
| Fire | Northamptonshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament |
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| Website | Abthorpe a Northamptonshire Village |
Abthorpe is a village and civil parish in the valley of the River Tove in South Northamptonshire, England, about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Towcester, 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Silverstone and approximately midway between London and Birmingham.
The 2001 census recorded 285 people living in the village: 144 male, 141 female in 123 dwellings with a further 3 homes empty and further 3 second or holiday homes. At the 2011 census the population (including Foscote hamlet) was recorded as 311.
Abthorpe parish is within a rolling rural landscape, typical of South Northamptonshire. It lies mostly on the south side of the River Tove, but the southern part of the parish is on the north side of Silverstone Brook, a tributary of the Tove, which it joins in Towcester. The lowest point in the parish is about 308 feet (94 m) above sea level, and the highest point is at 486 feet (148 m) at the divide between the Tove and the River Great Ouse.
The neighbouring parishes are Wappenham, Towcester, Silverstone, Slapton and Bradden, and the boundary is about 9.75 miles (15.69 km) around, enclosing 1,964 acres (795 ha) of land.
The main village area itself makes up less than 1% of the parish, and all buildings included still adds up to less than 2%. The majority of fields are grass, covering around 54%, used mainly for sheep and cows, but horses are also kept. Wheat and to a lesser extent barley make up about 21% of the land usage, woodland covers another 20%. This is almost all Bucknell Wood which covers the elevated part of the parish, and is part of the Whittlewood Forest.
Abthorpe was part of the Church of England parish of Towcester and had a chapel of ease from at least the 14th century. Abthorpe was made a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1737, after which the parish church was restored. In 1869 it was demolished and the present Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist, designed by Ewan Christian, was built in 1869-71. It is now a member of the Whittlewood Parishes, a Church of England Benefice that includes also the parishes of Paulerspury, Silverstone, Slapton and Whittlebury.
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Wikipedia