Great Harrowden
| Great Harrowden | |
|---|---|
 Great Harrowden
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| Great Harrowden shown within Northamptonshire | |
| Population | 161 (2011 census) |
| OS grid reference | SP879708 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WELLINGBOROUGH |
| Postcode district | NN9 |
| Dialling code | 01933 |
| Police | Northamptonshire |
| Fire | Northamptonshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Great Harrowden is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, with a population (including Hardwick) at the 2011 census of 161. The village sits astride the busy A509 running between Kettering and Wellingborough - although a bypass is due to be built shortly. The village forms part of the Orlingbury hundred.
Nearby settlements include Little Harrowden, Isham and Finedon.
The church (All Saints) dates back to Norman times and is famous for its medieval Doom; at Great Harrowden, the Doom sits very high up - at clerestory level. The work is not sophisticated but is considered to be one of the best and most complete Dooms remaining in England.
The church is mainly made of ironstone apart from the tower, which is ashlar. The tower was rebuilt in 1822; there was formerly a spire, but this collapsed in the 18th century.
The church contains some 16th-century plate (Cup: 1695; Paten: 1698) and a brass to William Harrowden.
In the 15th century the manors of Great and Little Harrowden were held by Sir William Vaux, slain at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. There has been a house on the site since then, which Henry VIII and James I are both known to have visited. The Vaux family were created barons by Henry VIII in 1523. On the death of the fifth Lord Vaux in 1662 the title fell into abeyance and the estates were inherited by Nicholas Knollys, who was still claiming the title Earl of Banbury when he died in 1674.
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Wikipedia