Maidwell

Coordinates: 52°22′53″N 0°54′25″W / 52.3815°N 0.9069°W / 52.3815; -0.9069
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Maidwell
Looking across the churchyard at Maidwell Hall with its interesting cupolas
Maidwell is located in Northamptonshire
Maidwell
Maidwell
Location within Northamptonshire
Population429 (2011)
OS grid referenceSP7476
• London78 miles (126 km)
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNorthampton
Postcode districtNN6
Dialling code01604
PoliceNorthamptonshire
FireNorthamptonshire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Northamptonshire
52°22′53″N 0°54′25″W / 52.3815°N 0.9069°W / 52.3815; -0.9069

Maidwell is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish had 325 inhabitants,[1] including Draughton, and this increased to 429 at the 2011 census.[2]

The villages name means 'Maidens' spring/stream'.[3]

Location[edit]

The A508 road runs through its western end and the village is about halfway between the market town of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, and the county town of Northampton which is about 7 miles (11.3 km) south. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of junction 2 of the major A14 road.

Notable buildings[edit]

The Historic England website contains details of a total of nine listed buildings in the parish of Maidwell, all of which are Grade II apart from St Mary the Virgin's Church, which is Grade II*.[4] They include the following:

  • Church of St Mary the Virgin, Draughton Road
  • Maidwell Hall.[5] The oldest part of the building is the porch, 1637. On 16 February 1895, the hall was completely destroyed by fire. The event is commemorated by stained glass windows in the south aisle of St Mary's from Sir Reginald Bernard Loder. Sir Reginald married Lady Margaret Hare, daughter of the Earl of Listowel later the same year. In 1899 Sir Reginald was High Sheriff of Northamptonshire.[6] The hall was rebuilt in 1902. Loder died in 1931.[7]
  • Old Bakehouse, Draughton Road[8]
  • Old House, Harborough Road[9]
  • Old Rectory, Draughton Road[10]

Railway[edit]

Lamport railway station on the Northampton and Market Harborough railway opened on 16 February 1859 serving Maidwell as well as other nearby villages. The line closed to passenger traffic in 1960, and later completely closed to all traffic.

Maidwell Hall school[edit]

Maidwell Hall is an independent boys and girls boarding and day preparatory school for children from 4–13 years old.[11] The school was founded in 1911 and moved to its current location in 1933. The school opened to girls in 2010.[12] The school was later revealed to have been abusive to pupils in the 1970s.[13] Notable alumni include Adam Butler, the politician, Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer,[13] a landowner, nobleman historian, businessman and John Ailwyn Fellowes, 4th Baron de Ramsey a landowner, agriculturalist and first chairman of the Environment Agency.[citation needed]. Earl Spencer spoke of his loathing of the place following sexual abuse at the hands of a matron there in the 1970s[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Office for National Statistic: Maidwell CP: Parish headcounts. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  2. ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Key to English Place-names".
  4. ^ "Historic England – The List". Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Historic England – Maidwell Hall School". Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  6. ^ "No. 27061". The London Gazette. 10 March 1899. p. 1660.
  7. ^ Justin Williams W.E.B.S Ltd. "Un-Official Website for Maidwell in Northamptonshire ~ Village of Maidwell, Northamptonshire". Archived from the original on 24 October 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Historic England – The Old Bakehouse". Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Historic England – The Old House". Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Historic England – The Old Rectory". Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  11. ^ "Headmaster's Welcome". Maidwell Hall. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  12. ^ "About Us". Maidwell Hall. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017.
  13. ^ a b Starling, Boris (10 March 2024). "Charles Spencer's headmaster was a paedophilic villain – I remember him". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  14. ^ Grierson, Jamie (17 March 2024). "Boarding schools' impact devastating for society, says Charles Spencer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 March 2024.

External links[edit]