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| Newton Village |
| Weekley
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Newton is a tiny village which is tucked away off the road between Geddington and Great Oakley. The road to Newton does not go anywhere else, so there is little traffic through the village. However small and sleepy it may seem, Newton has seen its share of history and interest. This small village was once two villages – Great and Little Newton. There were once two churches, but now only one of the buildings still stands.
It was in the area of Little Newton, on 8 June 1607, that a thousand peasants (known as ‘The Levellers’) gathered. This was following the loss of their land and their livelihood to ‘inclosure’ by landowners, who were only interested in the money to be made from sheep farming. Peasants had also come from Pytchley and Rushton, two other areas badly affected by the practice. These peasants roamed the countryside uprooting the landowners inclosure boundaries (‘The Midland Rising’). The result of their actions let to a massacre by troops that were brought in by the Tresham’s, and tragically 50 of the rioters were killed and many wounded. |
St Leonard’s, once stood at the west side of the village (Great Newton), fell into disuse when the two villages were united in 1440. On the site now stands Manor Barn, which is a private home, and to the rear of the property is an area of grass which was the former churchyard.
To the east of the village, in the area that was once known as Little Newton, stands St Faith’s (01), a 14th century building with a 15th century tower and spire. This was also once a private chapel of the Tresham’s, and was restored in 1858. This building is no longer used as a church and is now a Field Centre.|
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