Etton (St. Stephen)

ETTON (St. Stephen), a parish, in the union and soke of Peterborough, N. division of the county of Northampton, 3 miles (S.) from Market-Deeping; containing 118 inhabitants, and comprising 1500 acres. This place is celebrated for its castle of Woodcroft, said to have been the scene of the murder of Dr. Hudson, chaplain of Charles I., who was forced over the battlements by the parliamentarian forces stationed here, who, hacking with their swords the hands by which he endeavoured to cling to the walls, caused him to fall into the moat beneath, where he was instantly put to death. The castle has been restored by Earl Fitzwilliam; the tower from which Dr. Hudson was thrown, and the moat in which he was killed, are still entire. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 9. 9½., and in the gift of the Earl: the tithes were commuted at the inclosure of the parish, for 200 acres of land, valued at £350 per annum.