Kilsby (St. Faith)

KILSBY (St. Faith), a parish, in the union of Rugby, hundred of Fawsley, S. division of the county of Northampton, 5½ miles (N. by W.) from Daventry, on the road to Lutterworth; containing 655 inhabitants. This parish comprises by measurement 2100 acres: the soil is generally a strong clay, and a considerable portion is rich grazing land; the surface is hilly. The Oxford canal passes through the parish; and the London and Birmingham railway is here conveyed through a tunnel 2398 yards in length, the cost of which, 600 yards being quicksand, amounted to £125 per yard. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7; net income, £147, with a glebe-house; patron, the Precentor in the Cathedral of Lincoln: the rectory, which is attached to the precentorship, is valued in the king's books at £14. The tithes were commuted for land in 1777. There is a place of worship for Independents. A bequest in land from Abraham Cowley, Esq., producing £18 a year, is given to the poor.