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Rockingham (St. Leonard)

ROCKINGHAM (St. Leonard), a parish, in the union of Uppingham, hundred of Corby, N. division of the county of Northampton, 25 miles (N. N. E.) from Northampton; containing 291 inhabitants. This place, which is situated in the forest of Rockingham, is of considerable antiquity: a castle was erected by William I., on the summit of a hill, for the protection of the extensive iron-works at that time carried on in the adjacent woodlands. In 1094, a grand council of the barons, bishops, and clergy, was held here, for the purpose of settling the differences which had arisen between William Rufus and Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, respecting the right of episcopal investiture. During the war in the reign of Charles I., the castle was garrisoned for the king by Sir Lewis Watson, afterwards created Lord Rockingham, and was besieged by the parliamentarian forces, who at the same time destroyed the tower and part of the nave of the church: the only remains of the castle are the two massive bastions that defended the entrance gateway.

The parish comprises 887a. 2r. 21p., of which 112 acres are arable, 234 forest, 76 wood, 65 meadow, and 379 inclosed pasture; the soil, for the most part, is a strong clay. The village, formerly a market-town, is situated at the base of the hill on which the castle stood, and on the right bank of the Welland, which is here crossed by a bridge. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 2. 3½., and in the patronage of the Hon. Richard Watson, the present proprietor of Rockingham Castle: the tithes have been commuted for £150, and a neat parsonage-house has been recently built by the patron. The church is a neat structure in the early and later English styles: in the chancel is the mausoleum of Lord Sondes. A spacious school has been built at the expense of Mr. Watson, by whom it is entirely supported; it affords instruction to 80 boys and 40 girls of this and the neighbouring parishes.


Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

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