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Stanford (St. Nicholas)

STANFORD (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Rugby, hundred of Guilsborough, S. division of the county of Northampton, 3½ miles (S. W.) from Welford, and 5 (S. E.) from Lutterworth; containing 32 inhabitants. Shortly after the Conquest, Guy de Reinbudcurt, one of the Norman companions of William, sold the lordship to Benedict, abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Selby, in Yorkshire. In 1471 John Cave died vicar of Stanford, having, probably, been presented to the living by his brother, then abbot of Selby. After the Dissolution, the manor and advowson were granted by Henry VIII., for the sum of £1194. 3. 4., to Thomas Cave, Esq. The old manor-house of Stanford Hall was situated on the left bank of the Avon in this county; about 1680 it was pulled down by Sir Roger Cave, and a new building was commenced on the right bank, in the county of Leicester, which was completed in 1737. The river Avon bounds Stanford on the north-west, and the Grand Union canal passes through it. The parish comprises 2056a. 2r. 33p. of land, chiefly pasture of the best kind, and rendered more fertile by draining; only small portions are in tillage, and the soil in those parts is strong and clayey. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 10. 5.; net income, £85: the patronage and impropriation belong to Baroness Braye, of the family of Cave. The glebe-house is small but convenient, and has been much improved by -the present incumbent. The church is an interesting specimen of the decorated English style, and retains more indications of the architectural good taste which distinguished the 14th century than have usually escaped the innovations of later times. The organ belonged to the banqueting-hall at Whitehall, whence it was removed and sold by order of Cromwell; it was subsequently purchased from Magdalen College, Oxford, by the proprietor of Stanford. In the church is a series of monuments of the Caves, knights and baronets, commencing in 1558, and all in excellent preservation. William Laud, afterwards the celebrated archbishop, was inducted to the vicarage of this parish, in 1607.

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

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