Elton (All Saints)
ELTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Oundle, hundred of Norman-Cross, county of Huntingdon, 4¾ miles (N. E.) from Oundle, and 8 (N. W.) from Stilton; containing 844 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Nene, near the Peterborough and Northampton railway, and comprises about 3520 acres, whereof two-thirds are arable, and about 90 acres woodland. The surface is undulated, rising into hills about twohundred feet above the level of the river; the soil on the elevated grounds is a strong argillaceous loam. An iron-foundry employs about twenty hands. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £23. 9. 2.; net income, £478: patrons, the Master and Fellows of University College, Oxford. The church is in the decorated English style, with a fine tower in the later English; it has lately been restored. The Wesleyans have a place of worship. A school, now conducted on the national system, was founded and endowed by Francis and Jane Proby, in 1712, when the former gave land, and the latter £600 in South Sea annuities, together producing £40 per annum. An almshouse for four poor women, endowed with an estate near Lincoln, yielding £165 per annum, was founded by the Rev. John Cooper in 1663. The old tower of Elton Hall, a monastic building, is a fine specimen of the embattled style of the 15th century; there are a rich groined roof in the kitchen of the Hall, and other remains of a chapel, still to be seen.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.