An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Northamptonshire, Volume 1, Archaeological Sites in North-East Northamptonshire. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1975.
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'Laxton', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Northamptonshire, Volume 1, Archaeological Sites in North-East Northamptonshire, (London, 1975) pp. 60-61. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/northants/vol1/pp60-61 [accessed 26 April 2024]
30 LAXTON
(OS 1:10000 a SP 99 NW, b SP 99 NE, c SP 99 SW)
The parish, which once included Fineshade parish, covers only some 530 hectares of land lying across the valley of a small brook draining N.E. to the R. Welland between 180 ft. and 330 ft. above OD. Apart from some small patches of Boulder Clay on the higher parts, the parish is wholly on soils derived from underlying limestones and marls.
Roman
(1) Iron-working sites (unlocated). Iron slag, associated with Roman pottery and coins, is recorded as having been found in Laxton, but the locations of these finds are unknown (Arch. J., XXXV (1878), 269).
b(2) Coin hoard (SP 95859698) found in 1935 in the cricket field of Blackfriars School. It consisted of 339 coins, mostly bronze, of late 4th-century date. (JRS, XXVI (1936), 256; Numis. Chron., 5th Ser., XVI (1936), 156–63; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge)
Medieval and Later
b(3) Iron-smelting pond (SP 969972) lies in the extreme N.E. of the parish at the junction of two small streams. The small irregular pool has a large earthen dam at its N. end. It was probably constructed to provide waterpower for the ironsmelting site known as Furnace Mill which lay to the N.E. in Fineshade parish (see Fineshade (4)).
(4) Cultivation remains. An Act of Parliament for the enclosure of the common fields of the parish was passed in 1772, but no Award survives. Ridge-and-furrow of these fields remains on the ground, or can be traced on air photographs, in a few places around the village, in the parkland to the N.E. (SP 958965) and around Laxton Lodge (SP 968970). It is mainly arranged in end-on furlongs and laid out at right angles to all streams and watercourses. (RAF VAP CPE/UK 1925, 1136–8, 3130– 9)