WATER NEWTON
Niwantan (x cent.); Newetone (xi cent.); Newenton (xiii, xiv, xv cent.); Waterneuton (xiv cent.).
This small parish lies between Chesterton and
Stibbington-cum-Sibson and is bounded on the north
by the Nene. The Billing Brook divides it from
Chesterton on the east, and very picturesque views
are characteristic of this riverside region.
A short distance south of the river, the parish is
crossed from east to west by the Great North Road,
and the village is about half a mile from the western
boundary. The church, rectory, school, and postoffice lie between the river and the Great North Road,
across which on the south side is Water Newton
House, with the smithy to the east of it.
It is said that the main road once came down to the
ford, and passed close to the north and west walls of
the church. The Hall, or Manor House, originally
stood to the west of the Rectory; (fn. 1) the cottages
now on the site being part of the outbuildings, and
probably incorporating also some manor-house
material. Water Newton Lodge, which stands about
a mile south of the church, is built of re-used early
17th-century materials, but has some more modern
work in parts. A deed of 1794 (fn. 2) describes it as having
been built by Richard Edwards, chiefly out of materials
taken from the manor-house called the Hall. The
Hall was described as ruinous when sold by Richard
Edwards in 1742, (fn. 3) but very little could have remained
at this time because the greater part had already been
pulled down. The deed would seem to suggest that
Water Newton House, on the south side of the road,
150 yds. S.S.W. of the church, and the house of
contemporary date on the north side of the road, (fn. 4)
north-east of it, were originally both inns. Water
Newton House was built early in the 17th century,
the north front being remodelled early in the 18th
century; it has later or modern additions at the south
wing. The second early 17th-century house referred
to on the north side of the road was remodelled on its
western front early in the 18th century. The rectory
house was built early in the 18th century, but has
modern additions.
To the west of the village are old brickworks, and
about a quarter of a mile south an old gravel pit.
The area of the parish is 883 acres and the ground
rises to about 115 ft. above Ordnance datum in the
south, but is liable to floods in the north. The soil is
mostly gravel, and the subsoil part clay and part
sand. The land is very good and well cultivated, the
chief crops being wheat, barley and oats. Local
Romano-British remains, including villa sites and a
cemetery, have been described in a previous volume. (fn. 5)
Close names found include Hall Close, Upper and
Nether Middle Ground, Duncoat, Great and Little
Spring Fields, Hawkins' Homestead, Berridge's Close,
Long Lane or the Old Lane, Sibson Close, Sibson
Common Town Field, Great Ramfield. (fn. 6)
Manors
The first endowments of the abbey
founded at Ancarig c. 662 by Saxulph,
Abbot of Peterborough, and after devastation by the Danes in 870 refounded as the Abbey of
Thorney by Æthelwold, Bishop of Winchester, in 972,
appear to have included a manor of Newton, which
was acquired for the abbey by Æthelwold from a
knight called Ælfric Child, and confirmed to the
abbey by King Edgar's foundation charter of 973. (fn. 7)
The Abbey of Thorney in 1086 had a manor of 5 hides
in Newton, with 2 mills rendering 32s., a priest and a
church, 60 acres of meadow and a custom worth 2s.
in the wood of the Abbey of Peterborough. One hide
was demesne land. (fn. 8)
In 1279, the manor and vill were returned as
containing 5½ hides of 5 virgates each, reckoning
26 acres to the virgate. Of these the abbot had in
demesne 1½ hides and ½ virgate, and there were 14
acres of meadow. The Abbot of Thorney had 3
watermills, a several fishery in the Nene for the
whole length of the mill-pond, and a common fishery
beginning at Huntingdon Holme and extending to the
boundary between Newton and Chesterton, 1½ leagues
in length, which belonged to the manor. There were
3 freeholders, among them being Nicholas de Newton,
who held 6 acres, residue of 2 virgates formerly held
by Ralph de Newton, from whose heirs the Abbot
of Thorney had bought 44 acres. This land owed
suit at the court of the Hundred of Norman Cross,
and at the Abbot of Thorney's court at Yaxley. Among
the duties returned as due from one cottar for his
holding was that of taking robbers captured in the
manor of Newton to Huntingdon or Yaxley, and of
doing 'averagium' with the common boat of Newton
from Newton manor to Thorney. (fn. 9)
In 1286 the abbey claimed view of frankpledge and
waif ab antiquo in Newton. (fn. 10) In 1390 the bondmen
and bondage tenants of the abbot, together with
his tenants in Stanground and Yaxley, refused services
and customs due and formed leagues to resist him. (fn. 11)
After the Dissolution the manor remained for a time
in the hands of the Crown, and a grain rent from the
farmer there was granted in 1546 to Thomas Rawlins
of Stetchworth (Cambs). (fn. 12)
In 1548 the manor and advowson, with the pension
from the rectory, hitherto paid to Thorney, and fee
farm rent of £24, were granted to Sir Thomas Heneage,
kt., and his wife Katherine and to Sir William
Willoughby, kt., Lord Willoughby. (fn. 13) In 1549 Lord
Willoughby granted them to George and Adam
Smythe; all right in the same was released in 1550
by Adam Smythe to George Smythe, who died in the
same year, leaving a son and heir Adam, aged 21, (fn. 14) who
inherited. He died at Wansford in 1559 seised of
the manor, advowson, etc., and leaving a brother and
heir Christopher. (fn. 15) In the following year Christopher
received freedom of the manor, (fn. 16) as heir of his brother.
In 1602 another grant by letters patent was made to
Christopher Smythe and his son and heir apparent
Millicent, confirming to them the fee farm, manor,
etc., as granted to Sir Thomas Heneage and Lord
Willoughby. (fn. 17) After the death of Christopher, his son
Millicent in 1610 sold the manor and advowson, mills,
and rents for £5,800 to Sir John Whitbrooke, kt., of
Bridgenorth, co. Salop. (fn. 18) Sir John Whitbrooke settled
the manor in 1614 on his wife Joan, and died in 1620
seised of the manor, the fee farm of which was granted
in the same year to Lawrence Whitaker and Henry
Price. (fn. 19) He was survived by Joan, who was living
soon after at Shier Lane in the parish of St. Clement
Danes, co. Middlesex, and by a son and heir Thomas, (fn. 20)
aged 16½. Thomas on 2 August 1620 married Susan,
daughter of John Sotherton, Esq., Baron of the
Exchequer, at Frampton, and died the following
October, when his heir was his brother Simon, aged
17, (fn. 21) who next held this property, which he conveyed
in 1633 to John Glover, (fn. 22) who
died seised in 1649. (fn. 23) The
manor and advowson, mills,
etc., had passed before 1673
to Robert Pemberton, Glover's
nephew, and his wife Cecily,
who in that year conveyed
them to Sir Edward Turnor
junior, kt., Arthur Turnor his
brother, and Sarah Turnor. (fn. 24)
Sir Edward, who was the
eldest son of Sir Edward
Turnor of Pardon Parva (Essex)
(Speaker of the House of Commons in 1661, and Lord Chief
Baron of the Exchequer in 1671), died in 1721, survived by a son Charles, and a daughter Sarah, wife
of Francis Gee. (fn. 25) Charles's two daughters died
unmarried, and Arthur Turnor, their father's uncle,
who had inherited his mother's property of Shillingley Park (Sussex), apparently succeeded to the
manor under the terms of a settlement, and died in
1724, (fn. 26) leaving a son Edward, who sold it to Richard
Edwards in 1735 (fn. 27) and died without issue in 1736.
By his will he appointed as his heir his cousin Sarah,
wife of Joseph Garth and daughter of Francis and
Sarah Gee. The Turnor estates then became involved
in litigation between Sarah and Joseph Garth and their
children, and Richard Edwards, the owner of Water
Newton. It resulted in the sale of the manor to
Edward Knipe, of London, merchant, and his wife
Dorothy, for £12,000 in 1742, and part of the payment
was made by a transfer of South Sea bonds. (fn. 28)
Turnor. Nine pieces ermine and sable with a millrind argent in each sable piece.
In 1743 Edward Knipe settled the manor and advowson on his wife Dorothy, daughter of the Rev. Montague
Lloyd, D.D., and to provide portions for his younger
sons and daughters, with remainder, after her death,
in tail male, to Randolph Knipe, then his only son and
heir. (fn. 29) Randolph died in the lifetime of his father,
who was survived by his wife, the aforesaid Dorothy,
when he died at Epsom in 1786. This lady then held
the manor and advowson, etc., with which she and
her second but eldest surviving
son, Edward, were dealing in
1794 to bar the above entail. (fn. 30)
After the death of his mother
in 1794, (fn. 31) the manor passed
to Edward Knipe. (fn. 32) It remained during the earlier part
of next century in the Knipe
family. Edward Knipe of
Epsom presented to the rectory
in 1807, and Randolph Richard
Knipe in 1846. (fn. 33) The Rev.
Randolph Richard Knipe was
lord of the manor in 1854. (fn. 34)
and died at Bath in 1859. His
successor of the same name
was rector, and presumably lord of the manor, in
1873. The Marquess of Huntly afterwards bought
the estate, probably in 1874, as he presented to the
church in that year. He was lord of the manor in
1903, (fn. 35) but sold it soon after to Mr. John Henry
Beeby of Peterborough, who died in 1924. Mrs. Beeby
owned it in 1931.
Knipe. Gules two bars argent with three wolves' heads argent in the chief.
Church
The church of ST. REMIGIUS consists of a chancel (27 ft. by 14¾ ft.),
nave (42½ ft. by 16¾ ft.), north aisle
(6¼ ft. wide), south aisle (9¾ ft. wide), west tower
(8½ ft. by 8½ ft.) and south porch. The walls are of
rubble with stone dressings and the roofs are covered
with stone-slates and lead.
The church is mentioned in the Domesday Survey
(1086), and numerous 12th-century stones have been
re-used or built into the later walls, but nothing of this
date remains in situ. The chancel and nave were
rebuilt and presumably the two aisles were added in
the 13th century, and to this church a west tower was
added early in the 14th century. (fn. 36)
A few years later the south aisle was rebuilt and
possibly widened and the clearstory and the south
porch added. The western end of the north aisle
seems to have been rebuilt as a small chamber at the
extreme end of the 14th century. In 1887 the greater
part of the north aisle and its arcade were rebuilt and
the whole church generally restored. The tower was
restored in 1892.
The 13th-century chancel has a 15th-century threelight east window, but the inner jambs and parts of the
arches of the original window, possibly two grouped
lancets, remain; there are also two 15th-century
brackets on this wall. In the north wall are two mid
14th-century two-light windows and a square locker.
In the south wall are two similar windows, a small door,
and a single-light low-side window, all of the same
date, and the remains of two 13th-century windows;
also 13th-century sedilia with three pointed arches
supported on jamb-shafts and two circular shafts;
and a 14th-century piscina with a segmental arch.
The chancel arch is modern (1887), but some
earlier stones have been re-used. Under it is a 15thcentury oak screen much restored.
The 13th-century nave has an arcade of three bays
on each side. The rebuilt north arcade has semicircular arches of one chamfered order resting on
octagonal columns with moulded capitals and bases;
the eastern respond having a moulded corbel resting
on a notch-head, and the western respond being a halfcolumn now enclosed in the churchkeeper's storeroom.
The south arcade has similar arches, the western
slightly later than the others; the eastern column,
which is largely modern, is composed of four grouped
shafts, and the western is octagonal, both with moulded
capitals and bases. At the east end, on the north side
of the chancel arch is a mutilated early 14th-century
piscina with a cinquefoiled head. The clearstory has
three mid 14th-century two-light windows on each
side. The roof is modern, but six 15th-century figures
of angels have been fixed on the jack-legs. (fn. 37)
The rebuilt north aisle has a mid 14th-century twolight window reset in the east wall, and two others and
a blocked doorway in the north wall. The western end
of this aisle is of late 14th-century date, is shut off from
the rest by a cross wall, and used as a churchkeeper's
storeroom; the west and north walls each have a
narrow window, and near the top of the former is a
small trefoiled opening, now blocked, which once opened
into a space between the roof and a lower ceiling,
possibly used as a dove-house for the rector's pigeons.
The mid 14th-century south aisle has a two-light
window in the east wall and three others and a reset
13th-century doorway in the south wall. In the sill
of the south-east window is a small sexfoiled sunk
basin for a piscina; and in the south-east angle is a
plain chamfered bracket. The roof is modern but is
supported on some 14th-century stone corbels.
The early 14th-century tower has no tower arch,
but a plain doorway, of c. 1400, opens into the church,
and above it is a rough relieving arch; still higher up
is a square-headed opening made up of 12th-century
stones. The two side walls have each a reset 13thcentury lancet, and the west wall has a small niche
containing the figure of a man (the head modern)
and below it a sunk panel inscribed 'vovs ke par
issi passez pvr le alme [th]omas pvrdev priez,'
which is supposed to commemorate the builder of
the tower. The belfry windows are two-lights, those
on the north and east enclosed in a semicircular
outer arch, and the others under pointed arches,
but the outer orders are all decorated with the
chevron ornament, and they appear to be 12th-century
windows altered and reset in the 14th century. The
tower, which has no buttress, has a very bold plinth,
and is finished with a cornice of notch-heads and surmounted by a rather short octagonal broach spire
having two tiers of lights; the upper part has been
rebuilt with new stone and the old stones have been
built into the churchyard walls. The height to the
top of the spire is 95 ft.; and the vane has the initials
'J.C. 1803,' for John Compton. The stairs are in
the south-east angle.
The 14th-century south porch has a pointed outer
arch of two orders, the inner one resting on attached
shafts with moulded capitals and bases. In the northeast corner is the moulded octagonal base of a shafted
stoup.
The 15th-century font has an octagonal panelled
bowl on a modern octagonal stem and base.
There are three bells, inscribed: (1) Ave : gri :
plena : Dns : tecum; (2) 1665; (3) Sancta Maria
ora pro nobis. The first probably by William Rufford;
the second by Tobias Norris (III). The bells were
restored in 1902.
In the chancel are three carved bench-ends, two
of them with poppy-heads of three grotesque faces;
all c. 1500.
Several 12th-century stones are built into the wall
of the north aisle. Lying loose in the south aisle is a
small stone figure, c. 1300, of a man in a long gown,
with angel at his head, and feet resting on a lion, all
under a crocketed canopy carved with dog-tooth. An
octagonal font-bowl, also lying loose in the church,
was found in a field near Oundle. In the churchyard
is a large Roman coffin and lid.
There are the following monuments: in the chancel, to Caroline Knipe, d. 1832; Harriot Jane Knipe,
d. 1833, and William Knipe, infant, d. 1824; Harriot
wife of the Rev. Randolph Richard Knipe, d. 1840;
Frances Knipe, d. 1844; Frances wife of Edward
Samuel Knipe, d. 1844; the Rev. Randolph Richard
Knipe, Rector, d. 1859; the Rev. Randolph Knipe,
Rector, d. 1873, and Elizabeth his widow, d. 1908;
floor slabs to John Harbottill, of Baston, Lincs, d.
1646/7; the Rev. Jeffery Hawkins, Rector, d. [1700];
Mary wife of the Rev. Jeffery Hawkins, Rector, d.
1709; [Hannah] daughter of the Rev. Jeffery Hawkins,
Rector, d. 1715; the Rev. Robert Fuller, Rector,
d. 1735, and Jane (Fuller) his widow, d. 1757; Original
Jackson, d. 1771; Jane daughter and heiress of the
Rev. Robert Fuller and Jane his wife, d. 1805; the
Rev. Edward Kerriche, Rector, d. 1807; Richard
Edwards, eldest son of Richard and Mary Edwards,
d. 1808, and Edward Edwards, Admiral of the White
Squadron, their second son, d. 1815; Mary wife of
Samuel Edwards, their fourth son, d. 1816; and glass
windows to Henry Edwards of King's Lynn, d. 1868;
Samuel Edwards of Lewisham, Kent, d. 1882; and
Elizabeth widow of the Rev. Randolph Knipe, Rector,
d. 1908. In the nave, floor slab to John Compton,
d. 1815, and Elizabeth his wife, d. 1831. In the north
aisle to William C. Woodhouse, brother of the Rector,
d. 1892; Charles James Sampson, d. 1916; Hugh
Delane Sampson, died of wounds received in France,
1917; and floor slabs to the Rev. John Old, Rector
[d. 1753], and [Jane] his widow, d. [1767], and [Elizabeth] (fn. 38) daughter, d. 1767; Easter Fuller, d. 1769;
Jane daughter of Richard Edwards, d. 1780, William
son of Richard and Mary Edwards, d. 1784, and Samuel
another son, d. 1816; Mary (Fuller) wife of Richard
Edwards, d. 1801. In the south aisle glass window to
Caroline Maria Woodhouse [mother of the Rector],
d. 1876; and C.B.E. 1887.
The registers are as follows: (i) baptisms, 29 January
1687/8 to 12 October 1812; marriages, 2 February 1712
to 31 March 1752; and burials, 18 February 1699/1700
to 22 October 1812; (ii) the official marriage book,
25 June 1758 to 1 May 1812.
The church plate consists of (fn. 39) a silver cup which
looks as if part of the base is missing, inscribed
'Water Newton' and hall-marked for 1636–7; a
silver cover-paten which does not fit the cup, inscribed in script, except the two capital letters,
'Water Newton,' 17th century, but no hall-mark;
a small silver bread box inscribed 'I.M. - - - E.L.R.
1918,' hall-marked for 1909–10.
Advowson
The advowson followed the descent
of the manor (fn. 40) until about 1930, when
it was bought by the Rev. George
Henry Woodhouse, who left it at his death at the end
of that year to Keble College, Oxford, the present
patrons.
In 1279, the rectory was endowed ab antiquo with a
messuage and a virgate of land. (fn. 41) The church was
valued at £6 13s. 4d. in 1291 and 1428. (fn. 42) Its value
had risen to £8 12s. 4d. in 1535. (fn. 43)
A pension of 29s. 8d. from the rectory, paid to the
Abbot of Thorney until the Dissolution, was later
included in all transfers of the manor (q.v.).
A lease of the tithes of the demesnes was the subject
of Chancery proceedings in 1590, instituted by
Christopher Smythe against Samuel Willingham, then
rector, and Martin Furnilowe. (fn. 44)
There are no charities for this parish.