STANFORD HALL

The early 14th Church St. Nicholas, in Stanford-on-Avon with magnificent stained glass and wonderfully preserved monuments and hatchments, is well worth a visit.

On the estate, if we go back in time, to the earliest signs of human habitation, there are earthwork remains of two ancient settlements on the land. The earliest is probably Celtic and is located in the North Park, forming part of the ancient parish of Westrill and Starmore. There is evidence of raised earth mounds in Westrill Wood on which wattle and daub dwellings were situated, through which a stream meanders arriving at a man made fish pool. This may have been a typical family complex of the Coritani who were a tribe of people living in this part of the East Midland area of Britain prior to the Roman conquest. The old Roman road from Northampton to Leicester bisects the land just above this ancient settlement.

The second is the site of the medieval village of Stanford-on-Avon that extends to the north east and south west from the current village. The earth foundations of the dwelling enclosures still exist and are a designated Ancient Monument. The parish records from the Church of St Nicholas. point to the desertification of the village during the Black Death, when at the time, the church was being restored and surviving records note the deaths of many of the artisans and stone masons working on the project. All across the outer park there are still plenty of signs of medieval ridge and furrow enclosed agriculture and the medieval ditch and hawthorn field boundaries are also evident.