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A History Society operated in Holcot 2012-2016. During it’s short period of operation a modest quantity of historical, photographic and interesting information relating to Holcot and the surrounding area was collected.
Some of the capital balance in the History Society’s bank account was used to install shelf racking in the first floor store room of the Holcot Church Old School Room in Main Street. This racking now holds 7 archive boxes of Holcot History Society records plus 5 cardboard rolls containing larger records such as maps, A1 photos, etc.
A catalogue of the records is available here.
HOLCOT IN HISTORY
Holcot developed from a small community established at a rural crossroads surrounded by good agricultural land and a plentiful water supply.
As with many rural villages, the early history centres around the Church. The first Church in Holcot was endowed early in the 12th century by King David of Scotland. Building of the present Church, dedicated to St Mary and All Saints, began in the early 13th century. The nave and chancel were rebuilt early in the 14th century and the tower was rebuilt later in the same century. It was around this time that the interior of the Church was decorated with a glorious array of wall paintings. Sadly, these are now badly faded although a restoration in the Baptistry gives an indication of the original effect. The clerestory and south porch were added in the 15th century. This basically completed the Church as it now stands although future generations made minor modifications and improvements.
The increasing prosperity of Church and Village went hand in hand and Holcot remained a strong rural community until well into the 20th century. The 1881 census records a population of 240 adults of which 59 (25%) were agricultural workers and 35 (15%) were shoe makers. Other listed trades and employment covered nearly all the needs of daily life making the village an almost independent community.
The Parish War Memorial is located at the junction of Back Lane and Moulton Road.
Whilst still retaining a rural spirit, and surrounded by rich agricultural land, the village is now mainly the home base for people working in the surrounding towns. Many fine old buildings in the local stone, some still thatched, remain and a walk around the village will reward the visitor with views of the way the village would have appeared in the 17th century. Earlier buildings of a very simple structure have disappeared but the road and connecting footpath layout remains to show how the village was laid out and appeared in the 17th century.
Holcot has made little impact on the history of the country. Apart from the 14th century Dominican theologian, Robert de Holcot, the village lays very few claims to fame. Therein lies its attraction. It is a typical English village showing all its developments and changes through the centuries yet still retaining a rich architectural heritage and a strong community spirit and relationship with the rural environment.
See also British History Online
Comparative maps from history to now
http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk
Historical monuments, buildings etc
BBC Domesday record from 1986
Chris Beaver has uploaded a number of photos of Holcot from the early 1960’s here – compare them to the current views from the Holcot Photographic Year 2015 examples below (for more photos see the Photographic Year page)
Brixworth Road – around 1960 and early 2015
Thank you for that , Do you know if there is any old photos about Holcot life on display anywhere .
I have two on may day with all Holcot village kids . not sure who is who .
I will be coming down to Northampton in two weeks time may go to the swan one day .
Thanks again for your help Michael.
Hi Mick. I have no idea where Gillian Rose or Christine Finney are. I think Christine had a brother called Richard (Tich we used to call him) and he was a very good cross country runner, but that is the limit of my knowledge; Regards Dave
Hello Dave thank you for replying ,I used to come over to your house to play ,and to take Linda out in a push chair , next time you hear from her give her my best wishes . Would love to see her again . Have you any idea where
Christine Finney is living , she used to live at Boughton green r,d moulton ,and she worked at Northampton general
hospital , also any idea of whereabouts of Gillian Rose . Thank you Michael.
Hi Mick Wright or squint as was your nickname in those days. You were inquiring about Linda Harris who used to live in Holcot at No 10 Moulton Road. She moved to Overstone over 40 years ago after marrying Paul Wood. Since then she has moved to Minions, Cornwall before moving back to Rushden. She has just recently moved back to Looe, Cornwall. Hope this answers your question, Mick. Anything else you need to know please feel free to ask. Regards Dave Harris.
Hello. A friend of mine recently bought a very large REV St John bible in a antique shop and inside was written that it belonged to Ernest Rose and Dorothy Mary Rose of 16 Moulton Road, Holcot. The bible is beautifully illustrated and had written that it was given to Ruby Rose (presumably his daughter) who was married to Alan Darlow Gibbs 25th July 1959. My friend, Mrs. Mel Robarts of Little Hallingury Hetfordshire would be delighted if she could find out anything about the history of the Rose family.
Thanking you.
Thank you Philip. My parents were married at Northampton Registry Office. My oldest sister Valerie was a good friend of Valerie Farden. Would like to find out about Linda Harris and Gillian Rose and so many more. I would love to meet Tony Moulds. Do you have any sort of Village Open Day where old photos would be on display? I missed a lot of school as I was in hospital for quite a while after burning myself badly with a pan of hot fat! My teachers name was Miss Sanon or something similar! My mother lost a baby after I was born and it was a little girl. All the information I have been given is that she was buried in an unmarked grave in Holcot Churchyard against a wall!!!! which seems rather strange but would it be possible to find out more please?
Thank you. Happy New Year Michael
Regarding Michael Wright’s comments – Philip Pomeroy comments
Hello Michael
I’m sorry to have taken so long to reply to your email of 22nd December but Christmas got in the way.
I moved into Holcot in 1976 which, I think, was after you left but I have made some enquiries and can advise you that Tony Moulds, our village milkman (amongst many other things) remembers you and your family. He remembers your mother Kit, nee Miller, living in a cottage in Walgrave Road, now named Virginia Cottage, before moving to 36 Moulton Road. He recalls that you were the youngest of five children and that your father worked at Moulton Agricultural College. I have not been able to trace your parents marriage in the Holcot Church register but if you can give me a date, I can look again.
You will not be surprised that Holcot has changed considerably over the years and many of the residents you would have known have now passed on. You may remember the Farden family of which only Iris (Lantsbury) still lives in Holcot and her sister Maureen in Moulton. There are still many second and third generation members of the family still living in Holcot. If you can remember any other names, I can try to get more information.
Best wishes
Philip Pomeroy
Holcot History Society
happy christmas to all michael
it must have been there then , my mum was born in Virginia cottage , we all left holcot and moved to moulton I still had one year left at the school before moulton secondary .I still have three photos of may day , does linda harris and jillian roes still live there . I would love to meet you all again some day , my roots are at holcot . I used to do plumbing repairs for brixworth council .
Are you sure it was not the Grange that your mother worked at, the large house opposite the pub. We didn’t have anyone to work for us, my father was a farmer and my brother in law the milkman. I can remember you from junior school, I think you were a little younger than me, I left Holcot school in 1960.
hi there sarah I remember the lodge I used to go there with my mum she used to do some house work and some cooking . so pleased you replied .I live in linconshier now . but still come down to Northampton .
Yes I can my name is Sarah Jeffery I lived a the Lodge just outside the village on Walgrave Road.
hi there my name is Michael alan wright , I was born in holcot and lived at 36 moulton road , my mum;s name was lilian kate or kit for short . can you remember me ?
Thank you so much it is almost 50 years since we have seen each other.
Sarah, Jo
Really glad you have been able to hook up again – I will send you both an email so that you have each other’s email addresses…over to you!!
David
Jo Chantler is trying to get in touch with me, I am the Wren she is trying to contact, how do I get in touch with her please
I am trying to trace a friend Sarah Jeffries, she lived in the Holcot, her parents were farmers and I think I remember the farm being called the lodge. I last say Sarah in Holcot in the 1970’s not long after she had married. Sarah was a wren and that is where I know her from I believe her married name was Williams. If you can be of any help to me I would be very grateful. Sarah also had a brother cannot remember his name and I do not know if he still lives in the area.
Thank you in advance for any info you cn give me. Jo Chantler
I’m pleased to see some of my late grandfather’s photos taken around Holcot in 1960 have found an additional use on this website. There are others from local grid squares to be found on the Geograph website here http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=56366874
I have very fond memories of holidays spent in the village between 1960 and 1966, especially of days playing in the rectory garden and taking cups of tea to the gardener when – what is now a tennis court – was in the 1960s a walled vegetable garden. I also fondly remember playing Scrabble with a lovely old lady named Miss Cohen who lived along Back Lane. Happy days.
We have records of the headstone inscriptions visible in 1976. Who were you looking for in particular,. I am assuming that the folks you mention in your previous message stayed in New Zealand. Let me know and I will see if they are recorded.
I am tracing my maternal line of Hull and Tarry families. They resided in Holcot for generations too.
My gggrandfather William Hull b 1847 married Sarah Tarry b 1856 and they came to New Zealand on the ship Rakaia in 1879.
I was wondering if the gravestones had been transcribed and if so, if they are online anywhere?
Hi, My name is Daniel Spokes and I reside in Lincolnshire. I too have been tracing my family history. It would seem that Thomas Spokes (born 1789) and Mary Dickins are ancestors of mine also. My side of the family have travelled from Holcot and reached Lincolnshire via Chesterfield, Doncaster and Sheffield. I have managed to trace the line back to Thomas Spokes (Holcot,born 1672, died 1727) and was married to Elizabeth Holis. I intend visiting Northampton Archive office sometime this year, with a view to finding out more details, and obviously, visiting Holcot.
Thanks for your comment Heather. An email response is winging its way over to you.
my sister and I hope to visit holcot in april/may 2015 from Melbourne Australia. we are interested in searching our family history. our gg grandfather was james spokes married to Hannah hull. they left with 2 children and sailed to oz 1848. james father was Thomas married to mary dickens. they had 8 children.
My grandmother used to mention visiting Holcot from Northampton on a pony & trap during the first world war. She had family (Garlick) who had a pub. It later burnt down. Does anyone know name of pub or family connection. I know there are connectiosn with West Hadden and Long Buckby.
would be keen to hear any infomation concerning the peters family in particular ann peters born 1797 ( age 74 at the 1871 census) who married
a coles from millbrook bedfordshire.thank you martin hills.
Thankyou Mr Linnell for your reply ,its nice to read your comments and that you remembered my dad, although dad had severe memory problems towards the end of his life he never forgot Holcot and it was fitting that his ashes were buried there .
He often told me about the village bakery and his memories of baking bread !!!
I also remember his Aunt Polly who lived near an orchard ,I remember visiting her as a child
Hi Karen
I remember your father, Leslie Ellis very well. I used to play with him as a child and enjoyed the fun we had. I am now 90 years old and still living in Holcot and I think your father was about 2 years older than me. I was in Holcot churchyard when your father’s ashes were being buried and I remember his wife being there and other family members.
Hi my father was Leslie Ellis son of Harry Ellis who owned the village bakery and some cottages in Sunny Bank. My father had three sisters Elsie, Nancy and Christine. I remember as a child visiting my fathers Aunt Polly who resided in a cottage near an orchard .
My father was in his late 30’s when he married my mother Sylvia Marshall in 1961.
I would love to know if anyone remembers my father , I have been told he enjoyed playing cricket and football in his youth . Sadly my father died some years ago , he always spoke very fondly of his childhood growing up in Holcot.
I attended Holcot infants and Primary from 1948 until 1952 and sat next to Lesley Spokes. Hee parents lived in the village opposite the school.
I recently visited Holcot, I live in Melbourne Australia. I was retracing my ancestors path, they lived in Holcot but moved to Australia in the 1800’s. There are 31 of my ancestors buried in the Cemetry of St Mary and All Saints of them 11 are direct decendants to me, I located one ancestor Thomas Spokes he has been buried there over 200 years he died 23/12/1809 at the age of 59years. He was my Great Great Grandfather James Spokes’ G Uncle.Most of the gravestones have weathered over the years so I was unable to find any other relatives graves. I love the Holcot village it is very quaint and It has been looked after by dedicated people who appreciate history, I hope to return one day to stay for a few days to hopefully find out more of my ancestors past. I feel blessed to have visited Holcot and especially to find the cemetry as it is all part of my long lost heritage.
My 3xgreat grandfather was Joseph Howes. He married Mary Spokes. The Howes family kept the White Swan from the late 1700’s until 1851. Joseph’s mother was Jane Gulliver. Her grandmother was Jane Andrew, daughter of William Andrew, gent. of Creaton. Through this family I have found connections to two of Henry VIII’s wifes, President George Washington, the Spencers and the present Queen.
Hi Lynda
I too am tracing the Spokes family tree. My branch of the family left Northampton with the railway works.I have traced the origins of the family to Holcot to the late 1600’s.I have not come across your parents ,but then again have not expanded my search into more recent times.
Dave
I am tracing my family tree have have many relatives with surname Spokes that resided in Holcot for many generations. I believe that there are still Spokes in the area and would love to join some dots.
My father Denis William Spokes was born in Northhamptonshire in Jan 1928 and had 8 brothers and sisters, his father was Walter and Mother Ada.
Love some help and some living relatives to contact
Lynda
Hi Jo,
Thanks for responding to my request for help. Although the name is not exactly the same, it is quite possible they are connected as the names often changed. I think my direct line left the village around the 1880s or even before but it may be possible that there is a connection. I’d be very interested to know if there are any Abrahams still in the village.
In answer to Mr Parker, I remember when I was a child Mr Abrahams lived in Moulton road. He was a big man and when Holcot village band was on parade he was a very majestic sight carrying the big bass drum. This would in the late thirties early forties. I also have a photograph of him with the band.
I’m tracing my family tree down my mother’s side on the Abrams line. It appears that they may have lived in Holcot in the 1850/60s and their jobs reflect the current situation as a rural village . If anyone has connections to that family name I’d be interested in knowing about it .