Milton Malsor

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Church of the Holy Cross on 8 February 2007

Children playing in the field in front of the church during snow on 29 January 2004

War Memorial and Village Hall (behind) in snow on 29 January 2004

Flooding in 'The Dip' 1998

Coordinates: 52°11′N, 0°55′W

1 Facilities
2 Political structure
3 Transport
4 History
5 Surrounding areas
6 Buildings
7 Externals links
8 Sources

Milton Malsor is an English village four miles south of Northampton, in the shire county of Northamptonshire (Northants). It is two miles by road to the M1 London to Leeds motorway junction 15, 66 miles north of London and 45 miles southeast of Birmingham.

[edit] Facilities

The village has two pubs called The Greyhound in Towcester Road, which has a large restaurant and The Compass in Green Street, a more traditional village pub also offering bar food. The Greyhound attracts large crowds at summer as it has a large garden area. Both establishments serve good quality real ale with periodic guest bitters. Milton Malsor Parochial Primary School is located in Green Street. The village is in the catchment area of Campion Secondary School at Bugbrooke, about six miles away by road with the children bussed daily. It has a retirement home in Green Street. A Post Office/Shop and the modern village hall are both in the High Street opposite the green and the war memorial. The Northampton Hilton Hotel is approximately 1½ miles distant on Watering Lane in the neighbouring village, Collingtree, just off the A45 trunk road. The village has 2 modest industrial estates; a larger one on Gayton Road adjacent to the A43, (but no direct access to that road). This is referred to locally as 'Gallifords' reflecting its ownership. A smaller one is adjacent to the M1 bridge along Collingtree Road and known as 'Maple Farm' alluding to its history.

[edit] Political structure

The village has a Parish Council with nine members elected every four years. The Parish Council area extends to include the M1 in the north between junctions 15 and 15a; to the east the A508 Northampton to Milton Keynes main road; to the south part of the West Coast Main Line and to the west the A43 Northampton-Oxford trunk road. The local district council is South Northamptonshire where Milton is in Harpole and Grange ward together with the villages of Gayton, Rothersthorpe, Harpole and Kislingbury which elects two members. The Northamptonshire County Council division has one member (Conservative). The Member of Parliament (MP) is currently Brian Binley, Conservative, for the constituency of Northampton South. However, for the next (2007 or later) General Election there are boundary changes and the village will be in the new parliamentary constituency of South Northamptonshire.

[edit] Transport

The county of Northants is at a north-south and east-west rail, motorway and fast road transport network. Typical travel times in minutes by road (peak times in italics) are: central London 75 (110), Birmingham 45 (60), Manchester 120 (175), Leicester 50 (65), Oxford 50 (60), Cambridge 85 (130), Milton Keynes 20 (30). Travel times (peak) by rail (via Silverlink County and Virgin Trains services) in minutes are: from Northampton to Central London 55, to Birmingham 65; from Milton Keynes to Central London 40 and Manchester 120. Aiports at Heathrow, Gatwick, and London Stansted as well as Birmingham Airport are all within easy reach.

[edit] History

The first recorded mention of the village is in the days of William the Conquerer and the Domesday Book. This records that there were two Manors and two men held lands at Milton as part of their Baronies. These were William Peverel and Goisfrid Alselin.

[edit] Surrounding areas

Many fields around the village reflect England's history. The field known as 'the Leys' (opposite Milton House in Rectory Lane) shows clear signs of 18th century pre-enclosure and pre-British Agricultural Revolution farming in strips. The soil is predominantly sandy as one might expect since the area is the bed of an ancient river. Evidence of sand and clay extraction is all around, reflecting 19th and 20th century industrial and urban expansion. For example, the small industrial estate in Gayton Road is on an old clay quarry; the playing and football fields in Collingtree Road are on the sites of sand quarries - in the latter case mostly filled with clay spoil from the 1950s construction of the M1. The field between Towcester Road and the A43 Milton by-pass to the west of the village was also the site of a sand quarry in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1965 the driver of a mechanical digger spotted a shiny object in a newly exposed face. It turned out to be an early Bronze Age Cinerary Urn. The field between the village and the M1 on the north side of Collingtree Road is an area designated by Northamptonshire County Council for sand extraction. The site is in Milton Malsor parish but is call the 'Collingtree site' for some reason. It has so far not been developed probably due to its triangular shape and stranded location between the motorway along one edge, the railway line another and a road unsuited to heavy lorries on the third.

A stream runs northwest through the village, partly in a conduit but visible from Collingtree Road and Rectory Lane as it flows north through the field known as 'The Dip' after an old sheep dip the remains of which are still visable. In Spring 1998 this flooded, causing minor damage to some houses. The stream flows around Hunsbury Hill joing the River Nene at Upton west of Northampton. The Grand Union Canal and its Northampton arm, built in 1815 passes nearby. There is a marina just off the road to Gayton. There are 17 locks on the arm, taking the canal downhill into Northampton and to join the River Nene. It takes about 2 hours for a boat to travel through.

[edit] Buildings

Much of the village is in a conservation area with many traditional Northamptonshire stone cottages often thatched. Particular listed buildings of note by their street locations are:
Rectory Lane: Milton House; Mortimers; Milton Malsor Manor - see the external link below; The Rectory (now used as architects offices)
Collingtree Road: Church of the Holy Cross (Church of England); The Grange
Green Street: Baptist Chapel; Milton Parochial Primary School; Welstead Farm House, The Old Bakehouse
Malzor Lane: Milton Manor (not to be confused with The Manor in Rectory Lane - see above)
High Street: Old Methodist Chapel (now used as a private residence); War Memorial Towcester Road: The Greyhound Public House; The former Hope Brewery (now converted to offices) Please note: Nearly all these properties, with obvious exceptions, are private. Please do not trespass or disturb residents.