Cosgrove, Northamptonshire
Encyclopedia
Cosgrove is a village
in Northamptonshire
, England about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Stony Stratford
, 6 miles (9.7 km) north of central Milton Keynes
and 12 miles (19.3 km) south of Northampton
along the A508 road and 8 miles (12.9 km) south-east of Towcester
along the A5 road (the Roman road
Watling Street
). The River Tove
passes to the east of the village flowing into the River Great Ouse
just south, the latter marking the boundary with Buckinghamshire
and Milton Keynes. The Grand Union Canal
passes through the middle of the village.
. The river was initially crossed on the level, with four temporary locks lowering the canal from the south-east, and five raising it from the river towards the north-west (the top lock of these is still in place). The temporary locks were used as a means of getting the canal open to through traffic by 1800 (this river crossing and the tunnel at Blisworth
being the only two gaps by that year). However, it was always intended that the river should be crossed by aqueduct, as the locks were wasteful of water, time-consuming and the river in flood in winter could prevent through passage. A brick aqueduct was built, but collapsed in 1808, after which the locks were re-opened. It was replaced by the present Cosgrove aqueduct
, built of cast iron, and opened on 22 January 1811.
The 10.5 miles (17 km) Buckingham branch of the canal (also known as Buckingham Arm
), an extension of the original proposal for a link to the main road at Old Stratford, was opened in 1801, diverging from the main line just to the south-east of the village, above the lock. It closed in the 1960s but there is a desire to re-open the now dry and defunct canal arm. The Buckingham Canal Society was formed to reopen the original canal line wherever possible.
This Buckingham branch froze more quickly and solidly than either the River Ouse or the main canal. This was noticed not only by skaters from miles around, but also by the owner of Cosgrove Hall, who in about 1820 built an ice-house half-way between the canal and the Hall. The ice house was constructed rather like a stone windmill, with very thick walls but, unlike the windmill, the ice house has its greater part below the level of the surrounding field. Into the ice house, every winter from 1820 until the 1900s, ice cut from the canal would be stored and packed around with straw. By this method it kept until the following spring and summer, when it would be sold to local fishmongers, butchers and others in the days before refrigeration. In recent years it has become derelict, but it was the last remaining in Buckinghamshire and one of the very few left in England.
For the past 200 years life in the village has been affected by the building of the canal and then later by the railway, now the West Coast Main Line
. For a while the village was a very busy trading centre, but in more recent years, with the advent of motorways and other means of transportation, life and business in the village has slowed down again. The traders have gone, and the village has returned to its natural, rural charm like much of Northamptonshire life.
There was once a cornmill on the River Tove, dating from 1086, which Robert Maudit granted to Roger the miller of Cosgrove and his son Robert for life in 1211. The Mill prospered until the early 20th century when it fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1979.
The gothic style Ornamental Bridge over the canal was built in 1790s at the insistence of a local landowner, the Biggins family when the two halves of the canal joined here, one from Braunston
, the other from Brentford. It is one of only two ornamental bridges over the canal.
Cosgrove Hall and Estate was built in the early 18th century on the site of an earlier house by the Furtho family. It is not open to the public. It may have been built by John Lumley of Northampton.
The Priory was built in the 17th century by the Rigby family and is now the headquarters of the Pericom Group. Originally known as the Manor House, the name was changed to The Priory in around 1810. Pevsner states that it has a Rood Screen
from the time of Henry VIII.
St. Vincent's Well enclosed by iron railings behind the old National School in the High Street is said to have a high iron content, which some believe give the water remedial qualities.
South-east of Cosgrove Hall and the church on the south bank of the canal is the site of a Roman
Villa, bathhouse and temple excavated in the 1950s and 60s. Many finds including an urn of silver coins were found during construction of the canal. This is about 1 mile from the Roman Road known as Watling Street.
South west of the village are The Quarries, the remains of a medieval limestone quarry, now calcareous grassland, with a
rich plant community of limestone-loving plants such as the spotted cat's ear
and fragrant orchid
. The site is also home to rare insects such as the ground beetle
and birds such as the skylark
and barn owl
.
Cosgrove Leisure Park attracts many visitors, caravanners and holiday-makers. The park is built on an area of flooded gravel pits near the River Great Ouse south of the village. It has a swimming and paddling pool, fishing lakes and a water sports including water-skiing and jet-skiing. There are pitches for 500 touring caravans and 460 owner-occupied static holiday homes.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, England about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Stony Stratford
Stony Stratford
Stony Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes and is a civil parish with a town council within the Borough of Milton Keynes. It is in the north west corner of Milton Keynes, bordering Northamptonshire and separated from it by the River Great Ouse...
, 6 miles (9.7 km) north of central Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
and 12 miles (19.3 km) south of Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
along the A508 road and 8 miles (12.9 km) south-east of Towcester
Towcester
Towcester , the Roman town of Lactodorum, is a small town in south Northamptonshire, England.-Etymology:Towcester comes from the Old English Tófe-ceaster. Tófe refers to the River Tove; Bosworth and Toller compare it to the "Scandinavian proper names" Tófi and Tófa...
along the A5 road (the Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
). The River Tove
River Tove
The River Tove is a river in England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. Rising in Northamptonshire, it flows for around 15 miles past the town of Towcester before meeting the Ouse near Milton Keynes. Its final 5 miles form part of the border between Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, running...
passes to the east of the village flowing into the River Great Ouse
River Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
just south, the latter marking the boundary with Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
and Milton Keynes. The Grand Union Canal
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
passes through the middle of the village.
Grand Union Canal
Immediately south-east of the village the canal crosses the valley of the river Great Ouse on an embankment and aqueduct known as the Cosgrove Iron Trunk AqueductCosgrove aqueduct
Cosgrove aqueduct is a navigable cast iron trough aqueduct that carries the Grand Union Canal over the River Great Ouse, on the borders between Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire at the northwest margin of Milton Keynes in England. The present structure was built in 1811, to replace a previous...
. The river was initially crossed on the level, with four temporary locks lowering the canal from the south-east, and five raising it from the river towards the north-west (the top lock of these is still in place). The temporary locks were used as a means of getting the canal open to through traffic by 1800 (this river crossing and the tunnel at Blisworth
Blisworth Tunnel
Blisworth Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire, England between the villages of Stoke Bruerne at the southern end and Blisworth at the northern end.-Measurements:...
being the only two gaps by that year). However, it was always intended that the river should be crossed by aqueduct, as the locks were wasteful of water, time-consuming and the river in flood in winter could prevent through passage. A brick aqueduct was built, but collapsed in 1808, after which the locks were re-opened. It was replaced by the present Cosgrove aqueduct
Cosgrove aqueduct
Cosgrove aqueduct is a navigable cast iron trough aqueduct that carries the Grand Union Canal over the River Great Ouse, on the borders between Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire at the northwest margin of Milton Keynes in England. The present structure was built in 1811, to replace a previous...
, built of cast iron, and opened on 22 January 1811.
The 10.5 miles (17 km) Buckingham branch of the canal (also known as Buckingham Arm
Buckingham Arm
The Buckingham Arm is a canal that once ran from Cosgrove, Northamptonshire to Buckingham . It was built as an arm of the Grand Junction Canal, in two separate phases, opening in 1800 and 1801. It was disused from 1932, but was not finally abandoned until 1964...
), an extension of the original proposal for a link to the main road at Old Stratford, was opened in 1801, diverging from the main line just to the south-east of the village, above the lock. It closed in the 1960s but there is a desire to re-open the now dry and defunct canal arm. The Buckingham Canal Society was formed to reopen the original canal line wherever possible.
This Buckingham branch froze more quickly and solidly than either the River Ouse or the main canal. This was noticed not only by skaters from miles around, but also by the owner of Cosgrove Hall, who in about 1820 built an ice-house half-way between the canal and the Hall. The ice house was constructed rather like a stone windmill, with very thick walls but, unlike the windmill, the ice house has its greater part below the level of the surrounding field. Into the ice house, every winter from 1820 until the 1900s, ice cut from the canal would be stored and packed around with straw. By this method it kept until the following spring and summer, when it would be sold to local fishmongers, butchers and others in the days before refrigeration. In recent years it has become derelict, but it was the last remaining in Buckinghamshire and one of the very few left in England.
For the past 200 years life in the village has been affected by the building of the canal and then later by the railway, now the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
. For a while the village was a very busy trading centre, but in more recent years, with the advent of motorways and other means of transportation, life and business in the village has slowed down again. The traders have gone, and the village has returned to its natural, rural charm like much of Northamptonshire life.
There was once a cornmill on the River Tove, dating from 1086, which Robert Maudit granted to Roger the miller of Cosgrove and his son Robert for life in 1211. The Mill prospered until the early 20th century when it fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1979.
The gothic style Ornamental Bridge over the canal was built in 1790s at the insistence of a local landowner, the Biggins family when the two halves of the canal joined here, one from Braunston
Braunston
Braunston is a village and civil parish in the county of Northamptonshire, England. It has a population of 1,675 . Braunston is situated just off the A45 main road and lies between the towns of Rugby and Daventry....
, the other from Brentford. It is one of only two ornamental bridges over the canal.
Other buildings and features
The Parish Church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul and parts date from the 13th century but is described by Pevsner as 'badly over-restored. There is a memorial to Pulter Forester (d.1778). The tower is over 70 feet tall and contains six bells with one ‘Santa Maria’ dating to the 15th century.Cosgrove Hall and Estate was built in the early 18th century on the site of an earlier house by the Furtho family. It is not open to the public. It may have been built by John Lumley of Northampton.
The Priory was built in the 17th century by the Rigby family and is now the headquarters of the Pericom Group. Originally known as the Manor House, the name was changed to The Priory in around 1810. Pevsner states that it has a Rood Screen
Rood screen
The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or wrought iron...
from the time of Henry VIII.
St. Vincent's Well enclosed by iron railings behind the old National School in the High Street is said to have a high iron content, which some believe give the water remedial qualities.
South-east of Cosgrove Hall and the church on the south bank of the canal is the site of a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
Villa, bathhouse and temple excavated in the 1950s and 60s. Many finds including an urn of silver coins were found during construction of the canal. This is about 1 mile from the Roman Road known as Watling Street.
South west of the village are The Quarries, the remains of a medieval limestone quarry, now calcareous grassland, with a
rich plant community of limestone-loving plants such as the spotted cat's ear
Hypochaeris
Hypochaeris is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae. Many species are known as cat's ear. These are annual and perennial herbs generally bearing flower heads with yellow ray florets....
and fragrant orchid
Fragrant orchid
Fragrant Orchid is an herbaceous plant belonging to the family Orchidaceae.-Etymology:The name of the genus Gymnodenia is formed from Greek words "gymnos" meaning "nude" and "adèn" meaning "gland" and refers to the characteristics of the organs for secreting nectar...
. The site is also home to rare insects such as the ground beetle
Ground beetle
Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, approximately 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe.-Description and ecology:...
and birds such as the skylark
Skylark
The Skylark is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range,...
and barn owl
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
.
Cosgrove Leisure Park attracts many visitors, caravanners and holiday-makers. The park is built on an area of flooded gravel pits near the River Great Ouse south of the village. It has a swimming and paddling pool, fishing lakes and a water sports including water-skiing and jet-skiing. There are pitches for 500 touring caravans and 460 owner-occupied static holiday homes.