Furtho
Encyclopedia
Furtho was a medieval village in south 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,...

. It became deserted after the land enclosures took place.

Location

Furtho lies between the villages of Potterspury
Potterspury
Potterspury is a village and civil parish in the district of South Northamptonshire. The nearest main town is Milton Keynes, the centre of which is about 7 miles south-east...

 and Cosgrove
Cosgrove, Northamptonshire
Cosgrove is a village in Northamptonshire, England about north of Stony Stratford, north of central Milton Keynes and south of Northampton along the A508 road and south-east of Towcester along the A5 road...

 about 2 miles (3.2 km) north west 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...

 and 5 miles (8 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 nearest towns. 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...

 is about 12 miles (19 km) north along the A508
A508 road
The A508 is a short A-class road for north/south journeys in south central England, forming the route from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, via Northampton, to Old Stratford, north-west of Milton Keynes....

 road.

The only access by car if off the A508 opposite the turn to Cosgrove. Access is also possible by foot using the public footpaths from Potterspury (west), Yardley Gobion
Yardley Gobion
Yardley Gobion is a village in the south of the English county of Northamptonshire off a by-pass of the A508 Northampton to Milton Keynes road.-Facilities:The Grand Union Canal runs nearby east of the village....

 (north) or Cosgrove (east).

Remains

Little of the village is left except a medieval dovecote
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...

, probably 15th century though the conical roof is more recent and the upper stage is only partially complete, a farm and St Bartholomew's parish church
St Bartholomew's Church, Furtho
St Bartholomew's Church, Furtho, is a redundant Anglican church in the former village of Furtho, Northamptonshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. A former medieval village, it...

, partly 14th century, but mostly of 1620 The latter ceased to operate as a church in 1921 and is now looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...

. Some time ago there was a move to demolish the isolated and unused church. That move was abandoned and the 900-year-old church still stands, neglected and dilapidated.

The church was due to undergo renovation work by the Churches Conservation Trust but it is not known when this will be completed.
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