Chelveston

Chelveston is a small village in Northamptonshire, England forming part of the East Northamptonshire district. It is about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Higham Ferrers and 7 miles (11.3 km) east of Wellingborough on the B645 (former A45 road) from Higham Ferrers to St Neots. To the south is the hamlet of Caldecott and the settlement of Chelston Rise which together comprise the civil parish of Chelveston cum Caldecott. The population is now included in the civil parish of Chelveston cum Caldecott.

Chelveston
The Church at Chelveston, in 2005
Chelveston Location within Northamptonshire
Population	541 (2001)
OS grid reference	SP9972
Civil parish	Chelveston cum Caldecott
District	East Northamptonshire
Shire county	Northamptonshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WELLINGBOROUGH
Postcode district	NN9
Dialling code	01933
Police	Northamptonshire
Fire	Northamptonshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Wellingborough

History

The last lords of the manor of Chelveston were the Disbrowe family, and the last lord, Lt. Col. Henry Edward Disbrowe Disbrowe-Wise CBE, who had inherited the title from his mother, sold off the last of the family's estate properties in Chelveston at auction in July 1919. Disbrowe-Wise moved to other family properties in South Derbyshire.[1] The parish church is dedicated to St John the Baptist and is mostly 13th century.[2] The north arcade is 1849-50 by Edmund Francis Law, a Northampton architect.

Village Hall

Formerly the village's two room school with adjacent schoolmasters house, the school was closed in 1967 and was re-opened in 1972 as the Village Hall. In 2014 it was refurbished and extended with new toilets, shower and kitchen facilities.

Heritage assets

The following buildings and structures are listed by Historic England as of special architectural or historic interest.[3]

• Poplar Farmhouse (Grade II) 17th century 52.30864°N 0.54857°W
• Manor Farmhouse (Grade II) 18th century 52.30883°N 0.55075°W
• Manor Farmhouse, Barn (Grade II) 18th century 52.30884°N 0.55106°W
• Duchy Farmhouse (Grade II) 17th century 52.30866°N 0.55257°W
• Church of St John The Baptist (Grade II*) 13th century 52.31136°N 0.55152°W
• The Cottage (Grade II) 18th century 52.31538°N 0.54762°W

RAF Chelveston

Nearby is the former airfield of RAF Chelveston. A new memorial to the 305th Bombardment Group (Heavy) who operated out of the airfield, was unveiled in the centre of the village on 26 May 2007.

Demography

• In 1801 there were 266 persons[4]
• In 1831 there were 332 persons[4]
• In 1841 there were 288 persons[4]
• In 2011 there were 566 persons[5]

Chelston Rise

Beyond Caldecott is a settlement of 50 houses which were formerly used by the US Air Force to house families working at nearby bases. The site is now owned by Area Estates Ltd. Some of the houses have been privately rented out and others sold privately. This community has been renamed Chelston Rise (from the old name for Chelveston).

Nearby Settlements

• Ringstead, Keyston, Stanwick, Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Thrapston, Hargrave, Irthlingborough, Newton Bromswold, Raunds, Wellingborough

References

1. Lords of the Manor, Chelveston-pc.gov.uk
2. Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1961). The Buildings of England – Northamptonshire. London and New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-300-09632-3.
3. National Heritage List for England (Historic England)
4. William Whellan & Co. (1849). History, Gazetteer and Directory Northamptonshire. Whittaker & Co. p. 885.
5. Office for National Statistics, Census

External links

Media related to Chelveston at Wikimedia Commons

• Chelveston-cum-Caldecott Parish Council website