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| The Old Rectory in Maidford, Northamptonshire, England (December 2004) |
I have written here previously about the village of Maidford, Northamptonshire as the place from which my ancestor, Richard Tew, emigrated to settle in Newport, Rhode Island in 1640. [See, the posts gathered here.]
In 2004, Molly and I, our sons, and Molly's sister visited Maidford during a trip to England and Scotland and we took some photographs of what Maidford looks like today. The above photograph is of the "Old Rectory" in Maidford, which, we were told by a friendly passing resident who stated he was the present owner, was carefully preserved, but not able to be changed in any substantial way because it remains a consecrated space within.
Maidford is located about 6 miles northwest of Towcester and today has a population of less than 200. It is nestled on the gentle slopes of a shallow upland valley on what used to be the main road between Northhampton and Banbury (of the Banbury Cross nursery rhyme fame). Today it is largely just a commuter village and does not have a pub, shops, or a garage. In former times it was a thriving agricultural area and Richard Tew's father, Henry, was a yeoman farmer in Maidford. Until the early part of the 20th century, Maidford was a center of the local Northamptonshire lace industry. Maidford is now a designated conservation village with neatly preserved, buildings of local coursed ironstone and brick with steeply pitched roofs all within an area of approximately 1,050 acres.
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| The church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Maidford (December 2004) |
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| The main road through the little village of Maidford, Northamptonshire, England (December 2004) |
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| An historic home in the village of Maidford (December 2004) |
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| The gently rolling farmland of Maidford (December 2004) |
Finally, the Wikipedia article on Maidford has the following to say about notable residents of Maidford . . . "Its most notorious inhabitant was the pirate Thomas Tew, who was more than likely born in the village in the early 17th century." Of course Ol' Thomas gained his notoriety while living in Newport, Rhode Island and he became known as the "Rhode Island Pirate." [See the gathered links for The Pirate Thomas Tew on The Prism here. ]
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All photographs by the author during a trip to England and Scotland in December 2004.
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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew
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The Rectory is a gorgeous building. What a lot of history it could tell if it could talk.
ReplyDeleteI grew up at 8 New Rd 42 years ago and my grad parents lived at 3 New Rd. I love the pictures of the village that I remember. I have very fond memories of my childhood in Maidford. Thank you for the great pictures and allowing me to go down memory lane and sharing them with my family
ReplyDeleteI grew up at 8 New Rd 42 years ago and my grad parents lived at 3 New Rd. I love the pictures of the village that I remember. I have very fond memories of my childhood in Maidford. Thank you for the great pictures and allowing me to go down memory lane and sharing them with my family
ReplyDeletePaul -- I am happy to have been able to provide some good memories for you and your family. It has been 16 years now since we visited Maidford, but we too recall it fondly. It is a lovely little village today and I only wonder what it might have looked like when my ancestor left it to settle in America in 1640. You might be interested to know that ancestor resided in Newport, Rhode Island when he and his wife arrived and a very small "river" (more like a brook today) that crossed land he bought was then–and still is–named the Maidford River.
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