Raunds

"RAUNDS, a parish in the hundred of Higham-Ferrers, county Northampton, 6 miles S. of Thrapston, its post town, and 4 N.E. of Higham-Ferrers. The village, which is of large extent, is situated on the river Nene, and near the Northampton railway. Shoes are manufactured here to a considerable extent. The surface is undulating; three-fourths of the land are arable, and the remainder pasture. The soil consists of clay and gravel, with sand and rich alluvial mould near the river. Freestone abounds, and there is a petrifying spring. The tithes were commuted for land and a money-payment under an Enclosure Act in 1797. The glebe comprises about 200 acres, and the vicar receives a rent-charge of £913s. out of the tithes of Ringstead. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough, value £250. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is an ancient structure with a lofty spired tower. Attached to the church is a chantry chapel. In the churchyard is the stump of an old cross. The parochial charities produce about £62 per annum, of which £18 goes towards the support of the National school. The Wesleyans and the Baptists have each a place of worship. The Queen and Sir J. Langham, Bart., of Cottesbrooke, are proprietors of the manor." [Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2010]