Huntingdonshire
Contents
Nearby Places
Nearby churches
Aethelwoldington (x cent.), Alwoltune (xi cent.), Alewaltone (xii, xiv cent.), Alwalton alias Allerton (xvii cent.).
The parish of Alwalton lies in the extreme north of the old county of Huntingdonshire, separated from Peterbrough and Northamptonshire by the River Nene. The sub-soil is mainly Oxford clay with some Cornbrash and Great Oolite limestone. A petrifying spring rises in the parish. A stone known as "Alwalton Marble", formed of blocks of hard blue limestone, is found on the banks of the Nene.
A medieval sourcebook of Alwalton Manor in AD 1279 describes the area at that time.
The parish was inclosed by a private Act of Parliament in 1805. There were some boundary changes in 1956 when parts were exchanged with Castor ancient parish in the Soke of Peterborough.
The village lies a quarter of a mile east of the Great North Road, and about 2 miles from Orton Waterville. In Roman times, a building of some kind was at Alwalton because various coins and pieces of pottery have been found. The manor house, now a farmhouse not far from the church, was built about 1600. The south-west wing of this house was destroyed by fire about 1789.
Monumental inscriptions for this parish have not been recorded by the Huntingdonshire FHS. However Peterborough & District FHS have an interest in the parish.
A census of Alwalton Manor in AD 1279 is available.
Census information for this parish (1841 - 1891) is held in the Huntingdon Records Office.
The full 1841 Census of Alwalton Parish is available as fiche set C82.
The full 1851 Census of Alwalton Parish is available as fiche set C32.
An index of surnames in the 1851 Census of the Peterborough Registration District (HO107/1747) in which Alwalton was enumerated (Folios 4B - 14), and which took place on 30th March 1851, has also been produced by the Peterborough & District FHS.
The Index is available in either microfiche or A5 booklet form. Please state
which version you want.
The Census is available from Mr G Harbron, 7 Newby Close, Peterborough PE3 6PU,
England.
A full transcription of the 1891 Census of the Stilton sub-District of the Peterborough Registration District (RG12/1225) in which Alwalton was enumerated, and which took place on 5th April 1891, has also been produced by the Huntingdonshire FHS (as Fiche C-15).
The fiche sets mentioned above are available from the Huntingdonshire FHS.
Paul Chapman has provided a transcription of the 1811 census for Alwalton on his web-site.
OS Grid Square TL 134959.
The church of St. Andrew consists of a chancel, crossing, north transept,
south transept, nave, north aisle, south aisle, tower and a 19th century south
porch. The walls are of stone rubble with Barnack stone dresings except for the
clearstory which is faced externally with brick and is plastered. The roofs are
covered with lead and slates.
The church is not mentioned in the
Domesday survey of 1086 but, by the end of the 12th century, there was a stone
church with a north aisle - parts of which still remain. The church was
lengthened one bay to the west early in the 13th century, when the nave must
have been considerably widened, and a south aisle and west tower built.
About 1300 it was apparently contemplated to rebuild the church. A large
chancel with north and south transepts, all vaulted in stone, were built with
probably the lower part of a central tower. About 30 years later, however, the
project was abandoned. The walls of the cntral tower were pulled down, and a
wide arch was thrown across the nave in place of the western arch. The walls of
the chancel and transepts were finished with a plain quoine at their
intersections.
In the 15th century, the nave walls were raised to form a
clearstory, and both aisles were reroofed. Possibly at this time, or a little
later, a chancel arch was inserted and wide arches built between the crossing
and the transepts; the vaulting of the chancel and transepts was
destroyed.
In 1840-41, the church was restored, the chancel arch rebuilt
and the south
porch added. The roofs were all renewed and the south-east corner of the belfry
rebuilt. The tower was underpinned and thoroughly restored in 1902-3, and the
rest of the church in 1904-5.
Births: 1810-1812.
Baptisms: 1572-1681/2, 1697-1754, 1754-1811,
1813-1905.
Banns: 1754-1802, 1802-1823, 1823-1957.
Marriages: 1572?-1682,
1698-1754, 1754-1802, 1802-1812, 1813-1838, 1837-1954, 1956-1969.
Burials:
1572?-1681/2, 1697-1753, 1754-1811, 1811-1812.
Bishop's Transcripts: 1604-5,
1608, 1612, 1617-19, 1626-7, 1660-8, 1670-3/1675-7, 1680, 1682-5, 1691-3, 1695,
1699-1700, 1702, 1704, 1706, 1708-15, 1718-1812/1813-24/1825-31, 1833, 1835,
1837-58.
These are available in the Huntingdon Records Office.
The Huntingdonshire Marriage Indexes include marriages from this parish. These are, at present, issued in alphabetical listings in series: 1601-1700, and 1701-1754, and are available from the Huntingdonshire FHS.
Alwalton was originally in the Peterbrough Registration District of
Northamptonshire from 1st July 1837. Subsequently it was transferred to the
Stilton
sub-District of Huntingdonshire. It was later transferred back to the
Peterborough District.
From 1st April 1998, marriage records were transferred to the
Huntingdon Registry Office,
but the births and burial records were retained by Peterborough.
An old map of the parish of Alwalton is available.
Population in 1801 - 218.
Population in 1851 - 332.
Population in 1901
- 225.
Population in 1951 - 199.
Population in 1971 - 326.
Population
in 1991 - 317.
The parish of Alwalton was in the Peterborough Union of Northamptonshire for Poor Law administration.
The parish of Alwalton occupies 974 acres of land.
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