GENUKI: Castor, Northamptonshire

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"CASTOR, a parish in the liberty of Peterborough, in the county of Northampton, 5 miles to the W. of Peterborough, its post town. It is situated in a fen country, near the river Nen, and is a station on the Northampton and Peterborough branch of the London and North-Western railway. The parish includes the chapelries of Sutton and Upton, and the hamlet of Ailesworth. Castor, as its name indicates, was the site of a Roman station, named Durobreva, on the Ermine Street, which terminated here. Many curious and interesting Roman relics have been discovered, among which are a Jupiter Terminalis, tesselated pavements, coins of the emperors from Trajan to Valens, sculptured stones, urns, &c. It is said that a monastery was founded here by Keneburgha, daughter of Penda, King of Mercia, which was destroyed early in the 11th century by the Danes. From this monastery the place acquired the name of Kyneburgceastre. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough, value £528, in the patronage of the bishop. The church is dedicated to St. Keneburgha. It is an ancient and very interesting structure in the form of a cross, with a fine tower and spire rising from the centre. It is chiefly of Norman architecture, and was built about 1120. The nave has on one side three round arches rising from round pillars, and on the other side three Gothic arches supported by hexagonal pillars. The church contains an ancient monument to St. Keneburgha, the foundress, and one to John Lauder, the mathematician, a native of Castor. The charitable endowments of the parish consist of the town lands and some poors' cottages. The rectory of Castor was held by Bishop Madan." [From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868). Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]

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Biography

The Story of St Kyneburgha. Read Avril Morris's account of the story of the daughter of the heathen King Penda of Mercia who 'politically' married the Christian prince Ahlfrith from Northumbria and was subsequently introduced to Christianity by her father in law, Oswiu. She established a double monastery and nunnery at Castor with the help of her brother Wulfhere and Bishop Wilfrid.
The above information was kindly provided by Richard Perkins (rvynerp[at]btopenworld[dot]com)

Churches

**Anglican**
Castor, Church of England

Church History

Many references to the historically fascinating church of St Kyneburgha’s in Castor (unique dedication to this Saxon princess who founded a convent in the remains of the demolished Roman Praetorium) are available at http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/ This link also has some information about the long gone chapel of ease at Ailsworth and lists of Rectors of Castor (1217-1995) including the Bishop of Peterborough.

Church Records

King Henry VIII began the systemic recording of births, marriages and deaths by using the church to record by parish. 1837 saw the introduction of the national secular system of recording Births, Marriages and Death, Church Parish Records continued with their records of church celebration - baptisms, marriages and funerals.

The original Castor Parish records of marriages 1754 - 1812 and 1813 – 1864 are deposited in Northants County Record Office but these lists of marriages, along with those from 1995 to 2002 for Castor, Marholm, Sutton and Upton are available at http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/

Baptismal records from 1538 to 1751 as well as 1996 to 2002 are available at http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/

A limited list of funerals from 1998 to 2001 is available for Castor and Marholm at http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/

Description & Travel

Ailsworth or Ailesworth is a neighbouring village and civil parish in the City of Peterborough unitary authority, about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) west of the city centre. There is no parish church, only a small Methodist chapel. Instead it shares the church with neighbouring Castor. The parish is part of the former Soke of Peterborough and is now in Cambridgeshire. The village's toponym comes from the Old English AEgeleswurth. The Domesday Book of 1086 records it as Eglesworde. The common lands of Ailsworth and the neighbouring parish of Castor were not enclosed until 1898. In 2001 the population was 413.

http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/ - a description of the Milton ferry Tollgate in the mid 20c.

You can see pictures of Castor which are provided by:

Gazetteers

The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"CASTOR, a parish in the liberty of Peterborough, in the county of Northampton, 5 miles to the W. of Peterborough, its post town. It is situated in a fen country, near the river Nen, and is a station on the Northampton and Peterborough branch of the London and North-Western railway. The parish includes the chapelries of Sutton and Upton, and the hamlet of Ailesworth. Castor, as its name indicates, was the site of a Roman station, named Durobreva, on the Ermine Street, which terminated here. Many curious and interesting Roman relics have been discovered, among which are a Jupiter Terminalis, tesselated pavements, coins of the emperors from Trajan to Valens, sculptured stones, urns, &c. It is said that a monastery was founded here by Keneburgha, daughter of Penda, King of Mercia, which was destroyed early in the 11th century by the Danes. From this monastery the place acquired the name of Kyneburgceastre. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Peterborough, value £528, in the patronage of the bishop. The church is dedicated to St. Keneburgha. It is an ancient and very interesting structure in the form of a cross, with a fine tower and spire rising from the centre. It is chiefly of Norman architecture, and was built about 1120. The nave has on one side three round arches rising from round pillars, and on the other side three Gothic arches supported by hexagonal pillars. The church contains an ancient monument to St. Keneburgha, the foundress, and one to John Lauder, the mathematician, a native of Castor. The charitable endowments of the parish consist of the town lands and some poors' cottages. The rectory of Castor was held by Bishop Madan."

"AILESWORTH, a hamlet in the parish of Castor and liberty of Peterborough, in the county of Northampton, 5½ miles to the W. of, Peterborough. The river Nen passes near it.

The land is principally arable."

"MILTON ABBEY, seat of Earl Fitzwilliam, in the parish of Castor, in county Northampton, 2 miles W. by N. of Peterborough. It is a venerable Elizabethan mansion, rebuilt in 1550 on the site of the seat of the abbots of Medehamstead, and gives title of viscount to Earl Fitzwilliam. It contains many valuable portraits, including those of Mary Queen of Scots and her son James I., presented to Sir W. Fitzwilliam on the day of her execution."

"SUTTON, a chapelry in the parish of Castor and liberty of Peterborough, county Northampton, 6 miles W. of Peterborough, its post town, 1 mile E. of Wansford, and 1 from Castor. The village is situated on the Northampton railway and the river Nen. There is a large stone quarry. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Peterborough, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is of great antiquity. The parochial charities produce about. £10 per annum."

"UPTON, a chapelry in the parish of Castor, liberty of Peterborough, county Northampton, 6 miles from Peterborough, its post town, and 2 N.E. from Wansford. The village is situated on the river Nene, which frequently inundates the adjoining meadows. There are stone quarries. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Peterborough, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, has been recently restored at the expense of the Bishop of Peterborough."

Ask for a calculation of the distance from Castor to another place.

Genealogy

Family tree material for the Fordham and Sargeant families of Castor is available at http://www.thearchive.org.uk/families.ht

History

The Camus Project; Named after 5 neighbouring villages of which Castor is the largest (Castor, Ailsworth, Milton, Upton and Sutton) The Camus Project grew out of the Castor Parish Church Archive Group which was concerned with researching, collecting and indexing material about the history of the five villages. The writing of the book commenced in 2002 and by 2004 the limited edition was sold out and there was no reprint, although it may still be available on CD and it is published in its entirety at http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/, with a foreword by the late Sir Stephen Hastings. It was edited by the Rector of Castor, the Rev William Burke, who promoted and organised the whole enterprise. It is packed with descriptions of life in the villages from Prehistoric and Roman Times up to the present day.

Individual Reminiscences; Transcribed interviews undertaken with villagers still living in 2002/3 are available at http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/;

Archaeology; Two references at http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/ describing a Roman aqueduct and the Water Newton Treasure (now in the British Museum) which although strictly not found in Castor but in the neighbouring parish of Water Newton, one theory is that it came from the Roman Palace at Castor.

Parish Officers’ Records; A miscellany of information taken from various local papers/documents such as -; 1536 Muster Rolls; Nassaburg Hundred Militia Lists – 1762; 1844 Tithe Register and Extracts from letters, books and lists etc may be obtained at http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/

Historical Miscellany of Information; Although much is repeated under the Parish Officers’ Records, there are other interesting sources of local history information at http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/ Here you will find an extract of the Doomsday Book for Ailsworth; An 1801 Census Return; Extracts in Latin relevant to Castor from the unique White Book of Peterborough which is a manuscript dating from the days of Peterborough Abbey (C13c/14c) and much more.

Land & Property

Listed Buildings in Ailsworth & Castor; Lists of prescribed properties are available at http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/

Local Estates; Information about the two great landowners in this area in times gone by, The Fitzwilliam Family at Milton and the Dean & Chapter of Peterborough Cathedral is available at http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/

Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TL123995 (Lat/Lon: 52.581632, -0.343751), Castor which are provided by:

OpenStreetMap
Google Maps
StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
Bing (was Multimap)
Old Maps Online
National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

Military History

To look for those from Castor and Ailsworth who served in the 1914-18 war go to http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Northamptonshire/CastorandAilsworth.html

For a more detailed pen pictures and photographs of those who gave their lives in WW1 and WW2, refer to http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/

For detailed reminiscences of those who served in WW2 transcribed following in depth interviews got to http://www.castorchurch.co.uk/cedar-centre/