Насеби: История и древности английской деревни

Naseby is a village in West Northamptonshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 687. The village is 14 mile (23 km) north of Northampton, 13.3 mile (21 km) northeast of Daventry, and 7 mile (11 km) south of Market Harborough.

The village sits in a commanding position on one of the highest parts of the Northamptonshire Uplands, close to the county border with Leicestershire.

The original settlement probably owes its existence to its geography; the village lay in a strong defensive position. In the 6th century a Saxon named Hnaef established the settlement with the name of Hnaefes Burgh ("fortified place of Hnaef"). Evidence for these origins came in the form of a 19th century discovery of an Anglo Saxon trefoil headed brooch which is now in the collection of the British Museum.

In 1086 Naseby appeared in the Domesday Book, by which time Hnaefes Burgh had evolved into Navesberie. In later records the village had been known as Navesby and Nathesby, eventually becoming Naseby. It was believed that the name derived from the Old English naefela, meaning navel, because it was thought to be the navel of England. In 1203, King John granted Naseby its market charter and the village became a flourishing market town for many years. During this period the village grew. In 1349, the Black Death, which wiped out a third of the population of England, attacked the village and greatly reduced its population, with parts becoming abandoned altogether. Extensive earthworks in the fields adjacent to parts of the village show the outlines of lost lanes and the outlines of buildings and enclosures which existed before the Black Death.

The Battle of Naseby took place on 14 June 1645, during the English Civil War. In the area called Broad Moor a small distance north of the village, the Royalist forces, commanded by King Charles I, battled the Roundhead army commanded by Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron. The battle resulted in a decisive Royalist defeat. A naval warship during the Commonwealth period was named the Naseby in honour of the battle; after the Restoration the ship was renamed .

During the 18th century, Naseby continued as an agricultural community and during this time several fine Georgian buildings were constructed in the parish, including Manor Farm (built 1720), Shuckburgh House (1773), and the old Vicarage (1785). One of the most significant buildings is Naseby House, built in 1818 for the Fitzgeralds, Lords of the Manor. In the 20th century the hall hosted the Duke of York, later King George VI, with the Duchess of York, Elizabeth Bowes Lyon (the Queen Mother) and a very young future Queen Elizabeth. Naseby Hall, altered by E F Law in 1859 was badly damaged by fire in 1948, and was rebuilt from the ground up using the old materials. Rev John Mastin was vicar of Naseby from 1783 until his death in 1829. He was the author of “The History and Antiquities of Naseby, in the County of Northampton”, which was the earliest published history of the parish. He also left a manuscript account of his life. The texts of both these works are included in a 2004 publication by the Northamptonshire Record Society.

In 1822 the Enclosure commissioners allocated the open land around the village to two landowners, who duly fenced off their newly acquired fields. This action deprived many of the villagers of their traditional plots of land that surrounded the village, that had for years allowed them to grow crops and graze their cattle and sheep. This action did not adversely affect the community as much as it did in other villages; one reason may have been that the village had other trades. A survey of the time lists 26 different occupations and trades in the village.

The local friendly society attracted non conformists from the end of the eighteenth century and in 1825, a Methodist chapel was erected. The population continued to grow: thus between 1831 and 1841 it increased from 707 to 898 (including 48 visitors to the annual feast).

Naseby and the plateau of land towards Sibbertoft form a watershed and contain the sources of four rivers flowing west, south and east. In the front garden of Manor Farm at the junction of Church Street, Newlands and Welford Road is a cone shaped monument which sits in a depression. This is the source of the River Avon, Warwickshire. The northern tributary of the River Nene (Brampton Arm) arises by the Thornby road to the west of the village (the main Source being at Arbury Hill (SP 542 581) near Staverton, Northamptonshire). The source of the River Ise can be found close to Sibbertoft Road to the north of Naseby. The source of the River Welland can be found in fields close to Welland Rise, Sibbertoft village, three miles to the north.

Naseby is 2.4 mile (4 km) from Junction 2 of the A14 road, giving it access to the national road system. For rail travel, the Midland Main Line can be accessed at the railway station in Market Harborough. There is a bus service between Market Harborough and Northampton that stops in Naseby, but it is very infrequent.