Gretton, Northamptonshire

Gretton is a village in the English midlands county of Northamptonshire. It is in Rockingham Forest and overlooks the valley of the River Welland and the neighbouring county of Rutland.

It is near the town of Corby, and the Rockingham Motor Speedway.Gretton takes its name from the phrase "Great Town".

The village is noted for having the tallest church tower in Northamptonshire, and the second-oldest running pub in Northamptonshire, the Hatton Arms. The Hatton Arms was recently renovated, and now serves high-quality food renowned throughout Northamptonshire.

Gretton is one of the few villages to retain its stocks and whipping post, which can be found on the village green. The last recorded use was in 1858 when a villager was put in the stocks for six hours after failing to pay a fine for drunkenness.

Iron currency bars from the Iron Age have been found, and the Romans also worked the ironstone deposits. There were ironworks here in Edward the Confessor's reign in the 11th century, when Gretton was a royal manor, and the industry came to the fore again from 1881 to 1980 providing ore for Corby's steel works.

Most of the earlier houses - a fair number dating from the 17th century - are built of local limestone, sometimes banded with darker ironstone and roofed with thatch or Collyweston slates.

The buildings in Gretton provide a wide variety, ranging from the centuries-old 'Corner Cottage' in Arnhill Road, to a relatively modern housing estate on the south-east side of the village.

The Old School House, built in 1853, was the first purpose-built school in the village. The infants' classroom at the east end housed 70 children at times. The school operated until 1908 when the present school in Kirby Road was opened. Subsequently it was the village community centre before being converted into a private house in the 1970s.

Barn House, in High Street, is one of the few houses in the village which retains its thatch. In the 1940s there were about 40 thatched houses, now there are merely a handful.

Stoneleigh House, in High Street, was formerly the premises of parchment makers. Springs were fed under the house into ponds which were used for soaking and cleaning the skins. Remnants of the drying sheds and other buildings still exist at the rear.

Opposite the village green is a stone-mullioned building, Tythe Farm, which has been considerably changed and extended, although for much of the last century it was in a serious state of disrepair. In 1919 the district surveyor found it to be unfit for human habitation. To the rear of the farm is the Tythe Barn (rebuilt after being destroyed by a fire in 1983) which used to store the 10% of village produce that went to the church.

Caistor's Cottage, in Caistor Road, once a tiny cottage belonging to a shepherd called Castor.

The Post Office and Stores, in High Street, is part of a Victorian terrace called Pages Row. Formerly owned by a brewery, pigsties at the rear were rented out for sixpence a year. The Gretton Pig Club was in existence from 1875 until 1977.

Overlooking the village green is the 'old' Gretton Stores. The original wooden store sign was rescued by the current owner and is being renovated. In addition there is the 'newer' former Gretton Stores, formerly the White Hart pub, which closed in 1931.

Stonycroft, in Station Road, is an 18th-century cottage, with some narrow stone-mullioned windows, and an interesting stonework panel over the door.

Gretton House, in High Street, is Georgian, but has a large neo-Jacobean addition of the 1880s. It was a family home until the Second World War, when it was requisitioned by the War Office as a military hospital. Following the war it became a convalescent home for employees of the Corby steel works. Since 1992 it has been a home for people with Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Manor Farmhouse, in High Street, is a good example of banded ironstone and limestone, and has a datestone of 1675. Originally called Warren Farm, it overlooked Warren Field, which suggests that this was where the medieval manor obtained its rabbits.

The Old Vicarage, in Station Road, is 17th century with later additions, and was the vicarage until about 1830.

Gretton Primary School, in Kirby Road, has an impressive stone bell tower and was built in 1908, together with the schoolmaster's house. It is still a thriving village school with four classes and over 100 children.

External links

* [http://www.grettvillage.org.uk/ Village website]
* [http://www.thehattonarms.com/ The Hatton Arms]