This parish is bounded on the east by Everdon, by Preston Capes and Charwelton on the south and west, and by Badby and Newnham on the north. It contains 1794 acres; and its population in 1801 was 29 ; in 1831, 22 ; in 1841, 48;m 1851, 48; in 1861,64; and in 1871, 46 souls. The gross estimated rental is £3027, and the rateable value £2691. The soil is a rich deep loam, and the entire lordship is laid down in rich pasturage, except about 47 acres, which are arable. '

Manor.—The king himself held the manor of Falewesle, which contained 1 1/2 and one-fifth part of a hide, at the time of the Norman survey. It was rated then, as in the time of the Confessor, at £15. In the reign of Henry II. the king held 2 hides of land at Fawsley. In the reign of King John it was granted in fee-farm to Hugh Russell, the yearly rent of £15 being reserved out of it to the crown. This Hugh obtained a grant for a weekly market to be held here every Sunday, in the 8th of Henry III. (1224), but it was afterwards changed to Thursday. Hugh de Capes, great-grandson of the said Hugh Russell, died seized of this manor in the 40th of Henry III. (1256), and was succeeded in it by Thomas, his son, who sold it to Simon, the son of Robert de Davcntre, some times called Simon de Fawesley. In the 10th of Richard II. (1387), John de Fawesley alienated it to John de Watharn, clerk, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury, who granted it in the 16th of the same reign to Geoffrey de Somerton. In the 3d of Henry V. (1416), Richard Knightley, Esq., and Elizabeth, his wife, pur chased it of the said Geoffrey, and he afterwards added the manors of Hellidon and Upton with the hundred of Newbottle-grove. This. Richard Knightley was descended from an ancient family in Staffordshire, who took their name from the manor of Knightley in that county, of which they had been possessed from the 20th of William the Conqueror. In the 10th of Henry VII. (1494), Richard, the grandson of the purchaser of Fawsley, was knighted, and his son and heir, Sir Richard Knightley of Upton, surviving him but three years, and leaving no male issue, the family estates passed to his next brother, Sir Edmund Knightley, a lawyer of considerable eminence, one of the commissioners for inspecting the religious houses previous to their dissolution, and a scrgeant-at-law. Sir Richard dying without issue, the inheritance devolved on his next brother, Sir Valentine Knightley, who was knighted in the ist of Edward VI. (1547); and his son and successor, Sir Richard Knightley, was dubbed a knight at Fotheringay by the Earl of Lcicesterin the 8th of Elizabeth. (1566). This Sir Richard partitioned his several manors and estates between his sons; the manor of Fawsley descended to his son Sir Valentine, after whose decease without male issue a portion of his estate descended to his three daughters and co-heiresses; but the manors of Fawsley and Snorscomb passed to his brother Edward's son and heir, Richard Knightley, Esq. of Preston Capes, who died in 1639, having by entail and will devised these estates to Richard Knightley, Esq. of Burgh Hall, Staffordshire, son of Sir Richard's brother Thomas in tail-male. " He was an active adherent of the Parliament from the commencement of the struggle with the crown, and his eldest son, Richard, having married the daughter of the celebrated John Hampden, and thus become allied also to the protectorate house of Cromwell, the ties of social connection were superadded to the force of public principle, and produced one of the most formidable private combinations of that eventful period. At Fawsley the plan is said to have originated for retrenching the royal prerogative by depriving the crown of the right of making peace or war, and placing the royal revenues under the direction of four councils, to be appointed by Parliament, which was to meet annually without summons from the sovereign, and to have the control of the militia, and the disposal of all places of trust and profit. He died in 1650, having been a leading member of all the local committees nominated by Parliament for this county, as was also his son and successor, Sir Richard Knightley, K.B. He did not, however, sanction the trial and execution of the King ; and in 1660 was one of the council of state which promoted the recall of Charles II., who at the Restoration received him into favour, and made him one of the Knights of the Bath previous to the coronation " (Baker). Richard, his eldest son, died unmarried in 1665, when this estate devolved upon Essex Knightley, Esq., son of Sir Richard by his second wife, on whose decease Fawsley and the entailed estates in this county became vested m his uncle, Devereux Knightley, Esq. After the decease of Devereux Knightley, Esq., son of the above-named Devereux, in 1695 unmarried, the manor of Fawsley and the family estates passed to his first cousin, Lucy Knightley, who died unmarried in 1716. Lucy Knightley, Esq., son of Valentine Knightley, died without issue in 1791, leaving Fawsley and the family estates to his brothers Valentine, John, and Charles in tail-male. Valentine Knightley, Esq., having (lied unmarried in 1796, the estates descended to Sir John, who was created a baronet in 1798. Sir John, dying without male issue in 1812, was succeeded by his nephew Sir Charles Knightley, D.C.L., eldest son of the Rev. Charles Knightley, by the only daughter of Henry Boulton, Esq. of Moulton, Lincolnshire. He was born in 1781, married in 1813 the eldest daughter of F. L. Hervey, Esq. of Englefield Green, Surrey, grandson of the first Earl of Bristol. Sir Charles was a deputy lieutenant of the county, and for many years M.P. for South Northamp tonshire. He died in 1864, and was succeeded by his son, Sir Rainald Knight ley, third baronet, and the present lord of the manor. Sir Rainald was born in 1819, married in 1869 Louisa Many, daughter of the late Sir E. Bowater. He is J. P. and D.L. for Northamptonshire, and M.P. for the Southern Division of the county. Family residence, Fawsley Park.

There is no village in this parish; it contains but four houses altogether. The Church, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, stands a short distance east of the Hall and is a handsome structure, consisting of a nave and side aisles, south porch and chancel, and a tower containing four bells. The interior is fitted up with extreme neatness ; it is pewed with oak, in the panels of which are introduced some of the ancient grotesque carving from the ends of the old seats. All the windows are of stained glass. The living is a vicarage in the Deanery of Davcntry, rated in the king's books at £7, 95. 7d., now valued at about .£100 a year; it is in the patronage of Sir Rainald Knightlcy, Bart, and incumbency of the Rev. Philip William Story, B.A., for whom the Rev. P. W. Story, B.A., officiates. The church was granted to the Daventry Priory by King Henry II. ; at the dis solution it fell into the hands of the crown, and was subsequently granted to the Knightley family. The endowment of the vicarage anciently consisted of Cyric sceat, church scot or church seed, which was an offering of the first-fruits of harvest, ordained by Ina, King of the West Saxons, in the seventh century, and subsequently confirmed by Kings Edgar and Canute, to be paid yearly at St Martin's Mass. This tribute was paid to the church of Fawsley by all the neighbouring parishes, but when the custom of paying it ceased is not known. The church contains several very fine monuments of the Knightley family.

Fawsley Hall, or the Manor-House, the seat of Sir Rainald Knightley, Bart., M.P., was built in the reign of Henry VII., and is an extensive and imposing structure. It has been the residence of the Knightley family for four cen turies, and is situated on a gently elevated lawn commanding a very exten sive and beautiful prospect, the foreground of which is enlivened by two fine sheets of water. In this mansion is a magnificent Gothic hall, 54 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 43 feet high, with an open timber roof. There are several interest ing family and other portraits in the mansion; the windows of the hall and break fast parlour arc filled with heraldic alliances, and at the south end of the hall is the family achievement, marshalling no less than 334 quarterings. The Park, includ ing Badby Wood, extends over nearly 700 acres: it is well stocked with deer, and the prospect from some parts of its diversified surface is truly delicious. Here are evident traces of an ancient encampment, and the picturesque ruins of the Lodge, once the residence of some of the members of the Knightley family.

Eminent Men.—John Dod, M.A., a learned Puritan divine, generally styled the Decalogist, from his celebrated exposition of the ten commandments, was bom in Cheshire in 1555 ; resided here for several years, under the patronage of the Knightley family, and was vicar of Fawsley. He was several times silenced for Nonconformity, and published the "Plain Exposition of the Ten Commandments," " An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs," and several sermons. His sayings acquired great provincial celebrity, and were printed in various forms. He died in 1645. John "Wilkins, D.D., a learned prelate and practical philosopher of the 17th century, was born here in 1614, in the house of the above-named Rev. John Dod. He was vicar of his native place, but after wards joined the Presbyterians, and took the Solemn League and Covenant. He married Robina, widow of Peter French, and sister of' Oliver Cromwell, _then Lord Protector, and obtained the mastership of Trinity College, Cambridge, from which he was ejected at the Restoration. He was afterwards Dean of Ripon, and in 1668 elevated to the bishopric of Chester. He died at the house of his friend, Dr Tillotson, in London, in 1672. He encouraged the study of astronomy, published a. work entitled " The Discovery of a New World," and other works; was reputed a good mathematician, and published " Mathematical Magic," and several sermons and discourses.

Knightley Sir Rainald, Bart., M.P., Fawsley Hall

Waters Richard, land agent to Sir Rainald Knightley

Johnson John, farmer

Handley James, gardener

Miller James, woodman

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