History of Old & surrounding area- Timeline
| DATES | EVENTS |
|---|---|
| 1086 | “Wold” mentioned in Doomesday book |
| 11th Century | Faxton Chapel Built |
| 1191 | “Wold” Mentioned in the Pipe Rolls (Pipe rolls – Wikipedia) |
| 12th – 16th Century | Records of land changes in Wold |
| 1235 | First mention of St Andrews Church |
| 13th Century | Faxton Chapel Incorporated into Church of St Denys |
| 1238 to 1274 | First record of a Rector at Old Church : Simon de Berrcotes |
| 13th Century | Faxton Chapel incorporated into the Church of St Denys |
| 15th Century | Church building largely complete |
| 16th century | Notable leaded church-window with inscription |
| 16th century | Registers of births, deaths and marriages set up |
| 1558 | Manor passed to the Isham family |
| 1606 | Faxton Manor House built |
| 1607 | Old Manor House built |
| ca 1616 | Old Rectory built |
| 1639 | First church bell founded (in Leicestershire) |
| 1668 | Townson Charity set up |
| 1703 | first record of malting and brewing in Old (possibly at The Chequers PH ?) |
| 1707 | Ward Charity set up |
| 1758 | Wold Farm constructed |
| 1759/60 | Brewery House constructed |
| 1767 | Common fields of Old Enclosed by Act of Parliament |
| 1774 | Parr Charity set up, including monies to pay for “a Schoolmaster” |
| 1779/80 | Old Post Mill appears on the Eyre & Jeffery’s Map of Northamptonshire, |
| 18th & 19th centuries | Stone-quarrying in “Water Furroughs” field (now on Grange Farm) |
| 18th & 19th centuries | Brick-Making in “Kiln Close” |
| 18th & 19th centuries | Clay-quarrying in the field now used as the Playing Field |
| 1809 | Independent Chapel built |
| 1841 | census : First reference to The White Horse beerhouse |
| 1841 | census : Population of Faxton peaked at 108 |
| 1850 s | Tomblin’s Brewery established (behind Brewery House) |
| 1851 | census : First reference to William Busby’s Bakehouse (on Harrington Rd ?) |
| 1865 | Start-up of the transport company later to be known as “Knights of Old” From the early 20th century Horace Knight operated from a site behind “The Poplars”, initially carrying milk from local farms to dairies, then later, potatoes to London markets |
| 1870’s | William Busby recorded as running the Post Mill on Mill Lane |
| 1870’s | Old Cricket Club is formed, playing at “Cricket Field” before crossing over the brook to play at the filed called “Corner Piece” |
| 1874 | St Andrew’s Church renovated |
| 1879 | Northampton Mercury Account of “A Shocking Occurrence at Old” (death by shooting in Spinney behind Brewery House.) |
| 1881 | census : First reference to a Milling and Baking business in Old (possibly now behind the White Horse beer-house under the ownership of the tenant there.) |
| 1885 | installation of a steam engine at the flour mill behind White Horse |
| 1905 | Old Manor House Fire |
| 1907 | Tomblins sell the brewery to the Mannings of Northampton, in a sale that includes The Chequers PH, The Fox beerhouse in Scaldwell and the Firtree at Spratton. Brewing is transferred to Northampton and only Malting remains |
| ca 1910 | Old Post Mill destroyed by fire |
| 1911 | census : steam engine at flour mill behind White Horse replaced by diesel engine |
| 1914 | Mr Hector Beers takes over the Maltings at brewery House |
| 1921 | Faxton Population down to 37 |
| 1929 | Joseph Hamson starts transport business, carrying cattle and timber |
| 1939-43 | Evacuee children from London housed with Old families |
| 1940’s | Malting at the Old brewery ceases |
| 1942 | Villagers help three Canadian airmen escape from a crippled RAF plane attempting to land at Harrington Airfield which crashed in a field near the village, believed to be “Plank Meadow” |
| 1944/45 | USAF operate from Harrington Airfield and regularly pay off-duty visits to Old village, including on one occasion bringing Bing Crosby to Old Village Hall Saturday night dance |
| 1947 | Mains water supply comes to Old |
| 1950’s | Milling behind White Horse ceases; the engine house is pulled down and access to the mill from Church Lane is closed-off. The White Horse is extended back into the old mill-room |
| 1953 | Last service at St Denys, Faxton |
| 1955 | The now unused Non-Conformist chapel sold at auction to Mr Hamson, haulier and coal-merchant |
| Late-1950’s | St Denys Church, Faxton razed to the ground. A memorial stone is erected on the site |
| 1955 | The now unused Non-Conformist chapel sold at auction to Mr Hamson, haulier and coal-merchant |
| Late-1950’s | St Denys Church, Faxton razed to the ground. A memorial stone is erected on the site |
| 1955 | The now unused Non-Conformist chapel sold at auction to Mr Hamson, haulier and coal-merchant |
| 1957 | The Chequers PH closes and its spirits licence is transferred to White Horse |
| 1960 | The last resident of Faxton leaves and moves to Old |
| 1964 | Old village school closes |
| 1971/72 | Old Parish Charities benefit from the sale of land in Duston to the Northampton Development Corporation and fund the building of the Charity Bungalows, Community Centre and the Playing Field |
| 1974 | Old Cricket Club move to their present home at the Playing Field |
| 2000 | Knights of Old relocate to Kettering and their Cherry Hill site is redeveloped for housing |
| Last update Sep 2026 |