Potterspury’s history can be explored through its crafts: pottery making, pottery kilns and a watermill sit alongside Factory Row and St Nicholas Church. The village’s history stretches from medieval activities to a row of houses dating from 1840 and parts of the church dating from the 12th to the 14th centuries. This offers different perspectives on crafts, architecture and landscape history for your trip. Rather than a single historical focus, you will encounter several themes, each of which can be considered on its own.
Pottery history between west and east
Pottery making in Potterspury is first documented in 1287. Several medieval and post-medieval pottery kilns have been discovered in and around the village. There was also a pottery quarter at the western end of the village, in addition to the established pottery areas to the east, in the Woods and Church Lane area. Pottery making is therefore not associated with just one location: the village’s history includes a western quarter and eastern working areas, while the kiln discoveries also extend to the surrounding area. The early date and kilns from medieval and post-medieval periods show that Potterspury’s pottery history spans more than one period.
Factory Row: homes and work
Factory Row consists of eight cottages dating from 1840. The Duke of Grafton had the row built as homes for estate workers. It is thought that Factory Row got its alternative name because most of its residents were once lace-makers. This brings together two different aspects: the row’s residential function and a presumed connection between its former residents and lace-making. The row offers a different way to explore the village’s history than the pottery kilns: here, homes and residents’ work sit alongside the material traces of craftsmanship.
St Nicholas Church and its building phases
St Nicholas Church is the oldest building in Potterspury; its oldest parts date from the 12th century. The north arcade dates from the 13th century, and the south arcade and tower from the 14th century. An arcade is a series of arches; the different dates help distinguish the two arcades as separate parts of the building. The tower contains five bells, the oldest of which dates from the 15th century. While the tower dates from the 14th century, the oldest bell dates from the following century. The building and its bells thus offer two different perspectives on the church’s history.
Watermill and the historic landscape
There has been a mill on the site of Potterspury Watermill since the Middle Ages, powered by water from the village brook. Potterspury Mill ground grain until the 1950s; the building is now a private home. Its historic operation and present-day use therefore belong to different periods. The landscape also has its own history: around half of what is now Mill Pond Meadow Conservation Area was once a pond. The mill and former pond show different aspects of the relationship between water and the village—there as a source of power for the mill, and here as a former landscape feature.
Finding your way around the village
Potterspury has an interactive map titled “A tour around our village”. You can click on numbered points to find out more about them. On the central High Street, Cottage Stores includes a convenience store, newsagent, sweet and grocery shop, and post office. Check whether the listed businesses are open before your trip.
Discover more destinations: Rothwell, Hardingstone, West Haddon, Easton On The Hill, Quinton, Crick, Sulgrave, Upton
For the wider travel guide: Northamptonshire.
