Woodford Halse
Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox UK place
Woodford Halse is a village in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> about Template:Convert south of Daventry. It is in the civil parish of Woodford cum Membris, which includes also the village of Hinton and the hamlet of West Farndon. Hinton and Woodford Halse are separated by the infant River Cherwell and the former course of the Great Central Main Line railway. The village was formerly served by the Great Central Railway, which provided significant local employment, including Woodford Halse railway station which opened in 1899 and closed in 1966.
Churches
The earliest parts of the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary the Virgin include the chancel, west tower and south doorway, which date from about 1300.<ref name=Pevsner468>Template:Harvnb</ref> The arcade of the south aisle is 14th or 15th century.<ref name=Pevsner468/>
St Mary's has a ring of six bells plus a sanctus bell.<ref name=Dove>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> One of the Watts family of bell-founders, who had foundries in Bedford and Leicester,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> cast four of the bells including the tenor in 1613.<ref name=Dove/> John Taylor & Co of Loughborough cast a fifth in 1909 and the present treble in 1976.<ref name=Dove/>
St. Mary's parish is a member of the Benefice of Woodford Halse with Eydon, Byfield, Northamptonshire, Aston Le Walls and Boddington, Northamptonshire.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Woodford Halse has also a Moravian Church.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref>
Economic history
Template:More citations needed section A flight of four lynchets survive south of the village: a rare survival in Northamptonshire.Template:Sfn In 1758 the open field system of farming around Woodford Halse was ended by enclosure.<ref name=Lewis>Template:Harvnb</ref> The ridge and furrow pattern of the common fields is visible in parts of the parish, and especially just south of the village. Allotments northeast of the village are laid out along the ridges and furrows, and follow their uneven widths and reverse S-curve.Template:Sfn
In 1848 Woodford Halse's principal landowners included Sir Henry E.L. Dryden, 7th Baronet and Sir Charles Knightley, 2nd Baronet.<ref name=Lewis/>
Railway
Template:Seealso In July 1873 the East and West Junction Railway (later part of the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway) was opened through the parish. The line passed just over Template:Convert south of the village but the nearest station on the line was at Template:Rws almost Template:Convert away.
On 15 March 1899 the Great Central Railway (GCR) opened its main line from Template:Rws to London Marylebone through the parish, using the valley of the River Cherwell to pass between Woodford Halse and Hinton. The GCR established a new station called Woodford & Hinton,<ref name=Butt>Template:Butt-Stations</ref> a four-way railway junction, a major locomotive depot and extensive marshalling yards. A plan to build carriage sheds here was not implemented, but between the old village and the new railway several rows of terraced houses for railway workers were built, together with a street of shops.
The Railway Hotel was built in 1900.<ref name=Pevsner469>Template:Harvnb</ref> By 1973 it had become Woodford Halse Social Club.<ref name=Pevsner469/>
The parish's population eventuallyTemplate:When peaked at just under 2,000, at which time the village had its own cinema.Template:When The GCR main line was at timesTemplate:When a busy route and the depot and yards at Woodford Halse were very active.
British Railways renamed the station Woodford Halse on 1 November 1948.<ref name=Butt/> Following the 1963 The Reshaping of British Railways report, BR closed the station, the main line and the Banbury branch of the former GCR on 5 September 1966.<ref name=Butt/> All tracks and most railway buildings were dismantled. The population fell sharply as former railway workers left the parish, but new developments in later decades have since increased it. Where the GCR's line, depot and yards were sited is now a tree plantation which was acquired by the Parish Council in 2016 as a public amenity space and a small modern industrial estate, but evidence of the railway is still visible.
Currently, public transport serving Woodford Halse consists of an hourly bus between Banbury and Daventry, operated by Stagecoach Oxfordshire.
Amenities
Woodford Halse Church of England Primary School serves the parish.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The school has one of the largest playing fields of any Northamptonshire school and holds an annual cross-country race, attracting over 700 competitors from more than thirty schools. The village has several shops and businesses. Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has a fire station at Woodford Halse, staffed by retained firefighters. The village's regular social events include the Annual Christmas Street Fair and Summer Boat Races.
Media
Television signals in the village are received from the local relay transmitter which is transmitted via the Sutton Coldfield transmitter.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, signals can also be received from the Sandy Heath and Oxford transmitters.
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Northampton, Heart East, Inspiration FM and Connect Radio.
The local weekly newspaper serving the village is the Daventry Express.
Sport and leisure
Woodford Halse has a non-League football club, Woodford United F.C., which plays at Byfield Road.
References
Sources and further reading
External links
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- Woodford cum Membris Parish Council - The official Parish Council website