The village is relatively more recent than those around it, and it started out in life as a castle belonging to the lord of the manor of nearby Hanslope.[3]
A settlement of servants and manual workers grew up around the castle and this became the village of Castlethorpe (thorpe is an Old Norse language (particularly Danish) word for homestead, and it is not unreasonable to assume that there may well have been a Danish settlement nearby as the area was, if not part of, certainly close to, the Danelaw). The castle was damaged in 1215 in a feud between Foulkes de Brent – who had been sent by King John – and William Mauduit, the castle's owner.[3] Mauduit was reputedly in rebellion against the King. Although Mauduit returned to claim his seat after the King's death, the castle was demolished shortly afterward.[3] All that is left today are the grassy mounds of the former Motte-and-Bailey castle.
Multi-dwelling fires in the village have been reported in local media, notably those of 1899 and especially 1905 (when 13 cottages were destroyed, leaving 36 people homeless).[4]
Church of St Simon and St Jude, the parish church, is dedicated to St Simon and St Jude, and possibly dates back to Anglo-Saxon times: although no evidence of a pre-Norman building survives, its existence has been conjectured from the structure of the north arcade.[3] In 1350, the nave was widened and the chancel rebuilt.[3] The church at Castlethorpe was originally superior to that of Hanslope but Bishop Grosteste changed the precedence in about 1250.[3] Castlethorpe has grown up around the church and some traditional old stone cottages at the centre of the village which is designated a conservation area.
Rail and canal
Site of the station looking south towards London (Northampton Loop lines on the left)
The West Coast Main Line runs alongside the west side of Castlethorpe, and the village had its own railway station until September 1964 when, to the outrage of the village, it was closed down.[8]
The Grand Union Canal also runs by on the outskirts of the village, and it is a short walk along the towpath to the neighbouring village of Cosgrove in Northamptonshire.
