St. Mary's church, viewed from Fawsley Hall

Interior courtyard of Fawsley Hall

The Domesday Book (1086) confirms the population of Fawsley as around 50, but the Knightley family of Fawsley Hall developed the sheep farming at the expense of their peasant tenants, who were all evicted by the turn of the 15th century. The hall and the church are all that remain of Fawsley.

Fawsley Hall and Landscape Park was created by the Knightley family. The Knightleys bought the manor of Fawsley in 1416 (and Badby after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539) and lived here for over 500 years.

The Elizabethan hall, now a hotel and restaurant, was commissioned by Sir Edmund Knightley and was visited by Elizabeth I in 1575. More rooms, a new north wing and a fine red brick stable block were added in the early 18th century and the south-west corner of the house was rebuilt in the 1870s.

Standing isolated on a grassy knoll and surrounded by a ha-ha, St. Mary's Church contains the Knightley family tombs including effigies of the 16th century Sir Richard Knightley and his wife Jane. Dating to the early 13th century, the church has many fine features such as carved poppy heads and stained glass thought to be from Sulgrave Manor.

See also

• Knightley Baronets

External links

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