Walk 68: Greens Norton Circular: Catherine Parr lived here? Maybe not…

The ‘Needs to Know’

Distance: 1.5 miles (2.41km)

Time to walk: Just a little casual stroll of about 30 minutes, which is ideal after a bite to eat at the village pub

Difficulty: A mixture of road & field walking so it could get a bit muddy at times. It’s flat, easy terrain though

Parking: On road in the middle of the village

Public toilets: The Butchers Arms in Greens Norton

Map of the route:

The attractive village of Greens Norton is situated about 10 miles southwest of Northampton & 2 miles from Towcester. Many of the older houses are constructed of the local yellow stone reminiscent of the Cotswolds. It was once well known for its lacemakers

The centre of the village, marked by its green, hasn’t changed much over the past 60 years as the old substandard cottages, which have been demolished, were in yards off the main street & most new housing has been built on the outskirts

The village is dominated by the tall slender spire of St Bartholomew’s church, which can be seen for miles around

In medieval times, the village was known as simply ‘Norton’ & was a royal domain of Edward the Confessor & later William the Conqueror. In the 14th century the whole village was sold to Sir Henry Greene for a total of 20 shillings hence the name Greene’s Norton, which today is reduced to just Greens Norton

This is only a short stroll, but a most enjoyable one, so…

Let’s Walk!

1. We parked up near the village green opposite the excellent Butchers Arms…

…& opposite’s the village store…

2. With the pub in front, turn left & walk along the green turning right up Bradden Road…

The small white building on the corner’s got an interesting thing attached to its wall…

3. So head up Bradden Road looking for a signpost to the Pocket Park on the left…

4. It’s a narrow alley, but follow it to the road & then cross straight over…

5. At the end go through the kissing gate into the horse paddocks & then climb over the stile on the left…

…& pass the horse heading diagonally right towards the far left corner…

6. This walk’s all about narrow alleys at the moment as, once through the above gate, turn left & through the next kissing gate into another passage…

7. The path eventually emerges into Bengal Lane (no curry houses down here!) where we turn right into what’s a very lovely part of the village…

…& also a very old part…

This property’s called ‘Ye Olde Malting House’ as it was a brewery in the 1800’s

8. Continue to follow the road down the hill…

Nice gardens

9. On the right we finally arrive at the oldest property in the village…Birds House

This house alleges to be the oldest in the village & is reputed to have been lived in by Catherine Parr, the 6th wife of Henry VIII

However…although one of the oldest houses in the village, dating from 1666. There is apparently no truth in the village rumour that Catherine Parr ever lived here. There is no record that she ever visited the village &, in any case, she died in 1548!

Oh Greens Norton you deceived us!! (but it’s still a gorgeous property)

10. At the bottom Bengal Lane turns sharp right but we need to go left through the gate alongside the wall of Greens Norton Hall…