Maps of Roade

Below are maps and plans of Roade through the ages

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Medieval Settlements c.1100

Map taken from British History on-line. The map shows settlements and fields from Domesday Book (1086) to just before the enclosure of the common fields in 1819 (some earlier enclosures appear at the top of the map. Three entries in Domesday Book (1086) refer to places in the present Roade parish one belonging to the St. James's Abbey estate and the other to the Mauntell estate. Stephen held one hide in 'Rode' of Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William the Conqueror’s half-brother. It lay waste and was in the king's hands. A 'hide' varied in size but was generally reckoned at 120 acres. The land later passed to the Chocques family, whose tenant, Walter de Preston (of Preston Deanery) gave 'Hyde juxta Roda' to the canons of the Augustinian Abbey of St James in Duston in the 12thcentury. The Abbey was founded around 1104 by William Peverel and received other land in the area, which the Abbey cleared and cultivated. Also, Dodin held land for 1 plough with two smallholders and some woodland in 'Rode' of Gunfrid de Chocques. Turstin Mauntell held land for 1 plough in ‘another Courteenhall’ of William Peverel. The 12th century Northamptonshire Survey indicates that this land was in the east part of what is now Roade parish. The Survey refers to the land as being in 'Somereshale' and there is still a Summerhall field in the area. The known of the tenurial history of the parish, it appears that, from the time a settlement was established at Hyde, the cultivated land of the parish was divided into two parts, each of which had its own open fields, one belonging to the St. James's abbey estate and the other to the Mauntell estate. More information in RLHS Publication 'Roade Through the Camera' available for purchase on this website.

Grafton Estate Map of Roade c.1720

A section of a very detailed plan of the Grafton Estate commissioned for the Second Duke of Grafton; many of today's stone houses are shown on this map. There is a wealth of information about the Estate including field names ,sizes and numbers for an index. More details are included in the RLHS publication 'Roade Through the Camera' on page 8. For more information contact Northamptonshire Record Office quoting Northamptonshire Archives Service Reference: ROADE 1720 Map 447 Sketch of Duke of Grafton Estate Map of Roade (NRO ref. Map447).

Roade Detailed Field Plan c.1720

This very clear document was created by Chris Hillyard also the images and information provided by Photo 1579 Drawing of Grafton Estate prior to Inclosure adoption and photo 1346 Grafton Estate 1720 hand drawn plan of the Estate probably contributed. Note the additional information in RED that identifies various past features of Roade.

Grafton Estate map of Roade early 18th century

1727 Grafton Estate Land Map showing the eighteenth century linear settlement of Roade. Extracted from p.13 of the 'Roade Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan adopted in September 2015. For more information contact Northamptonshire Record Office quoting Northamptonshire Archives Service Reference: ROADE 1727 Map 360 Plan of Duke of Grafton Estate.

Drawing of Grafton Estate prior to Inclosure adoption 1727

Map showing open fields in Roade from 'A History of the County of Northampton Volume V’ (Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2002), p.347and reproduced in ‘Roade Through the Camera’ p.177 by permission of the Executive Editor.

Grafton Estate map of Roade with field names 1768

A section of the 1768 Grafton Estate Land Map showing the eighteenth century linear settlement of Roade, annotated with many field names. Extracted from p.16 of the 'Roade Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan adopted in September 2015. For more information contact Northamptonshire Record Office quoting Northamptonshire Archives Service Reference: ROADE 1768 Map 440 Map of Duke of Grafton’s Manor.

Roade and Ashton Inclosure Map 1818

Inclosure Map for Ashton and Roade. A series of United Kingdom Acts of Parliament enclosed open fields and common land in the country, creating legal property rights to land that was previously considered common. Between 1604 and 1914, over 5,200 individual acts were put into place, enclosing 6.8 million acres. This was the result of the preparation for the enactment of one of the Inclosure Acts of 1819 related to Roade and Ashton. Note all the fields have numbers which can be traced back to Land Owners and Farms. Some of the land holdings had been enclosed previously and were listed on the accompanying schedule as ‘Old Inclosures. All the holdings are numbered and details of them and their owners are given on the schedule. For more information contact Northamptonshire Record Office quoting Northamptonshire Archives Service Reference: INCLOSURE 1819 NRO 4218 Map Roade and Ashton. Also shown on p.178 of ‘Roade Through the Camera’.

Roade Inclosure Map 1818

A close up of Photo 1575 Inclosure Map focusing on the Roade area. A series of United Kingdom Acts of Parliament enclosed open fields and common land in the country, creating legal property rights to land that was previously considered common. Between 1604 and 1914, over 5,200 individual acts were put into place, enclosing 6.8 million acres. This section of the map was the result of the preparation for the enactment of one of the Enclosures Act of 1819 related to Roade. Note all the fields have numbers which can be traced back to Land Owners and Farms. For more information contact Northamptonshire Record Office quoting Northamptonshire Archives Service Reference: INCLOSURE 1819 NRO 4218 Map Roade and Ashton.

Rev Maze Gregory Sketch - Roade and area 1862

Revd. Maze W. Gregory, Perpetual Curate of Roade , was an important Antiquarian in Northamptonshire and was noted for recording events and producing descriptions of his area. His sketch clearly shows the original Roade Railway Station position to be well to the South of Roade Cutting prior to being moved northwards to the start of the Cutting when the cutting was widened for the Northampton Loop at a later date. In fact railway workmen found part of the old platform when completing maintenance on the line in the period 2010 to 2020. The sketch also has a key for significant roads, lanes and the Parish Boundary.

Bridle Road realignments plan 1878

This is a composite portrayal of Roade at the time that the London North Western Railway was doubled to create the Northampton loop. The base map is the 1720 map of the Grafton Estate in Roade. The red line indicates the West Coast Main line as it was in 1878. The green line indicates the re-routing of the Bridleway that crossed the railway lines from the Gravel Path. This Bridleway was very dangerous to pedestrians as it was a well used route across a very busy railway which was about to be doubled from 2 tracks to 4. This re-routing involved building the Bridge, that still exists in 2022, across all 4 tracks. All major applications for changes to railways had to be agreed by the Court. The LNWR was represented by Engineer-in Chief William Baker and Engineer Francis Stevenson. The blue line indicates a later railway which crossed the Main Line, and the SMJ loop to Roade Station in 1890.

Conveyance plan of part of The Leys 1898

A plan that was part of a land conveyance for a property in The Leys, it shows the OLD road from Stoke Bruerne to Northampton before the A508 was constructed. The dotted line leading to the railway bridge over the London & North Western Railway is The Gravel footpath, the area marked Mr Pread became the Recreation Ground, now named Jubilee Fields.

Ordnance Survey 1900 with railway

This photo shows a larger section of the 1900 Ordnance Survey map than the same map photos 1336 and 1347. This reveals the railways to the south of Roade which can also be seen on the Photo 0302 in the Railway Category of this Photo Viewer. The Stratford-upon-Avon Towcester and Midland Junction Railway crosses the map from West to East passing over the London and North Western Railway which enters the cutting as it passes through Roade. Note the Branch line that connects the 2 railways via a loop from the West to the station location.

O.S.Map of Roade and Courteenhall 1900

Ordnance Survey Map of Roade and Courteenhall.

O.S. Map of Roade 1900

Close up of Roade on the Ordnance Survey map. Items of interest the Public Houses all named except the Swan in the Swannings next to the railway and the Cock in the High Street. Other interesting features named are St. Mary's Church and Chapels are indicated, Quarry's, the Vicarage, the Station; the only School, Tilecote House (Tylcote), Smithy and a Ford.

Railways around Roade c.1914

The colour key for the Railways in this photo is : -

RED

The London North Western from London to Rugby direct or via a loop to Northampton Castle Station to continue to Rugby - as well as a branch from Blisworth to Northampton Castle Station and a triangular junction in Northampton which allowed for trains to come from Blisworth and travel to Northampton Castle or travel via Bridge Street Station to Peterborough.

BLUE

The Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJ) which was the last of the three constructed providing further connection possibilities

GREEN

The Midland Railway which linked Northampton St. John's Street Station to Bedford. Note that the SMJ used to include Towcester in its name until 1908 when many of its Branch Lines were closed as uneconomic.

Mr Denton s House Location 1933

Map showing the position of Mr. Denton's house on Stratford Roade, see photo 1518 in this Category. The blue fill area is the house and the red fill area is the garden. RLHS hold a description of Mr Denton's home. He was a greengrocer, known as ''Tarpy'' Denton, who lived at No 2 Stratford Road, Roade , a brick house immediately next to the railway bridge along the A508. The house has since been demolished, the land it stood on has been incorporated into Roade Main Garage's forecourt.

O.S. Map of Roade 1952

Ordnance Survey map of Roade: Note the significant changes to the facilities especially: Pianoforte Supplies Ltd Factory at the bottom centre of the map (it is the large building to the East of the Railway) and the first Social Housing in Roade along both sides of The Leys, just above the PSL factory.

Burman Farm Map at time of sale 1955

Map of Burman Farm at time of Sale. Note that the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway entered the farm after passing under a bridge on the Hartwell Road and traversed the whole Farm.

Roade Conservation Area 2018

Roade Conservation Area, as you would expect, has the shape of the Linear Village documented on the Grafton Estate Land Map in 1768. To the North it ends at Croft Lane, to the East it ends at the back of a few of the old houses along the East side of the Hartwell Road, to the South it ends at the Recreation Ground (Jubilee Field) and to the West it ends at the top of the High Street.

PSL site Street Plan 2018

A detailed representation of the Housing Estate road network on the re-developed PSL factory site. The street names were mainly directly related to terminology used within the factory. Notable exceptions are the use of Cripps and Tarry for road names. They were the main people involved with developing the original factory as Pianoforte Supplies Ltd. Mrs. Tew used to own the land on the car park side of the site opposite the factory. 'The Gravel' is a new street that is named after the actual footpath of the same name. The Gravel footpath is the long red dashed line on the map that runs past the end of the Street 'The Gravel' connecting Ashton Road to Stratford Road. The Gravel footpath is at least 200 years old.