Buildings

Within the village there are a variety of building types, located in distinctive areas. This shows how Boughton has developed, primarily in three specific periods of history: the 17th and 18th centuries, the 1940s and 50s and finally in the 1960s and 70s.

The central area contains a number of Grade II listed properties, mainly built around the mid-17th Century, which give the village its unique identity.

The roads leading into the village contain a variety of more modern buildings, dating from 1910 to the 1970s. Their specific characters are detailed below.

Northamptonshire sand/ironstone walls are a feature of Boughton, defining boundaries of most properties within the Conservation Area.

Vyse Road & Moulton Lane

The buildings on these roads have individual design styles and were built primarily in the 1950s, 60s and early 70s, although some are older. Materials used vary from red brick to rendered and natural stone.

The houses that have been rendered are painted white, off white or cream. Roofs are tiled with either concrete interlocking tiles or clay tiles, predominantly red-brown.

The boundaries also vary, from bushes and hedges to stone walls. However, the majority of plots contain mature trees along the roadsides.

Vyse Road runs next to the uniformly laid-out tree lined Boughton Hall estate with many of the properties built on former estate land. Dwellings are well set back in their plots and well spaced out. They have large gardens with mature trees.

Weldon House is an extremely large house built in the 1960s, unusually for Boughton it is constructed of Weldon Stone. Within its grounds are the historic remains of an entrance arch to Boughton Hall.

Moulton Lane is of similar character to Vyse Road with large dwellings. It also contains the old Methodist Chapel and the primary school, opened in 1932 and built of red brick with two extensions for a hall and computer suite.

Church Street

This is the heart of the Conservation Area, with thatch and Northamptonshire sand/ironstone cottages lining the street. At the Western end is the entrance to Boughton Park Estate and the cottages progress up the hill past the Whyte Melville public house and church of St John the Baptist and continue to just beyond the junction of Moulton Lane and Humfrey Lane.

This area is rich in historic features including the old entrance gates to Boughton Park, the village green and site of the old village Pound, which boasts a mature chestnut tree. There is the distinctive Whyte Melville public house, converted from the private home of Colonel Whyte Melville, author of hunting stories; and Merewater cottage, which has a date tablet which reads "Anno Dom. 1639 T.H.A.H." At the eastern corner of this cottage is a small window consisting of a quatrefoil recessed into a deep splay.

All the buildings in this street, with the exception of the public house, which is rendered, are built of Northamptonshire sand/ironstone. The honey-coloured stone gives this area of the village a distinctive “warm” feel. Approximately half of the dwellings are thatched and half are slate.

The stone is semi-dressed, flush pointed and lightly brushed in a lime mortar of a similar colour to the stone. The windows are timber, mainly painted white with small panes and lead lining. Most cottages front directly onto the road, with small flowerbeds. Chimneys built in red brick have been added at a later date.

Many houses date back to the 17th Century, like the Carrier's Cottage, the row of cottages leading to the Park gates and the Old Bakehouse. The majority of the buildings are Grade II listed, originally built to house the estate workers. Two properties were originally farmhouses.

Butchers Lane & Spring Close

Butchers Lane runs north from Church Street to Bunkers Hill Farm (built in 1776 and named after the American War of Independence battle the previous year). The metalled road becomes a track as it progresses towards the farm. A public footpath leads from this to Pitsford. There are no defined hard-surfaced pedestrian footpaths in Butchers Lane or Spring Close.

The majority of properties are detached individual-style houses with large front gardens, built in the 1950s. But there are some notable exceptions. Butchers, (originally the old Butchers shop) was built about 1678. There are two recent “barn conversions” which lie north of the Village Hall; an old barn, now used for garaging, which used to be the old village forge; and Glenn Cottage, a 17th Century thatched stone cottage. These are the only old properties in Butchers Lane. Other exceptions are The White House, which is thatched and Adam Field, both built in the 1930s; and there are eight brick houses, built by the Council in the 1950s.

Boughton Park

The present Boughton Hall was built in 1844 and stands near the footprint of a much older manor house dating back to the 14th Century. In turn, this was on the footprint of a monastery. The Hall is set in large grounds where houses have been recently built or converted from its stable blocks and outbuildings. The main house has now been divided to create two separate homes.

The two entrances to the Park are of historic note. One gateway is set in a castellated wall by the Hawking Tower. This is a gothic folly and gatehouse built between 1739 and 1756. At the other entrance off Church Street, two piers are all that remain of the original archway. Within the grounds, ha-ha walls are a key feature of the Park.

Boughton Hall is built from Northamptonshire sand/ironstone in three storeys. Within the park are individually-styled houses, including The Dower, built of traditional stone in the 1980s in the original kitchen garden; two semi-detached 18th Century stone cottages (named The Bails and The Wickets); and the cricket club pavilion, built in the 1980s of timber and stucco.

Humfrey Lane

This road contains more variety than anywhere else in the village. Properties include timber-framed Swedish-style houses built just after the Second World War, one listed thatched cottage and modern detached houses built of buff brick.

The Swedish-style houses were built in 1949, set well back in their plots. Ashley House, built of Northamptonshire sand/ironstone with a slate roof, stands in the footprint of an old farmhouse. It stands in extensive grounds, previously known as Kimbell's Yard.

Along the side of a small green is a row of terraced cottages constructed from Northamptonshire sand/ironstone and painted brick. A number of individually-styled 1970s properties are set back from the road. The office complex known as Kimbell’s Mews, consists of a small barn conversion with single storey timber frame buildings added, clad in brickwork. Towards Church Street, the cottages are of similar character to Church Street, built of Northamptonshire sand/ironstone with approximately a third of them being thatched. These were originally estate workers’ cottages and are Grade II listed.

Howard Lane, Greville Close, Obelisk Close & Devonshire Close

These contain late 1960s detached houses, all constructed by the same builder. All houses are similar in size, style and type, built from buff brick with concrete interlocking grey roof tiles. Front gardens are open plan with no boundary walls. They have large garages and hard-standing for parking is also a feature.

Spinney Close

This 1960s-70s cul-de-sac leads to Obelisk Spinney. A public footpath runs from the Close through the Spinney to Obelisk Rise, Northampton.

The houses have large open plan front gardens with no walls or boundary fences. There are two different characters. To the west, the houses are of individual design, built in 1971 and 1972; to the east, all are of a similar style and type. An exception is the end property, The Beeches, which is larger and individually designed.

There is a great sense of space here, enhanced by the attractive open plan gardens and quiet nature of the road.