Woodford Halse
village in Northamptonshire, England, UK
Woodford Halse is a village in West Northamptonshire, England, about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) south of Daventry. It is in the civil parish of Woodford cum Membris, which includes also the village of Hinton and the hamlet of West Farndon. Hinton and Woodford Halse are separated by the infant River Cherwell and the former course of the Great Central Main Line railway. The village was formerly served by the Great Central Railway, which provided significant local employment, including Woodford Halse railway station which opened in 1899 and closed in 1966.
Churches
The earliest parts of the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary the Virgin include the chancel, west tower and south doorway, which date from about 1300. The arcade of the south aisle is 14th or 15th century.
St Mary's has a ring of six bells plus a sanctus bell. One of the Watts family of bell-founders, who had foundries in Bedford and Leicester, cast four of the bells including the tenor in 1613. John Taylor & Co of Loughborough cast a fifth in 1909 and the present treble in 1976.
St.
The public source identifies “Woodford Halse” as village in Northamptonshire, England, UK. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Woodford, Halse and village.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Woodford Halse”, the useful work is to connect “village in Northamptonshire, England, UK” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2240700. Authority coordinates are 52.171, -1.207. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1899, 1966, 1300 and 1613.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Woodford Halse”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Woodford Halse primary sources, Woodford Halse archive and Woodford research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Woodford Halse”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Woodford Halse” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.