Passenham, Northamptonshire

Description
Passenham, a village and a parish in Northamptonshire. The village stands on the river Ouse, at the boundary with Bucks, 1 mile WSW of Stony Stratford, and 3 miles WSW of Wolverton station on the L. & N.W.R. It was known to the Saxons as Passanham, and was the place where Edward the Elder baited in his expedition against the Danes and raised an entrenchment while fortifying Towcester. The parish contains also the hamlet of Denshanger and parts of Puxley and Old Stratford, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office at Denshanger. Acreage, 3253; population, 1149. There is a parish council consisting of eleven members. The manor belongs to the Maynard family. The parish includes great part of Whittlewood Forest. Lace-making is carried on, and there are some agricultural engineering works and an iron foundry at Denshanger. The living is a rectory, united with that of Old Stratford, in the diocese of Peterborough; net value, £400, in the gift of Lady Brooke. The church, which is a building of stone in the Early Decorated style, is old and ivy-clad; consists of nave and chancel, with a tower; and contains a finely carved pulpit, fourteen richly carved stalls, and a handsome monument to Sir R. Banastre, who died in 1649. A new church was built in 1853 at the W end of the village of Denshanger at a cost of £3000, and is a building of stone in the Early English style. There are Baptist and Primitive Methodist chapels and some small charities. B. Willis the antiquary was a resident.