ManorWilliam Peverel, the Conquerors natural son, and the Countess Judith, his niece, held in Estone 2½ virgates at the general survey. In the reign of Henry II, there were 3½ hides and 1 great virgate here and in Strixton, of the fee of Michael de Hanslape, which are not mentioned in Domesday Book. In Henry I's time, William Malduith, or Maudit, the king's chamberlain, received certain lands here from Michael de Hanslape, which descended to his posterity, and from this family the parish is called Easton Maudit. In the reign of Henry VI, this manor was in the possession of the family of Trussell, and in the reign of Henry VII, Elizabeth Trussell carried it in marriage to the Earl of Oxford, by whom it was sold to Christopher Yelverton, Esq., who in the twenty-first of Elizabeth (1578) levied a fine of it. This gentleman descended from an ancient family at Rougham in Norfolk; and in the reign of Queen Elizabeth was made a serjeant-at-law, Speaker of the House of Commons, and a judge of the Queen’s bench. He died in the eleventh of James I (1613), and was succeeded by Henry his son who received the honour of knighthood; in 1617 he was appointed attorney-general, and in 1625 a judge in the Court of Common Pleas. His son Christopher was created a baronet in 1641 and Sir Charles Yelverton, who succeeded to this manor in 1670, was called to the House of Lords by the title of Lord Grey of Ruthin. Upon his decease without issue in 1679, he was succeeded by his younger brother, Henry, who in 1690 was raised to the dignity of Viscount Longueville, whose eldest son, Talbot, was created Earl of Sussex by George I in 1717, a title which is now extinct. Here was formerly a large mansion, the seat of the Yelvertons, which was taken down about sixty-five years since, when the estate passed by purchase to the Marquis of Northampton. This house contained a large collection of ancient portraits, which were disposed of by public sale.

The Village of Easton Maudit, which is small and secluded, is about seven miles south of Wellingborough, and eleven from Northampton. From foundations of houses, dovecots, and walls of wells, which have been discovered here it is supposed to have been a much larger place, and tradition says that there were once many weavers' shops here. The manorial residence of the Earl of Sussex stood near the church, and the handsome trees which remain near the site bespeak its former grandeur.

The Church, dedicated to Sts Peter and Paul, is of the Decorated period the chapel at the north end being of a later date. It consists of a nave and side aisles, chancel, chapel, south porch, and a tower surmounted by a beautiful spire. The latter was partly rebuilt in 1832. The church was carefully restored in 1859-60, principally at the expense of the Marquis of Northampton. The total cost was £2480, 16s. 7d.; and of this sum £2332, 16s.7d. was given by the Marquis; £50 by the Rev. Henry Smith, the vicar; £25 by the Dean and Chapter of Christ's Church College, Oxford, lay impropriators and patrons of the living; and £73 by the parishioners. Previous to the restoration there were on the walls of the chancel a number of marble monuments and tablets, which were then removed, and now form the pavement of the north chancel. The whole of the interior, chancel and church, is paved with very handsome encaustic tiles, manufactured by Minton, and designed by Lord Alwyne Compton. Several tombstones, one of them to the memory of the Percy family, have been removed from the pavement of the church; but they have been replaced with monumental slabs of encaustic tiles, with all the inscriptions and designs complete. The old pulpit has been replaced by one of elaborately carved oak, and the wooden communion rails by a low screen of beautiful alabaster. The piscina in the chancel has above it a wooden ledge, as is occasionally, but not often, seen. The church is now a remarkably handsome one. It contains the ashes and monuments of many illustrious personages who once resided in the place, amongst whom may be mentioned Dr Thomas Morton, bishop of Durham, who died here in 1659. On his ejection from his see, Bishop Morton who was noted for his learning, piety, and generosity, was received into the family of Sir Christopher Yelverton, lord of the manor, who made him tutor to his son; and on his father's death, in 1654, Sir Henry Yelverton, by whom the Bishop was much beloved and respected, continued to support him. Also Charles Longueville, Lord Grey of Ruthin, who died in 1643. The living is a discharged vicarage in the deanery of Higham Ferrers, rated in the king's books at £6, endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £200 royal bounty, and now worth about £170 per annum. The vicarial tithes were commuted in 1840 for about £128. The patronage is vested in Christ College, Oxford. Dr Percy, Bishop of Dromore in Ireland, was sometime vicar of this parish. During his residence here, that great giant of literature, Dr Johnson, visited him several times. The Vicarage House, a neat building, stands near the church.

Post-OfficeWall-Box. Letters arrive from Northampton at about 9.30 A.M., and the box is cleared at 3.40 P.M., on week days only.