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A Brief History of Higham Park
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The Higham Estate of the Earl of Lancaster was split into four and Higham Park was with Rushden. The Park area was bounded by
About one fifth of the Park lies within the parish of Knotting and the whole Park had previously been extra-parochial to Rushden, but it is now part of Newton Bromswold parish. In 1672 Charles II sold the Park to Sir Robert Long and since then it has been privately owned. The Park was created for hunting and the ramparts were topped with dead hedge fencing to keep the deer within. The Park also had coppiced wooded areas. The farmhouse stood by a moat but today the whole area is arable land with few clues to its past. The farmhouse was sometimes called Park Lodge but today is known as Higham Park Farm. Tenants Martin Tucke was a yeoman farmer there and his will was proved in London 1601. Later John Mackarness farmed there and when he died in 1714 an inventory of his estate was made. In about 1825 Joseph Dearlove was the tenant and in 1828 he set aside a room in the farmhouse to be used as a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel with seats for 80 worshippers but had an average attendance of 30. (Religious Census 1851) The farmhouse is still standing; it is a listed building and the remaining moat area is a scheduled ancient monument. Park Lodge Close by was the Park Lodge, the residence of the Bailiff of Rushden where the Manor Courts were held, in a lane off the main London road. Today access to Higham Park Farm is via a lane off Avenue Road.
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