Fawsley

Fawsley
St Mary's Church, viewed from Fawsley Hall
Fawsley
Location within Northamptonshire
OS grid referenceSP5657
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDaventry
Postcode districtNN11
Dialling code01327
PoliceNorthamptonshire
FireNorthamptonshire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament

Fawsley is a hamlet and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The population at the 2001 census was 32. At the 2011 census the population remained less than 100 and is included in the civil parish of Charwelton.

The hamlet’s name possibly means 'fallow deer wood/clearing' or 'fallow-coloured wood/clearing'. It was created out of the combination of the 'Egelweardesle' and 'Grauesende' Hundreds in the 12th century. According to Morton, the hundred-court was held under a beech-tree called Mangrave (perhaps a combination of '(ge)maene' and 'graf').

The Domesday Book of 1086 confirms the population of Fawsley (Falelau) as around 50, but the Knightley family of Fawsley Hall developed sheep farming at the expense of their peasant tenants, who were all evicted by the turn of the 15th century. The hall and the church are all that remain of Fawsley.