Discover Maidwell

Maidwell offers two distinct starting points for planning a trip: the Brampton Valley Way as an extensive route, and the village’s history, reflected in its churches, a country house and traces of water use. If you are looking for a hotel in Maidwell, this distinction can help you decide whether cycling and landscape or architectural and church history should be the focus of your stay. You can shape your trip around whichever subject interests you most.

The Brampton Valley Way for planning your trip

The Brampton Valley Way runs for more than 14 miles between Northampton and Market Harborough. It follows a disused former railway line, also serves as a wildlife corridor, and forms part of Sustrans National Cycle Route 6. The surfaced path is suitable for most walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

The distance of more than 14 miles describes the full route and provides a framework for planning your journey. There is a picnic area at the Brampton Valley Way car park in Maidwell. This gives you two different reference points for planning: the broader route and a specific place to take a break in Maidwell.

Church history and Kempe glass

The Church of St Mary the Virgin brings together different periods in a single building: its west tower dates from the 13th century, while the nave windows contain stained glass created by Kempe between 1892 and 1906. The same church therefore lets you distinguish between medieval fabric and a much later interior.

Services are usually held at St Mary the Virgin on the first and third Sundays of each month. Check the service schedule before your trip if you would like to include a service in your plans.

Maidwell Hall and its architectural history

Maidwell Hall is a listed country house with a date stone from 1637. Its later architectural history includes alterations by J. A. Gotch in 1885 and restoration around 1902 following a fire. These dates mark different stages: the date on the house, the later alterations, and finally its restoration after the fire. Together, they provide a timeline that goes beyond the single date on the date stone.

Other historical traces

Maidwell St. Peter’s existed for at least 300 years, from the early 13th century to the mid-16th century. This long period adds a different perspective on the village’s history to the building phases of St Mary’s and Maidwell Hall.

In the Dales area of Maidwell, earthworks remain from a mill leat, a leat and a watermill dam. Together, these features indicate the conveyance and impounding of water. They add the technical use of the land to the historical picture: alongside the dates associated with buildings, they reveal how the landscape was shaped.

When planning your stay, you can consider the route and the village’s history as separate areas of interest. The Brampton Valley Way is a longer route with a surfaced path, while the church, Maidwell Hall and the earthworks offer different historical subjects. If you are looking for hotels in Maidwell, first decide which of these interests you want to shape your trip.

Discover more destinations: Braunston, Wappenham, Greatworth, Harrington, Harringworth, West Haddon, Sulgrave, Stoke Albany.

For the broader travel overview: Northamptonshire.