Harlestone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire district, in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England. The parish had a recorded population of 445 in the 2011 census. From 1974 to 2021 it was in Daventry district.

The village is divided into two smaller settlements: Upper Harlestone and Lower Harlestone, which are linked by road, footpaths and bridleways. Lower Harlestone lies along the A428, and Upper Harlestone is directly to the south-west. Both settlements are approximately five miles north-west of the town of Northampton and south-east of the neighbouring country estate of Althorp.

History

Evidence of prehistoric settlement can be found in the area of Harlestone, including a Scheduled Ancient Monument to the east of the village, where the remains of prehistoric settlement can be seen from aerial photography.

An Iron Age site has been identified at the quarry site on the southern edge of Lower Harlestone, with possible evidence of landscape features dating from the late Bronze Age.

St Andrew's Churchyard is a possible Saxon site, due to its rounded shape and the presence of a spring beneath its nave.

The third and final estate at this time was owned by the Bulmer family, whose lands were placed into the hands of trustees in 1441 by Sir Ralph de Bulmer, and not mentioned again in literature until the 18th century.

{|class=wikitable

! 1801 !! 1811 !! 1821 !! 1831 !! 1841 !! 1851 !! 1881 !! 1891 !! 1901 !! 1911 !! 1921 !! 1931 !! 1951 !! 1961 !! 2001 !! 2011

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| 437 || 563 || 564 || 645 || 639 || 610 || 569 || 613 || 575 || 536 || 541 || 511 || 483 || 413 || 420 || 445

|}

References

  • St. Andrews, Harlestone's church