Napton on the Hill is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District of Warwickshire, England.
The population of the civil parish taken at the 2021 census was 1,416.
Manor
The toponym Napton is derived from the Old English cnæpp meaning 'hilltop' and tūn meaning 'settlement' in the Old English language. In 1086 the Domesday Book recorded the village as Neptone. The hill on which the village is built is just over above sea level, commanding the remainder of the parish which for the most part is at a height of about . The Domesday Book records that in 1086 Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan held the principal manor of Napton. which was built in the 12th century The north and south aisles were added in the 13th century
The tenor was recast in 1874 and John Taylor & Co rehung all the bells in 1958. part of the Bridges Group of parishes. Actor Ed Bishop is buried in the churchyard.
Economic and social history
thumb|Napton Windmill in 2022
In the 14th century Napton was granted a market charter by King Edward II and throughout the Middle Ages it was one of the largest settlements in Warwickshire. However the market died out, and the population of the village today of around 1,000, is roughly the same as it was in the year 1400. Napton had a windmill by 1543.
Napton had separate schools for girls and boys until 1948 when they were merged to form the current St. Lawrence Church of England Primary School, which moved to its current premises in 1997.
Canals
The first section of the Oxford Canal from Hawkesbury Junction was completed in 1771 and it reached Napton in 1774. This made Napton the head of navigation for coal supplies to be forwarded by road to Banbury, Bicester, Woodstock and Oxford The boiler needed replacement as early as 1794 and an accident with the engine killed a workman in 1796. To reach the same level as the Oxford Canal the W&N ascended three locks at Calcutt just north of Napton parish. With each passage of a narrowboat through Calcutt Lock the Oxford Canal lost a certain amount of water so the W&N agreed to pay the Oxford 2 shillings (2/-) (10 new pence) for each such passage. The old pumping engine had long been out of action so the company hired two Oxford Steam Plough Company steam ploughing engines to work the pump. The Grand Union wanted to widen its route to enable it to take barges wide, so in 1931 an Act of Parliament gave the Grand Union special powers over the Oxford Canal to widen the section between Braunston and Napton Junctions. lives in the village. The American actor Ed Bishop (1932–2005) is buried in the parish churchyard, having lived in the village for several years.