Benefield (Upper/Lower)

"UPPER BENEFIELD, (and Lower Benefield) a parish in the hundred of Polebrook, in the county of Northampton, 3 miles to the W. of Oundle, its Union and post town. It lies on the confines of Rockingham Forest. Near the village are a number of singular cavities in the ground, called locally the "Swallows," through which the landfloods pass entirely away. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough, of the value of £531, in the patronage of J. W. Russell, Esq. The church is dedicated to St. George. There is a school with a small endowment, and other charities, amounting altogether to £43 per annum. The principal residence is Benefield Lodge, the seat of J. W. Russell, Esq., to whom the manor belongs." [Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2010]