LANDSCAPE CHARACTER        GUIDELINES

Ravensthorpe is situated in a Special Landscape Area on the fringe of the Northamptonshire Uplands. The village occupies a ridge, which is demarcated by the valleys of the Washbrook to the south and Coton Brook to the north. These two brooks meet one mile east of the village.

Like many villages in the vicinity, Ravensthorpe is located on an outcrop of Northampton Sand. This provides a well-drained site above underlying Upper Lias clay. To the northwest, parts of the outcrop are overlain by glacial deposits including sands, gravels and clays. The local geology is reflected in the older building fabric of warm-hued brown ironstone and cob (mud).

The Northamptonshire Uplands contain some of the County’s finest landscapes, and the many attractive views out to north, south, east and west are Ravensthorpe’s major asset. The locality is almost entirely agricultural.

Views to the north include Ravensthorpe Reservoir, which is an important landmark in the local landscape. There has been much planting of trees around the reservoir, and it attracts wildfowl and a wide variety of other birds. One section of the reservoir is set aside as a Country Wildlife Site.

Although there is no sizeable woodland in the locality, the copses around the reservoir, and the many trees in the hedges give the landscape a wooded appearance. Much of this dates from the 1795 Enclosure of the formerly open fields. The Enclosure hedges are important local features. They were kept thick and stout by hedge laying. This is still practiced today, although not as much as in the past.

The various approaches into Ravensthorpe show a contained settlement, defined by trees and hedges. This is especially true on the Coton and Guilsborough Roads to the north of the village. This Fringe Zone brings the countryside in close to the village centre. It is a very important feature of the village. See Plan.

Despite the amount of development, which has occurred over the last few decades, the majority has remained within the earlier village boundaries. See Plan.

Beyond the village boundaries, there are occasional, post-Enclosure farms sited out in their fields. More common are individual, or small collections, of barns and byres. These are usually of the local orange-red brick under tile or slate roofs.