The parish is the site of two Roman villas. One was at Whitehall Farm west of the village near the A5 road which closely follows the route of the Roman Road known as Watling Street which ran from London to Holyhead in North Wales. The nearest Roman towns were Lactodorum, modern name Towcester, about south, and Bannaventa at Whilton Lodge, near Norton about north. Excavations on the site in 2009 found eight 1,400-year-old skeletons in a burial ground. They could be German mercenaries hired by wealthy land owners to protect their property. Investigations are on-going.