Northington Grange was purchased by Sir Robert Henley who was master of the King's Bench Office and he employed Inigo Jones "to erect a considerable mansion". The Grange estate was bought by the wealthy banker Henry Drummond in 1787, Grange Park was landscaped and a lake was created from part of the river. Another banking family, the Barings acquired the estate in 1817 and Alexander Baring was made Baron Ashburton in 1835.

The Grange had many famous visitors including George IV, Lord Tennyson and Thomas Carlyle. Many improvements were made to the estate by the fourth Lord Ashburton and he rebuilt the parish church and all at his own expense. And the estate was sold to a Mr L Wallach before WWII and he died in 1964. The manor of Northington also included land near the village of the same name and its twin village of Swarraton and held by a line of tenants until the 18th century when it was bought by the Henley family who incorporated it into the Grange property.

Totford manor in the Parish of Northington was not mentioned in the Domesday Book but was kept by Odo the Steward from the abbey at Winchester and it was later divided and sub let to various tenants one of which being the de Totford family, In the 16th century parts of the lands passed on to the Tichborne family while the remaining two thirds were bought by Sir Robert Henley with the Grange estate.

Over half a million pounds were spent by the Government to save this beautiful building which is one of the first country houses in Europe to be designed on classical Greek lines,. But the Grange is more than a unique piece of architecture it has an interesting history, Built in 1670 well before its time, for it has been described as a very early example of 18th century house and was later entirely reclothed as a Greek Temple which later proved to be an impossible place to live.

Today only a small portion of the Great House is left which belonged to the Baring's ad the site is in the care of English Heritage, but is not open to the public.

The two villages are dived by the Candover Brook but they are now practically one place and share the same church which is in Northington, the village hall though is in Swarraton and op until the 16th century three religious orders owned the land here.

A man called Cooke was sentenced and hanged during the Agricultural Riots and a Mr George Harding was reported to be the main witness against him and on his death in 1875 Harding left a trust of £200 to be divided among the poor fo the two parishes and this is still honoured today.

The earlier church in Northington ws demolished around 1830 and its older parts go back to around 1150 but as described above Lord Ashburton constructed a new church here which was consecrated in 1832 and pulled down in 1888 and a new church was started. Using new techniques it became of of the first churches to use flint in concrete.

There used to be a gasworks, school and game larders here when the Barings owned the estate but these have all been converted to private residences . The population has fallen over the gears and children now attend schools in other towns and villages, and the post office has also close and left and the nearest bit of life here is the Woolpack public house in Totford!