A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



as the vacant spaces within the old walls filled with 

 houses, and the open fields were first enclosed and 

 then built over, the others had to be subdivided.^ 

 From All Saints' parish, lying within the old walls, 

 was formed St. Katharine's parish in 1839, subse- 

 quently enlarged by an addition from St. Andrew's 

 parish. From St. Sepulchre's, which extended north 

 of the old walls, was formed St. Andrew's parish in 

 1842, with a church designed by Mr. E. F. Law, 

 architect. From St. Giles' parish, which extended 

 east of the old walls, was formed in 1846 St. Edmund's 

 parish, the church of which, consecrated in 1852, 

 was built from plans by Mr. Matthew Holding and 

 enlarged in 1 89 1. In 1879 S^- Lawrence's parish 

 was formed from part of St. Edmund's and part of 

 St. Sepulchre's ; the church, built of red brick, was 

 consecrated in 1878. In 1882 St. Michael's and All 

 Angels was also formed from a part of St. Edmund's, 

 a church of red brick being built from designs by Mr. 

 George Vials. The district of Christ Church was 

 formed in 1899, from parts of St. Edmund's, St. 

 Michael's and Abington parishes, and was made a 

 parish in 1907. The transepts and part of the nave 

 of the church were consecrated in 1906, the chancel 

 was subsequently built but the nave has yet to be 

 completed. The architect was Mr. Matthew Holding. 



The enlargement of the municipal boundary in 1901 

 meant the inclusion of the district parish of St. 

 James, formed in 1872 out of parts of Duston and 

 Dallington ; the church, of red brick, was consecrated 

 in 1871, enlarged in 1900 with a tower, subsequently 

 completed. St. Mary's (an ecclesiastical district), 

 formed in 1885 out of Hardingstone parish, for 

 Cotton End and Far Cotton, has a church designed 

 by Mr. Mattheiv Holding. St. Paul's (an ecclesiastical 

 district), formed in 1877 out of the parishes of Kings- 

 thorpe and St. Sepulchre's, the church of which was 

 designed by Mr. ^latthew Holding. St. Matthew's, 

 an ecclesiastical parish formed in 1893 out of Kings- 

 thorpe parish ; the church built from plans by Mr. 

 Matthew Holding, has a north-west tower with a 

 spire, 170 ft. high. Holy Trinity, an ecclesiastical 

 district, was formed in 1899 (parish 1908) out of 

 Kingsthorpe parish. Northampton thus consists 

 to-day of 15 ecclesiastical parishes. 



St. Andrew's priory presented to the church of 

 y^iZ S/^/A'TS down to the Dissolution. From 153910 

 1616 the Crown had the patronage, after which date 

 it came into the hands of Sir Thomas and Dame 

 Kathcrine Littleton, who sold the advowson and 

 rectory to the mayor and corporation of North- 

 ampton on 24 May 1619. The patronage remained 

 in their hands till 1835, being exercised by such 

 members of the corporation as were parishioners of 

 All Saints'." In 1835 the advowson was sold to 

 Lewis Loyd, from whom it descended to Lord 

 Overstone, whose daughter. Lady Wantage, made it 

 over to the Bishop of Peterborough, the present 

 patron. 



The church of All Saints, first mentioned in 

 lioS,*" stands to the south of the market place, at 

 the centre of the- modern as of the medieval town. 

 The congestion of traffic ovring to the convergence of 

 main roads and tramways at this point has been 

 reUeved by the town's acquiring in 1871 and more 

 recently the land west of the church, formerly the 

 churchyard and before 1675 the site of the nave. 

 The church has bet;n the scene of many events of 

 national importance. Ecclesiastical courts have been 

 held here*i; the convocation of the province of 

 Canterbury sat here in 1380**; ' prophesyings ' 

 originated here, and it was the centre of the oppo- 

 sition to Laudian reform, as described in the previous 

 volume.** Two political sermons of some interest 

 were preached here in the 17th century, one by Robert 

 Wilkinson on the anti-enclosure riots on 21 June 

 1607, given before the Lord Lieutenant of the county 

 and the Commissioners** ; the other — Sibthorpe's 

 Assize sermon on Apostolic obedience — given on 

 22 Feb. 1626-7.** ^* "'^^ t''^ town church in an 

 especial sense. Mass was celebrated here before the 

 elections of town officials under the Act of 1489** ; 

 from 1553 the town records were kept in the vestry, 

 in a special chest*' ; and special seats were assigned 

 for the mayor and baihfFs both before and after the 

 fire,** which is recorded in the register for marriages 

 by the sentence, ' While the world lasts, remember 

 September the 20th, a dreadful! Fire, it consumed to 

 ashes in a few hours 3-parts of our Town and Chief 

 Church.' The Justices of Assize attend service here 

 before the Assizes. 



ST. /'£T£/J'S church is first mentioned about 1 20O.*» 

 Down to 1266 the patronage was in dispute between 

 the priory of St. Andrew's and the Crown. Henry III 

 presented in 1222.^ The jurors in the eyre of 1253 

 presented that the Church of St. Peter's had been in 

 the gift of the Kings of England down to Henry II, 

 but was now in the possession of St. Andrew's 

 priory.*^ In 1266 Henry III recovered the advowson 

 from the priory, allowing the prior an annual pension 

 of 15 marks in compensation, which, however, was 

 not being paid in 1334.** In 1329 Edward III granted 

 the advowson to the hospital of St. Katharine, near 

 the Tower of London,^ in whose hands it remained 

 till the middle of the 19th century, though leased out 

 from 1 550-1640 to the Morgan family.^ The last 

 appointment by the hospital was made in 1873 ; the 

 patronage has since been exercised by the Queen 

 Consort, the patron of St. Katharine's. 



From time immemorial the chapel of 57". JOHN 

 THE BAPTIST, Kingsthorpe, was attached to St. 

 Peter's as a chapel of ease.** It only became an 

 independent parish church in 1850.** The chapel of 

 St. Michael at Upton has also continued to be appur- 

 tenant to St. Peter's as a chapel of ease from the 

 earliest recorded times.*' 



St. Andrew's priory presented to ST. SEPUL- 

 CHRE'S until the Dissolution. The advowson then 



»• Sec V.C.H. Northanti. ii. 66. 



•• Serjcantion, lliii. of the Cb. of All 

 Sainti, S'ortbampt. p. 184-5. 



" Ibid. p. 12. 



♦' 6Vi/<j Abbalum Mon. S. Albani (RoUi 

 S«r.), p. 3?2. 



•• FineR. 4Rie. IT,m. 21. 



*' y.C.II. Norihanii. ii 44 c,t. 



** A Srrmon frraebrd at North Hampun 



. . . printed in London for John Flackct, 

 1607. 



" Apostotiht Ohcdirnce ... by Robert 

 Sybthorpc. . . . London ... to be sold \>j 

 Jamei Bowler, 1627. 



*• Sec above, p. 9. 



" Boro. Rrc. ii, 4. 



" Seric.intion, llnl. of the Cb. of All 

 Sainti, Korlbampt. pp. 254-8. 



«» Ilarl. Ch. 44, H. 34. 

 '" Cal. Pat. 1216-25, p. 342. 

 " Assise R. 6 15, m. 14 d. 

 »• Rot. Pari, ii, 76. 

 '> Cal. Pat. 1327-30, p. 420. 

 " R. M. Scrjeantion, Hist, of the Cb. 

 St. Prter, Norlhampt. p. 105-108. 

 '» Ibid. p. 250 (Harl. Ch. 44 H.34.) 

 ■'• Ibid. p. 147. •' Ibid. p. 217. 



56 



