A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



after Thomas Earl of Lancaster had received the 

 grant of asecond at Michaelmas." Both were claimed 

 by his brother in 1327®* and their issues included in 

 the lease of Richard III. The markets granted by 

 Philip and Mary were held weekly on Monday and 

 Saturday.** In 1664 the Monday market, which had 

 fallen into disuse before 1649,'" was transferred to 

 Thursday and the Saturday market appropriated to 

 the sale of horses and cattle.'^ In the latter part 

 of the 1 8th centur)', the county historian wrote that 

 there were three weekly markets, on Monday, Thurs- 

 day and Saturday, the two former disused and the 

 third much decayed.'- 



Four fairs granted in 1556 included the old-estab- 

 lished fairs of St. Michael and St. Botolph and two 

 newly appointed for the feasts of St. Katharine and 

 St. Matthias.'^ By the first charter of Charles II, 

 these were reduced to two, held on the Thursdays 

 next before the feasts of St. Philip and St. James 

 and of St. James the Apostle ;'* by the second to 

 one, for the sale of cattle and merchandise on the 

 Thursday before the feast of the Conversion of St. 

 Paul.'^ It is likely, however, that other fairs, not 

 authorised by this charter, continued to be held in 

 the town. In the 1 8th century there were seven, 

 described by the historian of Northamptonshire as 

 ' all well accustomed,' on the Thursdays before the 

 feasts of the conversion of St. Paul, of St. Matthias, 

 of St. Philip and St. James, and of St. James the 

 Apostle, on the 17 June, at Michaelmas and on the 

 feast of St. Catherine.'* Five were held in 1838, on 

 the Thursdays before 12 May and 5 August, on 

 7 March, 28 June and 6 December," and also in 1874, 

 when the dates in March, August and December 

 remained unaltered, but the other two fairs had been 

 transferred to the Wednesday before 5 February and 

 the Thursday before 1 1 October.'^ 



The church of ST. MART THE 

 CHURCH VIRGIN consists of chancel, 46 ft. by 

 20 ft., clearstoried nave of four bays, 

 72 ft. by 19 ft. 6 in., north and south aisles, the 

 former terminating in a Lady Chapel and vestry on 

 the north side of the chancel, an additional north 

 aisle, 10 ft. 6 in. wide, south porch, and west tower, 

 15 ft. square, with lofty spire. The width of the 

 north aisle is the same as that of the nave, and the 

 chapel and vestry being equal in size to the chancel, 

 the plan of the building is somewhat unusual, the 

 internal effect being that of two naves of equal size 

 with corresponding chancels. The south aisle is 

 10 ft. 6 in. wide and the total width across nave and 

 aisles 69 ft. 3 in. All these measurements are internal. 



No part of the church is earlier than the 13th cen- 

 tury, but a considerable portion of tlie building erected 

 in that period still remains, though altered in the 

 following century and later. 



The existing chancel, nave, south aisle and tower 

 are substantially those of the 13th century fabric, 

 the aisles of which were equal in width, and though 



later windows have been inserted and the aisle wall 

 rebuilt, the doorways, south nave arcade and other 

 architectural features remain unaltered. All this 

 work belongs to the first half of the 13th century 

 and was probably begun at the east end about 1220-25, 

 the tower being completed about 1 250. The first 

 change in the plan was about 1325-30, when the 

 north aisle was widened and the Lady chapel built in 

 its present form, the north nave arcade being then 

 taken down and the present one erected. The chapel 

 was probably built first and the aisle afterwards made 

 of the same width. The two arches which divide the 

 chapel from the chancel were cut through the 13th- 

 century wall, and at the same time new windows 

 were inserted in the chancel and south aisle and other 

 alterations made. With the exception of the priests' 

 doorway, the south nave arcade and the south door- 

 way, there is thus little original architectural work 

 recognisable east of the tower, though the plan 

 of the nave and chancel remains unchanged. The 

 alterations in the chancel were probably due to Law- 

 rence St. Maur, canon of Hereford (d. 1 338), whose 

 brass is now on the table tomb between the chancel 

 and chapel, but the tomb was constructed for a mem- 

 ber of the House of Lancaster as indicated by the 

 heraldry on the lower part ; a powdering of bees is 

 painted upon the canopy. Whether it was ever used 

 for its intended purpose is doubtful, as the actual 

 table tomb is of later date, but it is not unlikely that 

 the monument was erected by Henry, Earl of Lan- 

 caster (d. 1345) for himself, and that the Lady chapel 

 was added and the north aisle reconstructed at his 

 charges, he being the lord of the manor.'^ 



There is little difference in date between the north 

 arcade of the nave and that of the outer aisle : the 

 latter may be an addition a few years after the work 

 of reconstruction was completed, or it may have 

 merely been left until the end of the enlargement, 

 while the arcade may belong to its beginning. The 

 whole of the north side of the church, however, 

 appears to have been completed in its present form 

 by about 1 340, and may be considered as of one 

 build, the same plinth and stringcourse and the same 

 kind of dressed masonry being used both in the Lady 

 Chapel and the north aisle. The spire, as originally 

 built, was added about the same time, but the 

 clearstory belongs to thi; first half of the 15th century, 

 when low-pitclicd roofs behind parapets were erected 

 and two windows were inserted, one at the east end 

 of the south aisle, and the other at the west end of 

 the outer north aisle. In the 15th century, also, 

 Archbishop Chicheley no doubt erected the rood 

 screen and stalls, one of which bears his arms and 

 another those of the see of Canterbury. Other 

 screen work is of the same period. 



In 1631-32 the spire and part of the tower were 

 rebuilt, following a collapse of the former, which 

 did great damage to the tower, since which time, 

 apart from restoration, the fabric has remained un- 



•' Chart. R. 18 F.dw. I, m. ro. 



•" /'/<?<-. de Quo irarr. fRcc. Com), 580. 



" Pat. R. 2 & 3 Phil, and M. pt. 8, 

 m. 17. 



'"Pari. Surv. Northant*. 31, m. z. 



" Pat. R. ifi Chai. 11, pi. 14, no. i. 



" liridic', "p. cit. ii, 170. 



"Pal. R. 2 & 3 Phil, and M. pi, S, 

 m. 27. 



" Ibid. 16 Ch-.tt. II, pt. 14, no. i. 



" Ibid. 36 cli.!!. Il.pt. 6, no. 24. 



'" MridRcs, loc. cit. 



" John Cole, l/ist. and Anliq. of Iligham 

 Ferrrn, 119, 131, 136, 143, 158. 



'* Whrll.in, Norlhnttts. 914. 



"* If thi« theory, put forw.nrd by Prof. 

 Il.imilion 'I'hompflon, be ri^ht, the date 

 of the building of the ch.Tpcl and rccon- 



272 



Btnictlon of the .lisle would f.ill between 

 the dc.ith of 'riinni;i» I'..irl of Lancaster 

 in 1322 and the time when K.irl Henry 

 began to found the hoBpital at Leicester, 

 where he is buried. Ilis death would 

 check further work at Iligham Ferrers. 

 .Sir William Hope .ngrccd with this theory 

 about the date and purpose of the monu- 

 ment and chapel. 



