SPELHOE HUNDRED 



KINGSTHORPE 



century, and has a good continuous moulded doorway 

 and three two-light windows to the aisle with a quatre- 

 foil in the heads.' In the chapel is a later window with 

 depressed head, and east of it a single-light trefoiled 

 window with ogee hood-mould. 



Remains of medieval ritual arrangements are plenti- 

 ful. There are two piscinas in the south chapel, one at 

 the east end of early- 14th-century date with trefoil 

 head, and near to it an aumbr>' which retains its door, 

 the other with a rounded head within a pointed arch 

 probably of c. 1200.^ In the north chapel a very 

 beautiful late- 13th-century piscina, with roll and fillet 

 mouldings and trefoiled internal head retaining traces 

 of colour, has been built into the south wall, and in the 

 portion of izth-century walling farther west, between 

 the responds of the earlier and later arches, are the 

 remains of another piscina and a consecration cross. In 

 the north wall, opposite the chancel arch, is a trefoiled 

 aumbry, and at the back of the south-east respond of the 

 nave arcade, opening from the south chapel, is a recess 

 (now blocked) for a processional cross, or banner stave, 

 with pointed head and hood-mould.^ Pointed doorways 

 to the rood-loft occur west of the broad arches on either 

 side and in the outer wall of the south chapel, the latter 

 with a cusped canopy, the loft having extended across 

 the church, but no steps remain. 



The tower is of three stages with moulded plinth, 

 clasping buttresses of two stages, and battlemented 

 parapet. There is a vice in the south-west angle. The 

 lower and half the middle stage are of ancient ironstone 

 but at this height the modern ashlar facing begins. The 

 west doorway is of two continuous moulded orders and 

 the window above it of three cinquefoiled lights with 

 vertical tracery.'' The tall bell-chamber windows are 

 transomed and of two trefoiled lights with quatrefoil in 

 the head, the hood-mould being taken round the tower 

 as a string. The lofty tower arch is of three chamfered 

 orders, the inner on half-octagonal responds,' and the 

 ground story has an old wooden roof Built into the 

 tower walls inside are five consecration crosses — four in 

 the north wall and one in the south. The spire has 

 plain angles and three tiers of lights on its cardinal faces. 



The font dates from 1863, but the oak pulpit is 

 Jacobean with arcaded panels,* and there are some old 

 stall ends with poppy heads in the chancel.^ 



In the porch is a wooden cupboard with glazed front, 

 for the loaves of George Cook's Bread Charity, in- 

 scribed: 'Mr. George Cook gave in y' Year 1690 the 

 Interest of a Hundred Pounds to be gave in Bread, 

 Every Sunday to 1 2 Poor People of this Parish for 

 ever.' 



On the north wall of the chancel is an alabaster 

 monument to Dr. Edward Reynolds, rector of St. 

 Peter's, Northampton, 1658-98, with long Latin in- 

 scription, and on the south wall tablets to Mabel wife of 



Francis Morgan (d. 1664) and others of the family, 

 Mary wife of Sir John Robinson of Cranford (d. 1734), 

 and to the Rev. R. W. Baxter, rector of St. Peter's 

 (d. 1850).' In the south chapel is a floor-slab with brass 

 inscription to Francis Morgan (d. 1704) and Elizabeth 

 his wife (1706), and a slab to Walter Faunt (d. 1695) 

 and his wife Mabel (d. 1698), daughter of Francis 

 Morgan. Other monuments recorded by Bridges have 

 disappeared.' 



There is a ring of six bells, the treble by Alfred 

 Bowell of Ipswich 191 1, the second and fourth by 

 Robert .Alton of Buckingham 162 1, the third dated 

 1680, the fifth inscribed 'Paroecie campana ecclesie 

 tuba 1622', and the tenor dated 1671.'° 



The plate consists of a silver cup and cover, paten, 

 flagon, bread-holder, and alms dish of 1678 given in 

 that year by 'Mrs. Mary Reynolds, relict of Edward, 

 late Lord Bishop of Norwich, and mother of Edward 

 Reynolds, D.D.', and a silver-plated chalice given in 



1875." 



The registers before 18 12 are as follows: (i) bap- 

 tisms June 1 540-1 789, marriages October 1539- 

 1750, burials March 1539-40 to 1789; (ii) marriages 

 1754-1812; (iii) baptisms and burials 1789-1812. 

 There is a gap from 1653 to 1660. 



The church of Kingsthorpe, to- 

 ADVOWSON gether with that of Upton, had been 

 attached from time immemorial to 

 St. Peter's in Northampton, to which it was merely a 

 chapel of case, when in 1850 it was separated from the 

 mother church and constituted a separate parish.'^ The 

 history of the advowson is, therefore, similar to that of 

 St. Peter's (q.v.). 



There was a chantry within the parish church of 

 Kingsthorpe founded by John Bacon in 147 1 to main- 

 tain a priest to sing for ever at Our Lady's altar and to 

 pray for the souls of John Bacon, his father and mother, 

 and of his wife Agnes. '■' In 1530 its possessions were 

 worth /^4 yearly,'* but towards the end of the same 

 reign its lands were valued at £6 5/., of which 70/. 4^'. 

 was paid to the priests as salary, the ornaments being 

 worth 3/. 4<*'.' 5 The inhabitants of Kingsthorpe claimed 

 the lands belonging to the chantry as copyhold ' * bu t were 

 unsuccessful in their claim and the Crown appropriated 

 the lands, part of which were leased to the Mottershed 

 family who held an estate in Kingsthorpe." John 

 Mottershed by his will dated 14 April 1594 left his 

 lands to his son William who died seised of them in 

 1625,'' the latter's son Thomas obtaining certain lands 

 in fee simple from the trustees of the manor in 1633." 

 One of the family called Edward, who died in 1643, 

 gave five chained books to the church which are still 

 there." Otherof the chantry lands were obtained by the 

 Pilkington family, one of whom, Thomas, died seised of 

 them in 1637 and was succeeded by his son Thomas.^' 



' The wejt window is modem. 



'It rests on a portion of early string and 

 has been built into the wall for preserva- 

 tion. It has subsequently been altered to 

 receive a doorr Scrjeantson, Op. cit. 151. 



^ This recess, or locker, had originally 

 been fitted with a wooden door in two 

 sections, hung with hook and band hinges. 

 The external opening is 5 ft. 6 in. high and 

 10 in. wide. It was walled up in 186} and 

 the doors removed : ibid. 151. 



* The mullions and tracery have been 

 renewed. The bell-chamber windows are 

 wholly renewed. 



' On the cast side the outer order dies 



out and the middle one is continued to the 

 ground ; on the west both die out. 



' It has seven panelled sides, the eighth 

 being open, 



' They are figured in Scrjeantson, op. 

 cit. i;6, 158, 160. 



' The inscriptions on these monuments 

 are given, ibid. 182-4. 



* One in the chancel was to Lady Mar- 

 garet Lane (d. 1669}, wife of Sir Richard 

 Lane, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of 

 England. 



'<> North, Ck. Belli of Norihtxntt. 322, 

 where the inscriptions on the five old bells 



arc given. The bells were rc-hung and the 

 treble added in 1911. 



" MiTV.\\im,CI>.Plaie of Norilianii. 173. 



" Pari. P. 1872, ilvi, no. 227. 



" Chant. Cert. 35, no. 7. 



'* yalor Ecclei. (Rec. Com.), iv, 320. 



" Chant. Cert. 36, no. 4. 



" Ibid. 35, no. 7. 



" Chan. Proc. Elir. M.m. 9, no. 25. 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), dcxxi, 41. 



** Glover, KingttAorpiana^ xlii. 



*° Cox and Har\-cy, Eng, Church Furni' 

 ture. 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), dlxxxvii, 73. 



87 



