All saints’ Church Northampton
Description:
All saints' Church Northampton
All saints' Church Northampton - There has always been a church on the site of All Saints' since Norman times. Although All Hallows, as it was then, was not the 'Mother Church' of the ancient settlement. The church we see today, however, was built after the Great Fire of Northampton in 1675.
After the fire, a parliamentary commission was formed to rebuild the historic church and indeed the settlement. The Parliamentarian leanings of Northampton had resulted in the razing of the castle by King Charles II after his. Invitation to reclaim the throne in 1660. Despite this, the Earl of Northampton. A friend and confidant of the King, persuaded Charles II to contribute 1000 tons of timber. Such a magnanimous gesture, together with the repeal of the 'chimney tax' endeared the King to the people of Northamptonshire.
As a result, they and others throughout the country contributed to the rebuilding fund. A statue of the King by John Hunt was erected on the portico parapet in 1712. In memory and thanksgiving for his part in the rebuilding. Underneath the statue is the following text:
This Statue was erected in memory of King Charles II who gave a thousand tons of timber. Towards the rebuilding of this church and to this town seven years of chimney money collected in it.
The current floor plan of All Saints' Church reveals much about the history of the building itself. The original church was twice the length of the present building. Only the tower & crypt under the chancel survived the fire. The Portico design is a copy of the Inigo Jones portico of Old St. Pauls, London.
The statue of King Charles II adorns the parapet. The Memorial, or Lady Chapel, was the last substantial addition to the building, added in the 1920s in memory of those who lost their lives in World War I. A recently carved statue of Our Lady of Walsingham adorns the chapel.
All saints' Church Northampton
We are one of the few Parish Churches in the country to have a Consistory (Ecclesiastical) Court. Consistory Courts were established by a charter of King William I. Still exist today, although since about the middle of the 19th century consistory courts have lost much of their subject-matter jurisdiction. Each diocese in the Church of England has a consistory court.
Today, the principal business of Consistory Courts is now the dispensing of faculties dealing with churchyards and church property. Although they also hear the trial of clergy (below the rank of bishop) accused of immoral acts or misconduct (under the Clergy Discipline Act 1892). The Court is located on the North side of the building, having previously been located in the space now occupied by the Coffee Shop.
You can find out more about Consistory Courts by visiting the Consistory Court Wikipedia Page.
There has always been a church on the site of All Saints' since Norman times, although All Hallows, as it was then. Was not the 'Mother Church' of the ancient settlement. The church we see today, however, is built after the Great Fire of Northampton in 1675.
After the fire, a parliamentary commission was formed to rebuild the historic church and indeed the settlement. The Parliamentarian leanings of Northampton had resulted in the razing of the castle by King Charles II after his invitation to reclaim the throne in 1660. Despite this, the Earl of Northampton, a friend and confidant of the King, persuaded Charles II to contribute 1000 tons of timber from the Royal forests of Salcey and Rockingham.
Such a magnanimous gesture, together with the repeal of the 'chimney tax' endeared the King to the people of Northamptonshire. As a result, they and others throughout the country, contributed to the
rebuilding fund. A statue of the King by John Hunt was erected on the portico parapet in 1712 in memory and thanksgiving for his part in the rebuilding. Underneath the statue is the following text:
Northampton, and especially All Saints' Church, is of peculiar interest to those from the United States of America. The connection between the early settlers of Virginia and New England, and the one time mayor of Northampton is now well established. Lawrence Washington, born c. 1500, was mayor of Northampton in 1532 and 1545, and is a direct ascendent of the Washingtons of Virgina. He resided at Sulgrave Manor in Northamptonshire.
It is also a little known fact that the mother of President George Washington was Mary Ball, a descendant of a family most prominent in the life of All Saints' Church in Elizabethan and early Stuart days. The incumbent of All Saints' in the early part of the 17th century was Thomas Ball, and several Ball families were prominent parishioners. From one of these, the mother of George Washington was descended.
As to the New England pioneers, Thomas Dudley, deputy to John Winthrop, first governor of Massachusetts and afterwards his successor in that office, was once a parishioner of All Saints', his wife being the daughter of Edmund Yorke of Northampton. He was the son of Captain Roger Dudley (who served under King Henry of Navarre, and was killed at the battle of Ivry) and is supposed to have been born in or near Northampton.
Besides the Washingtons and the Dudleys, the names of many families of early Virginia and New England appear in the registers of All Saints'. Indeed, one of the early counties of Virginia was named Northampton, and that one of the early towns of Massachusetts received a similar designation.
On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States.
Fr. Oliver Coss SSC was installed as Rector of All Saints Northampton, with St Peter and St Katharine on the 7th September 2016 and can be contacted through the Parish Office or by emailing rector@allsaintsnorthampton.co.uk
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