St Peter's Church, Northampton
Encyclopedia
St Peter's Church, Northampton, is a redundant
Anglican
church in Marefair, Northampton
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. It is considered to be "the most outstanding Norman
church in the county" (Northamptonshire), and "its capital
sculpture is one of the highlights of the Romanesque
in England". Alec Clifton-Taylor
includes the church in his list of 'best' English parish churches.
. Two previous churches have been on the site, one built in wood, the other in stone. The present church was probably built between 1130 and 1140 by Simon de Senlis II
. The west tower had fallen by 1607 and was rebuilt later in that century, moving it 12 feet (3.7 m) to the east. In the 1850s the church was restored
by George Gilbert Scott
. This included re-roofing the church, rebuilding the east end and lowering the floor of the nave
by 1 foot (0.3048 m). Scott also reconstructed the clerestory
but left the Norman carvings untouched. In 1878–79 his son, John Oldrid Scott
carried out a scheme of decoration using stencil
s on the interior of the east wall.
and yellowish oolithic
limestone
. The two colours of stone are in some parts of the church used alternately for decorative purposes both externally and internally. The plan of the church consists of a nave and chancel
with no structural division. There are north and south aisle
s extending along both the nave and the chancel. The aisles at the sides of the chancel are now used as vestries
. Above both the nave and the chancel is a clerestory
. There are doorways on both the north and south sides of the nave, the doorway on the north also having a porch. Both doorways are in Norman style with round-headed arches.
The tower is in three stages with a battlement
ed parapet
. There are buttress
es at the western corners. In the bottom stage of the west face is a three-light square-headed window, over which is the arch of the original west doorway. This is round-headed and consists of three orders of archivolt
s with carved voussoir
s. In the middle stage are round-headed blind arcades
. The west face has a single arcade of eight arches. On the north face are two tiers of arcades, each containing seven arches. The upper tier also includes a clock face. The south face also has two tiers, the upper tier having eight arches, and the lower tier with six arches. On each side of the top stage is a two-light louver
ed bell opening.
Along both the north and south sides of the exterior of the clerestory are Norman arcades. Above these are corbel
s supporting the roof. The corbels are carved with a variety of images, mainly human and animal heads. The east façade designed by Gilbert Scott has three stories divided by string courses. In the centre, rising to the top of the middle storey is a circular column. All the windows are round-headed. In the lowest storey is a single window on each side of the column. The middle storey contains a pair of windows on each side. In the top storey, which is gable
d, is a single window in the centre, its arch having sawtooth decoration. On each side of this window is a small quatrefoil window, and above it is a small round-headed niche
.
, five of which are between the nave and the aisles, and the other three bays between the chancel and the aisles. The tower arch and the arches in the arcades are all in Norman style. The capitals
are carved in a variety of designs, which include faces, foliage, animals and birds, and abstract motifs. The east wall contains the decorative scheme applied by Oldrid Scott. In front of the east wall is an ornate carved reredos
with paintings by Burlison and Grylls
. The lectern
is brass. The font
dates from the 14th century, and has a painted cover by Gilbert Scott. The stained glass windows date from the second half of the 19th century. In the south aisle is a Saxon grave slab, carved with birds, beasts and a Green Man
. The memorials in the church include one to the geologist
William Smith
who died in 1839 and is buried in the churchyard. This memorial consists of a bust
carved by Matthew Noble
. The ring
consists of eight bells, all of which were cast in 1734 by Abraham II Rudhall
.
in the Churches Conservation Trust in 1998. In 2002 the internal fabric of the church was being damaged by the growth of mould
due to excessive condensation
. It was found that this was due to the use of impervious oil-based paint
. Low-level heating was installed, the mould and layers of paint were removed, and this was replaced by limewash
. Oldrid Scott's decorative scheme had been overpainted. This paint was also removed, revealing the original decoration. The building is now being used as a community asset. Concerts, educational, and social events are organised in the church, and occasional services are held. An organisation known as The Friends of St Peter's was founded in 1995, which works to care for the fabric of the church, to promote research, and to encourage social use of the building.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in Marefair, Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. It is considered to be "the most outstanding Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
church in the county" (Northamptonshire), and "its capital
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
sculpture is one of the highlights of the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
in England". Alec Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor OBE was an English architectural historian, writer and TV broadcaster.-Biography and works:...
includes the church in his list of 'best' English parish churches.
Early history
The church stands on a site between a former Anglo-Saxon palace and Northampton CastleNorthampton Castle
Northampton Castle was built under the stewardship of Simon de Senlis, the first Earl of Northampton, in 1084. It took several years to complete, as there is no mention of it in the Domesday Book, a great survey of England completed in 1086....
. Two previous churches have been on the site, one built in wood, the other in stone. The present church was probably built between 1130 and 1140 by Simon de Senlis II
Simon II de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon-Northampton
Simon II de Senlis, 4th Earl of Northumberland and 4th Earl of the Honour of Huntingdon and Northampton was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He was the son of Simon I de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon-Northampton and Maud, Countess of Huntingdon...
. The west tower had fallen by 1607 and was rebuilt later in that century, moving it 12 feet (3.7 m) to the east. In the 1850s the church was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
by George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
. This included re-roofing the church, rebuilding the east end and lowering the floor of the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
by 1 foot (0.3048 m). Scott also reconstructed the clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
but left the Norman carvings untouched. In 1878–79 his son, John Oldrid Scott
John Oldrid Scott
John Oldrid Scott was an English architect.He was the son of Sir George Gilbert Scott and Caroline née Oldrid. His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, were also prominent architects. He married Mary Ann Stevens in 1868, eldest daughter of the Reverend Thomas...
carried out a scheme of decoration using stencil
Stencil
A stencil is a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, or metal, with letters or a design cut from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment through the cut-out holes in the material. The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused to...
s on the interior of the east wall.
Exterior
St Peter's is constructed in reddish ironstoneIronstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
and yellowish oolithic
Oolite
Oolite is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Hellenic word òoion for egg. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 mm; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisolites...
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. The two colours of stone are in some parts of the church used alternately for decorative purposes both externally and internally. The plan of the church consists of a nave and chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
with no structural division. There are north and south aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s extending along both the nave and the chancel. The aisles at the sides of the chancel are now used as vestries
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
. Above both the nave and the chancel is a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
. There are doorways on both the north and south sides of the nave, the doorway on the north also having a porch. Both doorways are in Norman style with round-headed arches.
The tower is in three stages with a battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
ed parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
. There are buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es at the western corners. In the bottom stage of the west face is a three-light square-headed window, over which is the arch of the original west doorway. This is round-headed and consists of three orders of archivolt
Archivolt
An archivolt is an ornamental molding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental moldings surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the architrave in the case of a rectangular opening...
s with carved voussoir
Voussoir
A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, used in building an arch or vault.Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The keystone is the center stone or masonry unit at the apex of an arch. A...
s. In the middle stage are round-headed blind arcades
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
. The west face has a single arcade of eight arches. On the north face are two tiers of arcades, each containing seven arches. The upper tier also includes a clock face. The south face also has two tiers, the upper tier having eight arches, and the lower tier with six arches. On each side of the top stage is a two-light louver
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
ed bell opening.
Along both the north and south sides of the exterior of the clerestory are Norman arcades. Above these are corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s supporting the roof. The corbels are carved with a variety of images, mainly human and animal heads. The east façade designed by Gilbert Scott has three stories divided by string courses. In the centre, rising to the top of the middle storey is a circular column. All the windows are round-headed. In the lowest storey is a single window on each side of the column. The middle storey contains a pair of windows on each side. In the top storey, which is gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d, is a single window in the centre, its arch having sawtooth decoration. On each side of this window is a small quatrefoil window, and above it is a small round-headed niche
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
.
Interior
The aisles are separated from the nave and the chancel by a continuous arcade of eight baysBay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
, five of which are between the nave and the aisles, and the other three bays between the chancel and the aisles. The tower arch and the arches in the arcades are all in Norman style. The capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
are carved in a variety of designs, which include faces, foliage, animals and birds, and abstract motifs. The east wall contains the decorative scheme applied by Oldrid Scott. In front of the east wall is an ornate carved reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
with paintings by Burlison and Grylls
Burlison and Grylls
Burlison and Grylls is the name of an English company who produced stained glass windows from 1868 onwards.The company of Burlison and Grylls was founded in 1868 at the instigation of the architects George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner. Both John Burlison and Thomas Grylls had trained in the...
. The lectern
Lectern
A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon...
is brass. The font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
dates from the 14th century, and has a painted cover by Gilbert Scott. The stained glass windows date from the second half of the 19th century. In the south aisle is a Saxon grave slab, carved with birds, beasts and a Green Man
Green Man
A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit...
. The memorials in the church include one to the geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
William Smith
William Smith (geologist)
William 'Strata' Smith was an English geologist, credited with creating the first nationwide geological map. He is known as the "Father of English Geology" for collating the geological history of England and Wales into a single record, although recognition was very slow in coming...
who died in 1839 and is buried in the churchyard. This memorial consists of a bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
carved by Matthew Noble
Matthew Noble
Matthew Noble was a British sculptor.-Life:Noble was born in Hackness, near Scarborough, as the son of a stonemason, and served his apprenticeship under his father. He left Yorkshire for London when quite young, there he studied under John Francis...
. The ring
Ring of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
consists of eight bells, all of which were cast in 1734 by Abraham II Rudhall
Rudhall of Gloucester
Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 produced over 5,000 bells. The business was founded by Abraham Rudhall and the earliest ring of bells he cast was for St Nicholas' Church, Oddington in 1684. He came to be...
.
Recent history and present day
The church closed in 1995 and was vestedVesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...
in the Churches Conservation Trust in 1998. In 2002 the internal fabric of the church was being damaged by the growth of mould
Mold
Molds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...
due to excessive condensation
Condensation
Condensation is the change of the physical state of matter from gaseous phase into liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. When the transition happens from the gaseous phase into the solid phase directly, the change is called deposition....
. It was found that this was due to the use of impervious oil-based paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
. Low-level heating was installed, the mould and layers of paint were removed, and this was replaced by limewash
Whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a very low-cost type of paint made from slaked lime and chalk . Various other additives are also used...
. Oldrid Scott's decorative scheme had been overpainted. This paint was also removed, revealing the original decoration. The building is now being used as a community asset. Concerts, educational, and social events are organised in the church, and occasional services are held. An organisation known as The Friends of St Peter's was founded in 1995, which works to care for the fabric of the church, to promote research, and to encourage social use of the building.