St Peter's Church is a redundant

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in Marefair,

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, England. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, and is under the care of the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. It is considered to be "the most outstanding

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

church in the county" (Northamptonshire), and "its

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

sculpture is one of the highlights of the Romanesque in England".

Alec Clifton-Taylor Alec Clifton-Taylor (2 August 1907 – 1 April 1985) was an English architectural historian, writer and TV broadcaster. Biography and works Born Alec Clifton Taylor (no hyphen), the son of Stanley Edgar Taylor, corn-merchant, and Ethel Eliza ...

includes the church in his list of 'best' English parish churches.

Early history

The church stands on a site between a former

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

palace and

Northampton Castle Northampton Castle at Northampton, was one of the most famous Norman castles in England. The castle site was outside the western city gate, and defended on three sides by deep trenches. A branch of the River Nene provided a natural barrier on the ...

. 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. In the 1390s

Anna Palmer Anna Palmer (born May 25, 1982) is an American political journalist based in Washington, D.C. She has been the co-founder and CEO of ''Punchbowl News'' since January 2021, and the host of the related ''Daily Punch'' Podcast. She was previously a ...

was living as an

anchoress In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress) is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. While anchorites are ...

next to the church. She was summoned before John Buckingham, Bishop of Lincoln on several charges of heresy and one of incontinence. She was said to be a leader of

Lollard Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic ...

heretics. She was imprisoned in

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

after calling the Bishop an anti-Christ and only admitting that on the charge of incontinence she was innocent.Tanner, N. (2004-09-23). Lollard women (act. c. 1390–c. 1520). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, retrieved 9 February 2018, from http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-50538 The west tower had fallen by 1607 and was rebuilt later in that century, moving it to the east. In the 1850s the church was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

. This included re-roofing the church, rebuilding the east end and lowering the floor of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

by . Scott also reconstructed the

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

but left the Norman carvings untouched. In 1878–79 his son,

John Oldrid Scott John Oldrid Scott (17 July 1841 – 30 May 1913) was a British architect. Biography He was the son of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott) and his wife Caroline (née Oldrid). His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles Gil ...

carried out a scheme of decoration using

stencil Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface, by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object, to create a pattern or image on a surface, by allowing the pigment to reach ...

s on the interior of the east wall.

Architecture

Exterior

St Peter's is constructed in reddish

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...

and yellowish oolithic

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. 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 In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

with no structural division. There are north and south

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

s extending along both the nave and the chancel. The aisles at the sides of the chancel are now used as

vestries A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquially ...

. Above both the nave and the chancel is a

. 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 A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

. There are

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

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 An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the ...

s with carved

voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is 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 ...

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 A louver (American English) or louvre (British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". Mor ...

ed bell opening. Along both the north and south sides of the exterior of the clerestory are Norman arcades. Above these are

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

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 A course is a layer of the same unit running horizontally in a wall. It can also be defined as a continuous row of any masonry unit such as bricks, concrete masonry units (CMU), stone, shingles, tiles, etc. Coursed masonry construction arranges ...

. 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 A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

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 may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

Interior

The aisles are separated from the nave and the chancel by a continuous arcade of eight

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

, 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 may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

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 A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

with paintings by

Burlison and Grylls Burlison and Grylls is 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 Bu ...

. The

lectern A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...

is brass. The

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

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 The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

grave slab, carved with birds, beasts and a

Green Man The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every spring. The Green Man is most commonly depicted in a sculpture, or other representation of a face which is ...

. The memorials in the church include one to the

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

William Smith who died in 1839 and is buried in the churchyard. This memorial consists of a

bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places *Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazine ...

carved by

Matthew Noble Matthew Noble (23 March 1817 – 23 June 1876) was a leading British portrait sculptor. Carver of numerous monumental figures and busts including work memorializing Victorian era royalty and statesmen displayed in locations such as Westminster Ab ...

. There is a

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

of eight bells, all of which were cast in 1734 by Abraham II Rudhall.

Recent history and present day

The church closed in 1995 and was

vested In law, vesting is the point in time when the rights and interests arising from legal ownership of a property is acquired by some person. Vesting creates an immediately secured right of present or future deployment. One has a vested right to an ...

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 Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor to ...

. It was found that this was due to the use of impervious

oil-based 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 varnis ...

. Low-level heating was installed, the mould and layers of paint were removed, and this was replaced by

limewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northampton, Saint Peter Churches completed in 1140 12th-century church buildings in England Grade I listed churches in Northamptonshire

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...