St Michael's Church is a redundant Anglican church in Upton,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, England (). This was formerly a separate hamlet, and is now part of the town of Northampton. The church 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, a ...

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 ...

. The church stands alongside the

A45 road A45 or A-45 may refer to: * A45 Infantry Support Tank, the chassis of which was developed into the Conqueror tank * A45 Records, a German record label notably producing the band Real McCoy * Article 45 Concern Group, a political party in Hong Ko ...

, adjacent to the grounds of the former Upton Hall.

Early history

St Michael's was built originally as a private chapel to the

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

and it is thought that the present church was built between 1158 and 1189. Alterations were made to it between the 13th and 15th centuries, including the addition of the tower in the 14th century and a porch in 1594. The church was restored in 1892–93 by M. H. Holding. It was declared redundant on 1 January 1981, 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 on 21 December 1988.

Architecture

Exterior

The church is constructed in coursed

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 ...

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

. It has dressings in limestone and

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 lead roofs. Its plan consists of a

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 ...

with a south porch, a

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. Ov ...

, and a west tower. The tower is set within the west end of the nave, and has two-light bell openings on each side, 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 interv ...

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'). ...

, and a pyramidal roof with a finial and a

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...

weathervane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

. On the west side of the tower, facing Upton Hall, is a stair turret, above which is an octagonal clock face. Over the nave and chancel walls is a plain parapet. The east window in the chancel has three lights and Decorated

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...

. In the north wall is a small lancet window and, to the west of this, a two-light

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...

window that was inserted in 1892. On the south side of the chancel is a round-headed priest's door, and to the west of this are two-light windows. In both the north and south walls of the nave are

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 ...

round-headed doorways. Also in the north wall is a three-light Perpendicular window, also from 1892, and two single-light round-headed windows. In the south wall are two-light Perpendicular windows, and on each side of the roof of the porch is a small quatrefoil window. The porch has a Tudor arched doorway. On the east side of the porch is a circular window, and there is a rectangular window on its west side. In the

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 ...

of the porch is a blank shield with the date 1592 to the left, the initials HC on the right and VK (for Valentine Knightley) above. In the west front of the church are lancet windows on each side of the tower, and a canted stair turret. There is a mass dial (a form of sundial) to the east of the priest's door, another in the west wall, and a third in the porch.

Interior

Internally there is no division between the nave and the chancel. The reredos, choir stalls, desks and pulpit are all made from Riga oak and were designed in 1899 by M. H. Holding. In the church is a 17th-century parish chest. The

vestry 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 colloquiall ...

contains a 17th-century communion table which was replaced by a new altar in 1907. In the south wall of the chancel is a recess that probably formerly contained a

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman Ca ...

. There are aumbries in the north and east walls. The stained glass in the east window dates from 1870. On the walls are four hatchments. There are a number of tombs and memorials in the church, many commemorating the Samwell family. These include a wall monument to

Sir Thomas Samwell, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Samwell, 2nd Baronet Samwell (14 April 1687 – 16 November 1757), was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1722. Samwell was the only son of Sir Thomas Samwell, 1st Baronet of Upton, Northamptonshire and ...

who died in 1757. Also in the church is a tomb chest with

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that include ...

effigies An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

of Richard Knightley, who died in 1537, and his wife. In addition there is a slate wall memorial to James Harrington, the author of ''

The Commonwealth of Oceana ''The Commonwealth of Oceana'' , published 1656, is a work of political philosophy by the English politician and essayist James Harrington (1611–1677). The unsuccessful first attempt to publish ''Oceana'' was officially censored by Lord Prote ...

'', who died in 1677 and is buried in

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...

External features

The churchyard contains a number of old graves. One of these designated as a Grade II listed building; it is a headstone dated 1672, and is made from ironstone. In the area around the churchyard are mounds which are the remains of a deserted medieval village.

Recent history and present day

St Michael's continued to be a chapel of ease to

St Peter's Church, Northampton St Peter's Church is a redundant Anglican church in Marefair, Northampton, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust ...

, until 1966. It was closed for regular worship in 1980. The churchyard is maintained by a group of local people known as the Friends of St Michael's, and seasonal services continue to be held in the church.

Quinton House School Quinton House School is a co-educational independent school for children aged 2 to 18 years located in Upton, Northampton, England. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group. History Quinton House School is situated in the Grade I ...

now occupies Upton Hall; the school helps with the upkeep of the church, and holds occasional services for the pupils.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upton, St Michael's Church Grade I listed churches in Northamptonshire Church of England church buildings in Northamptonshire English churches with Norman architecture 12th-century church buildings in England English Gothic architecture in Northamptonshire 14th-century church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in Northamptonshire Churches completed in 1893 Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust