Listed Building: The Chantry (1040820)

House and barn, formerly stable and barn, possibly built as chapel. C15 with C17, C19 and C20 alterations. Coursed squared limestone and limestone rubble, plain-tile roof, brick end and ridge stacks. 2-storey, 5-bay range. Elevation facing road to south has two large blocked windows with roughly 4-centred heads; that to right has smaller blocked opening with wood lintel. Irregular glazing of 1-, 2- and 3-light casement windows with wood lintels. Off-set buttress near left angle. Left end elevation has 3 ventilation slits, right end elevation has C20 door with wood lintel and carved stone head above. Rear elevation has four 3-light stone arch mullion windows with cut spandrels, that to centre of range C20 and replacing door, plank door to far right with wood lintel. Pair of C20 leaded casement windows to 1st floor left of centre and loft door to right of centre, all between ground floor windows. Interior: dwelling has large chamfered spine beam. Late medieval 5-bay roof over whole building has massive stop-chamfered cambered tie beams to principal rafters with queen struts to collars and 2 tiers of purlins. The Chantry is said to be the chapel where Edward IV was secretly married to Elizabeth Woodville in May 1464. Whether it was the setting for this event or not, the blocked windows, surviving buttress, and the roof structure certainly tend to confirm that the building was indeed a chapel, subsequently sub-divided horizontally when converted into stabling. (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: 1973, p227)

Record last edited

Sep 26 2022 4:29PM