Building record 5138/1/1 - St. Michael's Church

Church. C12 with C13-C15 alterations, C14 tower and porch of 1594. Restored 1892-93 by M H Holding. Coursed limestone rubble, limestone and ironstone dressings lead roof. Nave and chancel, west tower and south porch.

{1} Church. C12 with C13-C15 alterations, C14 tower and porch of 1594. Restored 1892-93 by M H Holding. Coursed limestone rubble, limestone and ironstone dressings lead roof. Nave and chancel, west tower and south porch.

Two bay chancel has three-light Decorated east window with renewed tracery and hood mould, small normal one-light window to north and two-light Perpendicular-style window of 1892 to north-west with straight head and hood mould. Priest's door to south with round-arched, single-stepped head and hood mould. Two-light windows to south with cusped heads to lights and chamfered rectangular low-side window to west of priest's door. Nave has original single-stepped north and south doorways with double-stepped round-arched heads, imposts and hood moulds, that to south with six-panel door. Three-light Perpendicular window to north with four-centred head, tracery of 1892 and hood mould. Original one-light window to north-east with round-arched head. Similar larger window to south. Two-light Perpendicular window to south-east and two-light Perpendicular windows either side of porch with straight heads and hood moulds. Small quatrefoil clerestorey windows either side of porch roof. South porch as chamfered Tudor-arched doorway, small circular window to east side, small rectangular one-light window to west with stone lintel, and stone-coped gable with kneelers and datestone in gable inscribed 1592 to left of central blank shield with initials VK above (Valentine Knightley) and HC to right. West end of nave has chamfered lancet window either side of canted stair-turret projection to tower. Tower is built within west end of nave and has two-light bell-chamber openings with hood moulds, battlemented parapet and pyramidal roof with finial and wrought-iron weather-vane. Octagonal timber clock face above stair turret to west facing Upton Hall (qv). Off-set buttresses to west end, off-set buttressing to stair turret, stepped string course and plain stone-coped parapets to nave and chancel.

Interior: no division between nave and chancel. Roofs renewed in restoration. Chamfered tower arch. Inner wall of tower incorporated three-light screen panel, probably C15. A quatrefoil window higher up to left of tower arch and cruciform window to right. C17 communion table in vestry. Reredos, choir stalls, desks and pulpit, all of Riga oak and designed 1899 by M H Holding. Stain glass east window of 1870. Four hatchments, oil on canvas, with Samwell family coat of arms.

Monuments: alabaster effigies of Richard Knightley d.1537 and his wife, on tomb-chest of 1892 incorporating one original panel with three shield-holding angels. Wall monument to Sir Thomas Samwell d.1757 of veined grey marble with apron and cartouche above with painted coat of arms. Slate wall monument with painted inscription in upright oval gilt frame to James Harrington d.1677, buried St Margarets, Westminster, erected by his relative Wenman Langham Watson 1810. Large wall monument to Thomas Samwell Watson Samwell d.1831 of white marble on slate background with mourning female figure and trophies on top, signed by Whiting, Northampton. Wall monument to Wenman Langham Watson Samwell d.1841 of white marble on slate ground. Another to Clarison Felicia Woodford d.1846. Both by Whiting.

{6} Curious box-like Norman church. C14th tower. Now stands in grounds of Upton Hall. Matthew Holding restored the church in 1893 and designed much of internal woodwork. Other details of internal features given.

{9} Undated photo;

{10} SP 7175 6023: St Michael's Church. (TU).

{19} Two photos dated 1990;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 4/1 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> 1976, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), L10 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN1000.

<3> Bailey, B, Pevsner, N, and Cherry, B, 2013, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p. 627 (Book). SNN111989.

<4> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1985, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.403 (checked) (Series). SNN77383.

<5> 1992, Miscellaneous Plans, (checked) (Illustration). SNN57585.

<6> 1994, Visit Churches in Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, (checked) (Pamphlet). SNN33492.

<7> Richmond H., 1988, Survey of Northamptonshire Parish Churches, (unchecked) (Unpublished Report). SNN1195.

<8> Aldsworth F., 2005, A Listed Buildings and Desk-Based Archaeological Assessment for Quinton House School, Upton, Northampton, (unchecked) (Report). SNN105350.

<9> Photographs of buildings in Upton (Photographs). SNN113623.

<10> Ordnance Survey Map (Scale/date), OS 6" (Prov) 1958 (Map). SNN112944.

<11> Undated, Externally held archive reference, Northants Record Office faculty 332P/19 (Archive). SNN113573.

<12> Undated, Externally held archive reference, Northampton Mercury 17 March 1893 (Archive). SNN113573.

<13> Undated, Externally held archive reference, Liber Feodorum 1920, 1177 (1237), p. 604, 1 (Archive). SNN113573.

<14> Undated, Externally held archive reference, Calendar of Inquistions post mortem (1249/50), p. 168, 1 (Archive). SNN113573.

<15> Undated, Externally held archive reference, Illingworth W (ed) 1812-18 Rotuli Hundredorum (9) Record Commission, 2 (Archive). SNN113573.

<16> Pipe Rolls: Henry II, 1884 Henry II (16), 1 (Extract). SNN72600.

<17> FRANKLIN M.J., 1982, MINSTERS AND PARISHES: NORTHAMPTONSHIRE STUDIES, p. 83-4, 102 (Thesis). SNN56828.

<18> Historic England, Undated, St Michael's Church, Upton, BF052052 (Archive). SNN114638.

<19> Photographs of buildings in Northampton (Photographs). SNN114989.

Record last edited

Dec 17 2024 9:54AM