Building record 1796/1/2 - St Crispin's Hospital Chapel (now St Neophyte's Greek Church)

Chapel. 1877 by Robert Griffiths of Stafford; minor C20 alterations. Rock-faced ironstone in small rectangular blocks, limestone dressings and plain tile roofs. Chancel, vestry, organ chamber, aisled nave and south porch. Early Gothic style. The chapel is now known as The Orthodox Church of St. Neophytos the Recluse and serves the Greek Orthodox community of the town.

{1} Chapel. 1877 by Robert Griffiths of Stafford; minor C20 alterations. Rock-faced ironstone in small rectangular blocks, limestone dressings and plain tile roofs. Chancel, vestry, organ chamber, aisled nave and south porch. Early Gothic style. Chancel has 3-light east window with large roundel to head, filled with 7 small roundels and hood mould. Single light windows north and south with quatrefoils to heads. Organ chamber to south side has octagonal east window with plate tracery of 8 roundels surrounding 8-foiled central roundel; cinquefoiled rose window to south. Vestry to north side has 2-light east window with Y-tracery and roll-moulded east door with hood mould. 1-light cinquefoil-headed windows to north and porch with blocked round trefoil-headed door with hood mould and cusped 1-light window to east side. Nave has quatrefoil clerestorey windows above aisles, which stop short of 2 western bays of nave and have 2-light windows with Y-tracery and geometrical tracery to alternate windows. Those to west ends of aisles have hood moulds. South door has chamfered arch, double-leaf door with ornamental hinges and hood mould. South porch has double-chamfered doorway with dog-toothed hood mould and cusped 1-light windows to east and west. West end of nave or narthex has 1-light windows at high level north and south with quatrefoils to heads and polygonal stair turret to south-west. Turret serves gallery and has roll-moulded door to south, arcaded upper storey, blank to east and with small 1-light chamfered windows to other sides, and pyramidal roof with wrought-iron finial. West front of nave has 4-bay arcade with shafts, moulded bases and capitals and hood mould framing pair of central doors, roll-moulded and with caernarvon-arched heads and blank quatrefoils above, flanked by lancet windows. 3-light west window with 8-foiled roundel to head and hood mould. Bell-cote to gable with dog-toothed arch framing bell and tall gable with wrought-iron finial and weather-vane. Chamfered plinth, string courses and chamfered stone eaves. Stone-coped gables with kneelers. Foliated stone cross to chancel gable, wrought-iron cross to east gable of nave. Offset angle buttresses and offset buttresses between bays. Interior: Chancel has raised sanctuary with ornamental tiled reredos and side walls, encaustic tiled floors and scissor truss roof. Nave has 4-bay arcades with circular columns, chamfered plinths, moulded capitals and double-chamfered arches. West gallery with rooms below either side of entrance passages said to have been formerly used for observing patients' behaviour. Arch-braced collar truss roof and encaustic tiled floors. Complete scheme of polychromatic decoration and wall paintings of historical, biblical and legendary figures with portrait heads of well-known local residents and members of staff, by H. Bird and G.H.B. Holland of 1953. Early C18 small veined white marble octagonal font with moulded bowl on baluster, moulded plinth and black marble base. Polygonal stone pulpit with timber handrail to steps. Complete set of pitch pine pews, stalls and desks. Organ of 1905 in painted case.

{3} Separate chapel; early Gothic; redecorated in 1954 by Henry Bird & G.H.B.Holland with large panels depicting Arthurian legend.

{4} The Berry Wood Chapel was not completely built when the asylum opened in 1876. It was placed on a detached site just north-east of the main hospital block, with a burial ground adjacent that was established by 1878. The organ was installed between 1904-10, and the painting of murals executed by Bird and Holland was undertaken in1953 as part of the renovations. A Greek Orthodox congregation currently uses it, so the chapel is full of iconography and high church fittings that would not have been present in its heyday.
The chapel is the only building on siteto be constructed of stone, mostly Northampton Ironstone with limestone quoins and detailing. The Victorian Gothic is an architectural style unique to this building alone in the complex, clearly showing its ecclesiastical function. Unusually the chapel was supplied with two entrances, side by side at the western end, either to divide staff/patients or men/women patients, a division carried on into the church with a further two doors of the same design, wooden with distinctive chevron panels.

{5} Illustrations.

{6} St. Crispin's chapel was designed by architect Robert Griffiths of Stafford, who also designed the majority of the hospital and Connelly Lodge. The chapel was not completely built when the hospital opened in 1876, and was finally consecrated in 1878.

{8} The Orthodox Church of St. Neophytos the Recluse (to give it its full name) was built in 1876 to serve the newly established St. Crispin’s Hospital and was known as St. Crispin’s Chapel. In 1995 the hospital closed and three years later the chapel, now no longer required for its original purpose, was bought by the Greek Orthodox community which now uses it for regular services each Sunday.

{9} Undated photo;

{10} Two photos dated 1990;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 3/12 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN102353.

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

<3> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p.358-9 (checked) (Series). SNN1320.

<4> Thorne L.; Lean S.; Harding J., 2003, Historic Buildings Recording of St Crispins Hospital, Upton, Northamptonshire (Illustrations), p.43-45 (checked) (Report). SNN103455.

<5> Thorne A.; Foard A.; Lean S., 2003, Historic Buildings Recording of St Crispins Hospital, Upton, Northamptonshire, 2002, (checked) (Report). SNN103454.

<6> Raybould O., 2011, St. Crispin's Chapel Store, Duston, Northampton: Archaeological Building Recording (Rev02), p.7 (checked) (Report). SNN107237.

<7> Morton R., 2002, Princess Marina Hospital, Northampton: Desk-based Assessment, p.16 (checked) (Report). SNN107443.

<8> Peacock, FM, 2016, Report on the architectural history of The Church of St Neophytos, Northampton (Report). SNN111350.

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

<10> Photographs of buildings in Northampton (Photographs). SNN114989.

<11> Bailey, B, Pevsner, N, and Cherry, B, 2013, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p. 486 (Book). SNN111989.

Record last edited

Jun 5 2024 12:52PM