Monument record 1160/247 - St Bartholomew's Church (Re-Dedicated as St Lawrence's Chapel)

A number of burials were found in the 19th century and further burials were found in the 1970s in Leicester Street. Believed to be associated with the Church of St Bartholomew.

{1} Church of St Bartholomew first first recorded in late C12th when it was confirmed to St Andrew's Priory; mentioned in early C15th but does not appear in Feudal Aids of 1423; chapel of St Bartholomew mentioned in 1490 will; by dissolution church seems to have been re-dedicated to St. Lawrence & to have become chapel whose main function was as collection point of tithes of demesne land of St. Andrew's Priory; later history is unknown. Cemetery of St Bartholomew's was disturbed in C19th when many cist burials were found.

{2} Opposite side of road to Barracks near corner of race-ground formerly stood Church of St Bartholomew; given by Simon de St Liz to St Andrew's Priory; no account of its destruction; churchyard later called "Lawless Churchyard" which was corruption from St Lawrence's. "....a few years since the cemetery was disturbed in digging for gravel when many of the bodies were found buried in the cist style with a few stones laid round the side of the grave: this appears to have been a very usual mode of interment....";

{3} St Bartholomew's is one of nine churches confirmed to Priory of St Andrew by Earl Simon I.

{5} By dissolution church seems to have been re-dedicated to St. Lawrence & to have become chapel whose main function was as collection point of tithes of demesne land of St. Andrew's Priory.

{6} Church of St Bartholomew given to St Andrew's Priory by Simon de St Liz & "….of which no traces are to be found to this day….".

{7} Only reference to this church occurs in will of John Wedurhurd in 1490 (P.C.C. 25 Milles).

{8} Church of St Bartholomew first first recorded in late C12th when it was confirmed to St Andrew's Priory.

{9} Church of St Bartholomew mentioned in early C15th.

{10} Chapel of St Bartholomew mentioned in 1490 will.

{11} Parts of several human skeletons were recently dug up in Leicester Street, off Barrack road. It appears that this area, around The Poplars, Barrack Road, was a cemetery in use during medieval times. It was probably attached to St Lawrence's Church, a medieval church which became disused about the time of the Reformation.

{12} The extent of the churchyard is depicted on the 1779 enclosure map.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1985, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.378 (checked) (Series). SNN77383.

<2> Wetton, 1849, Guidebook to Northampton and its Vicinity, p.44 (unchecked) (Book). SNN1032.

<3> Page W. (ed), 1930, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire- The Borough of Northampton, p.55 (checked) (Series). SNN100370.

<4> Williams J.H.; Shaw M.; Hardy S., 1978-1984, Northampton Development Corporation SMR Secondary Record Sheets, M200 (checked) (Catalogue). SNN108.

<5> PRO E315/339, PRO E315/339 (unchecked) (Document). SNN48703.

<6> Whellan, 1874, History, Topography & Directory of Northamptonshire, p.117; Handwritten notes in NDC SMR File M200; (unchecked) (Book). SNN1002.

<7> Serjeantson R.M.; Longden Isham H., 1913, The Parish Churches & Religious Houses of Northamptonshire: Their Dedications, Altars etc., p.162-63 (checked); Copy in NDC SMR File M200; (Extract). SNN1080.

<8> Dugdale, 1823, Monasticon Anglicanum, p.191 (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN479.

<9> Cox; Serjeantson, 1897, A History of the Church of The Holy Sepulchre, Northampton, 139 (unchecked) (Book). SNN72349.

<10> SERJEANTSON R.M., 1911, HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF ST GILES, NORTHAMPTON, 237 (unchecked) (Book). SNN2856.

<11> D.E. Friendship-Taylor (Ed.), 1973, 78-85, Northamptonshire History News, 1973, No 13, p. 11 (Newsletter). SNN106196.

<12> 1779, Northampton Enclosure Map (NRO Map 5700) (Map). SNN40916.

Record last edited

Jan 14 2026 4:29PM