Monument record 1160/13/1 - All Saints Church (original medieval building)

The medieval church was largely destroyed by the fire of 1675, apart from the west tower and crypt, which were incorporated into the rebuilt church of 1676-1680 (HER no: 1160/13/2). The oldest known parts of the church appear to date from the 12th century, although it appears to have been mentioned in the Domesday Book indicating a pre-Conquest foundation.

{1} Originally a cruciform structure with an aisled chancel, central tower, north and south transepts and a clearstoried nave with north & south aisles. The oldest parts appear to have dated from C12th. The destruction of medieval fabric by fire of 1675 was so complete that only the tower and a small crypt below the chancel survived and were incorporated within the present structure. The present church stands on the site of medieval chancel, the rest of the church west of tower was completely destroyed. No authentic drawings of the medieval church been found.

In a description of 1675 by Henry Lee the old chancel was described as very large and the church itself as large as cathedral. The church had 3 aisles. In 1534-5, the middle roof was made & raised "high & lofty". A chapel was erected in 1539 by the mayor. There was also an old strong building adjoining the south side of chancel in which were stairs to crypt. No evidence has been found of pre-Conquest work. A grant from the Bishop of Lincoln in 1232 suggests considerable building works at this time. There was a variety of alterations undertaken in C14th; the existing crypt dated to early C14th & upper part of tower seems to be very little later. The church fabric was recorded as being in great decay from 1595. The lower part of surviving tower incorporates much C12th masonry and is 12ft.11in. square internally [more details given of tower in text]. The crypt lies under the western part of the present chancel & extends about 4ft below nave. It was originally 22ft.10in square internally and about 14ft high; it now houses heating aparatus & has been considerably altered over time.

{2}The 1610 map of the town shows a cruciform building with central tower.

{3} An illustration of 1669 indicates a long nave of 7 bays with west gable flanked by turrets or pinnacles. Restoration work on the later church in 1865-6 revealed much intra-mural burial. The graves were arched over or covered with stone slabs and the whole area within walls was covered with bed of concrete. A small crypt or bonehouse was found under middle part of the south aisle was filled up at this time.

{4} Medieval church was burnt down in fire of 1675 except for west tower & crypt below chancel. The lower parts of surviving masonry may go back to C12th and the crypt could be C13th. The crypt lies below the west part of the present chancel and has a central octagonal pier and 4 compartments with simply chamfered rib-vaults. The tower is mostly C14th. The upper part of the tower was repaired in 1617 & balustraded probably in late C17th. The cupola is a 1704 addition and the rest of church was rebuilt 1676-80

{6} The tower of Decorated architecture escaped destruction in 1675 & rears its head above rest of church; upon entering present church arches are seen under tower which originally led to aisles of former church; original nave extended as far as west gate; eastward chancel reached to within 10ft of present termination; under chancel is part of original crypt in which is placed stove for warming church; arches are groined & capitals plainly moulded; crypt appears to be coeval with tower;

{7} Requests for burials in original church included Simon Brafield in 1492 & John Carter in 1527 & Thomas Doddington in 1530 & W.Bownde in 1535 & Gylberd Townson in 1545; other dedications listed & date mainly to late C15th & first half of C16th; included donations for works to fabric of building;

{9} Features; 1975; George Row; GPO trenches; large blocks of ironstone; poss foundations of pre-1675 church of All Saints;

{10} Sketch and measurements of section of capital of centre column in crypt;

{11} Discussion of a number of the images and monuments within All Saints Church recorded by four visitors to the town in the first half of the 17th century (prior to its destruction by the 1675 fire of Northampton).

{12} An entry in the Domesday Book for Northamptonshire mentions 'Portland' in association with St Peter's Church and All Saints Church. Due to its location within the entry, after Rutland, and since the land is described in carucates, it has been argued that Portland can be associated with Stamford (the only other town in the area with both these churches). Welsh argues that Portland is actually in Northampton, which would mean that All Saints had a pre-Conquest foundation, and that late Saxon Northampton was a polyfocal settlement.

{13} All Saints Church, standing just outside the postulated east gate, is mentioned alongside St Peter's church in an entry in Domesday Book which can now justifiably be seen to relate to Northampton.

<1> Page W. (ed), 1930, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire- The Borough of Northampton, p.48-51 (checked) (Series). SNN100370.

<2> Speed J., 1610, Map of Northamptonshire, (checked) (Map). SNN559.

<3> SERJEANTSON R.M., 1901, HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS, 160 (Uncertain). SNN44553.

<4> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p.317-19 (checked) (Series). SNN1320.

<5> Whellan, 1874, History, Topography & Directory of Northamptonshire, p.121; Handwritten notes in NDC SMR File M190;; (unchecked) (Book). SNN1002.

<6> Wetton, 1849, Guidebook to Northampton and its Vicinity, p.67-70+plate (checked) (Book). SNN1032.

<7> Serjeantson R.M.; Longden Isham H., 1913, The Parish Churches & Religious Houses of Northamptonshire: Their Dedications, Altars etc., p.155-61 (checked) (Extract). SNN1080.

<8> Dryden H.E.L., 1887, The Former Chancel of All Saints Church, Northampton, and the Crypt Under It, p.124-26 + Plates (checked) (Series). SNN58241.

<9> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1985, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.387 (checked) (Series). SNN77383.

<10> Dryden H.E.L., 1842-1895, Dryden Collection, DR/25/198/711 (Archive). SNN115.

<11> Holder, S, 2021, The Lost Heraldic Images of All Saints Church, Northampton (Article). SNN116716.

<12> Welsh T., 2007, Northampton and Portland: A Fundamental Question About Northampton in Saxon Times (Discussion). SNN106003.

<13> Williams, J H, Shaw, M, & Chapman, A, 2021, Anglo-Saxon Northampton Revisited, p. 53 (Article). SNN112908.

Record last edited

Jul 15 2025 11:38AM