St Peter & St Paul Abington Park - Northampton - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

For more than 800 years a parish church has stood upon its present site, now in the middle of Abington Park, but originally in the heart of Abington village and next to the manor house (now familiar as Abington museum). The church, dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, was built to offer a place of worship for the inhabitants of the manor, and the estate workers and their families.

The lower storey of the tower – late 12th century- is the oldest remaining structure but the remainder of the building has been subjected to a series of alterations and rebuilding, most notably during the beginning of the 19th century when a violent storm caused such damage that the nave had to be completely rebuilt.

Commemorated in the church are members of the families who once owned the manor. The earlier memorials are to the Bernard family, whose line ended with Sir John Bernard. He, it was, who married, as his second wife, William Shakespeare’s grand-daughter Elizabeth Nash. Their remains lie in the burial vault beneath the Lady Chapel.

Short of money and with no heirs left to succeed him, Sir John sold Abington to William Thursby, barrister, judge and latterly M.P. for Northampton, whose great statue dominates the south, or Thursby chapel, and is currently the focus of urgent conservation work.

Other treasures in the church include the beautifully carved old pulpit and sounding board, believed to have come from the workshop of Grinling Gibbons. The stained glass in the east window dates from 1860, the window being a memorial to John Harvey Thursby the fourth, last of the family to own Abington, and was given by his sons – one of whom was Rector. The east window in the Lady Chapel is modern (1982) and was designed by the well-known artist, the late John Piper.

In the last two years a major project has taken place to restore to proper ringing the church bells. The three old bells dating from 1809, 1810 and 1811 were re-tuned and augmented with three brand new ones. The six were then hung in a new steel bell frame erected in the tower and the bells are now heard across the park announcing weddings and calling people to church

The carved wooden pulpit is believed to have come from the workshop of Grinling Gibbons and the window in the Lady Chapel is the work of John Piper.

the church is only open at week ends..

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1200 Age of Church building determined by?: Church website If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Church of England. If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Saturday Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 12:00 AM Street address of Church: St Peter & St Paul's Church Abington Park Northampton, Northants United Kingdom none Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
1) A photo of the church is required for visits to a waymark.

2) Please share some comments about your visit.

3) Additional photos are encouraged. If you can have information in addition to that already provided about this church, please share it with us.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   04/05/2010 greysman visited it