All Saints' Church, Northampton


All Saints' Church, Northampton situated in the centre of Northampton, is a Church of England parish church. It is a Grade I listed building.

History

' church of All Hallows, Northampton, England, lasted with medieval alterations until 20 September 1675 when much of the old town was destroyed by the Great Fire of Northampton. The fire began in St Mary's Street, near the castle, and the inhabitants fled to the Market Square, but then were forced to evacuate, leaving the buildings to burn, including All Hallows:

The new church

After the fire, Charles II gave a thousand tons of timber for the rebuilding of All Hallows' Church, and one tenth of the money collected for the rebuilding of the town was allocated to the rebuilding of All Hallows', under the management of the King's Lynn architect, Henry Bell. Bell was resident in Northampton at the time, and he set to rebuild the church in a manner similar to Sir Christopher Wren's designs.
The central medieval tower survived the fire, as did the crypt. The new church of All Saints' was built east of the tower in an almost square plan, with a chancel to the east and a north and south narthex flanking the tower.
Visitors enter the church through the existing tower into a barrel vaulted nave. At the centre is a dome, supported on four Ionic columns, which is lit by a lantern above. The barrel vault extends into the aisles from the dome in a Greek-cross form, leaving four flat ceilings in the corners of the church. The church is well lit by plain glass windows in the aisles and originally there was a large east window in the chancel, that is now covered by a reredos. The plasterwork ceiling is finely decorated, and the barrel vaults are lit by elliptical windows.

Architecture

Built in the style of Christopher Wren's London churches rebuilt after the Great Fire of London, it has in the past been mistakenly attributed to him. The rebuilding of the city churches was initiated by financing of the Rebuilding of London Act 1670. Wren, as Surveyor General of the King's Works, undertook the operation, and one of his first London churches was St Mary-at-Hill.
The interior space of St Mary-at-Hill is roughly square in plan, and of a similar size to All Saints'. To the west is the tower, again flanked by a north and south narthex. Wren spanned the square space by a barrel vault in a Greek-cross plan, with a dome at the centre, supported on four columns. If Henry Bell drew his inspiration from any one of Wren's churches, this would be the one. The barrel-vaulting though in All Saints' is much flatter than in St Mary-at-Hill, which has semi-circular vaulting. The dome in All Saints' is more hemi-spherical, and the columns at St Mary-at-Hill are Corinthian with fluting. The Mayoral Seat dominates the pews on the south side, and in the north aisle there is a Consistory Court. Icons of Saint Peter and Saint Katharine are situated at the east end before the steps in to the Quire, and these were written for the church in 2001 to reflect the parish boundaries, which include the site of St Katharine's Church and St Peter's Church. St Peter's, which was given to the Churches Conservation Trust in 1998, can lay claim to being the most outstanding Norman church in the county.
The rebuilt church of All Saints' was consecrated and opened in 1680. In 1701, a large portico was added to the west end, in front of the narthex, very much in the style of the Inigo Jones portico added to Old St Paul's Cathedral in the 1630s. The All Saints' portico was added as a memorial to Charles II's contribution to the rebuilding of the church after the fire, and a statue of him was erected above the portico, dressed in a Roman tunic. At 12:00pm on Oak Apple Day each year, the choir sings a Latin hymn to Charles II from the roof as the statue is wreathed in oak leaves by the Mayor of Northampton; a similar ceremony takes place on Ascension Day at 7:00am.
The church building underwent some restoration in the 1970s under the direction of the Vicar at the time, Rev. Victor Mallan.
In 2006, the present Chancel Organ was installed to accompany the choirs. Alongside this, a new ring of 10 bells in the key of E, replacing a heavier ring of 8 bells which dated from 1782, and which, by all accounts, weren't very easy to ring. In 2008, the Narthex, Sacristy and lavatories were refurbished. A privately leased coffee shop operates from its north and south areas, and on the space under the portico. The north end of the coffee shop is named the John Clare Lounge, after the poet who sat outside this space, composing his poems.
All Saints' is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm throughout the year, with extended opening on days with choral services.

Choirs

The choir of All Saints' Church was formed in the 1100s for the old church of All Hallows', lost in 1675. There are currently three groups which make up the choirs: the Boys Choir, the Girls Choir and the Choral Scholars and Lay Clerks. The boys choir ranges in age from 7 to 15, and the girls from 8 to 18. The lower parts consist of Choral Scholars with an age range of 15 to 18, some having previously sung in the treble line, and Lay Clerks.
These choirs sing at 5 choral services a week: Mass on Sundays mornings at 10.30am, and Evensong on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, all at 6.00pm, and Compline on Fridays, at 7.30pm. The Music Department is led by the Director of Music, and supported by the Assistant Organist, and Organ Scholar.
Over the years, the choir has toured extensively to the US, France, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Poland. They have sung in many cathedrals including Chester Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, York Minster, Ely Cathedral, Lichfield Cathedral, Gloucester Cathedral, Peterborough Cathedral, St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin as well as the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and King's College Chapel, Cambridge.
In recent years, they have performed in concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Henryk Wieniawski Orchestra of Lublin, members of Queens' Park Sinfonia, Fiori Musicali, and the Stephen Petronio Company in a performance of Rufus Wainwright's Bloom. They gave their first full performance of Handel's Messiah in 2008, and in recent years have given concert performances of Monteverdi's Vespers, J. S. Bach's Cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, Haydn's Nelson Mass, Vaughan Williams' "Five mystical songs", Britten's "War Requiem", "Friday Afternoons" and "Ceremony of Carols", and Requiems by Bednall, Duruflé, Fauré and Rutter. In March 2010 they performed J. S. Bach's St Matthew Passion alongside the Northampton Bach Choir and the period orchestra Charivari Agréable, and the Choral Scholars and Lay Clerks's joined the Northampton Bach Choir to perform Rachmaninoff's Vespers in November 2010. In January 2011, they sang again alongside the Northampton Bach Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Requiem and Handel's Zadok the Priest; in March 2011 they gave a concert performance of Franz Schubert's choral works with the Tyburn String Quartet; in July 2012 they gave a concert performance of the Coronation and Sparrow Masses by Mozart. In February 2014 they performed Mozart's Requiem with the Northampton Bach Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and in December 2015 they performed a Christmas concert with the Northampton Symphony Orchestra, including the première performance of a number of carols by Dan Forrest, Jr., whose music has been championed by the choir.
The liturgical repertoire is wide and varied: Masses by Palestrina, Haydn, Langlais, Mozart, Schubert, and Vierne, sit alongside the more familiar 'Anglican repertoire' settings of Batten Short Service, Darke in a, E, and F, Jackson in G, Leighton in D, Stanford in C/F, and Merberke and other Plainsong-based settings. During the week, Evensong canticles sung are: Bairstow in E-flat, Caldecote in C, Dyson in c, Hurford in A, Long in F, Stanford in D, Thiman in G, Watson in E-flat, as well other Plainsong-based settings, in both English and Latin.
All choristers have access to theory lessons and, if they wish, individual vocal tuition with a professional choral-singing teacher. This allows the Music Department's continued commitment to providing the choristers with the widest possible musical education.
They have a considerable catalogue of recordings: all three choirs recorded a disc of their commissions – Omnes Sancti – in St Mary's Church, Wellingborough in July 2010; in 2011 all three choirs recorded their fourth CD of Christmas carols, Carol of Joy, and in 2012 the girls' released Notre Père, featuring French music for upper voices. In April 2014 they joined the Northampton Bach Choir to record their fifth new carol disc Be Merry! featuring a wide selection of sacred and secular carols with piano accompaniment from the United States and Canada. There are two CDs available of the West Organ, one of three organs in the building.
All Saints' has produced many successful musicians, including Lay Clerks and Organists who hold or recently held positions at Blackburn Cathedral, Birmingham Cathedral, Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair, Guildford Cathedral, Nativity Cathedral, Bethlehem PA, Magdalen College, Oxford, New College, Oxford, Peterborough Cathedral, Robinson College, Cambridge, St Albans Cathedral, St Paul's Cathedral, St George's Chapel, Windsor, The Royal Academy of Music, The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, The Royal College of Music, Wells Cathedral and York Minster.

Commissioning of new music

The choirs of All Saints have a diverse repertoire and since 2002, have commissioned new works for choir and organ. On 22 November 2013, they gave the first performance of their 2013 commission, a Festival Anthem by Jonathan Dove lasting nearly twenty minutes. In 2014 a competition was held to compose an anthem to mark the sesquicentennial anniversary of the death of the poet John Clare, and in 2015 Paul Spicer was commissioned to write the first carol commission since Sir Richard Rodney Bennett's in 2010.
2015: The All Saints' Carol, SATB a capella, Paul Spicer
2014: With a glorious eye, SATB+org, Ivan Božičević
2013: Out of the Whirlwind, A solo, STB verses, SATB+org, Jonathan Dove
2012: Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, S+org, Michael Finnissy
2011: Messe pour Saint-Sulpice, S+SATB+org, David Briggs
2010: Two Carols, SATB, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett
2009: Ave Maria, SATB+org, James MacMillan
2008: The Passion according to Saint Matthew, S+SATB+org, David Bednall
2007: Two anthems Ian Colson
2006: O praise God in his holiness, SATB+org, David Bednall
2005: Missa 'Omnes Sancti', SATB+org, Malcolm Archer
2004: For Remembrance, SATTB, Robert Walker
2003: Two anthems, SATB+org, Robert Walker
2002: O where can I go from your spirit?, SATB+org, Malcolm Archer
The church has 6 instruments: 3 pipe organs, and 3 pianos:
WEST ORGAN

Built by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd in 1982/3, using 6 ranks of pipes from the previous organ by William Hill & Sons 1872/1884/Brindley & Foster 1912/1926, and the front part of the main case is from an instrument by Thomas Swarbrick, c.1730. All pipes are metal unless otherwise stated. See www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N09202
Swell
8Orchestral Trumpet
Tremulant
8Echo Trumpet
16Bassoon
VFurniture15.19.22.26.29
1.3/5Tierce
2Octavin
2.2/3Nazard
4Wald Flute
4Principal
8Tapered Flute
8Voix CelesteAA
8Viola da Gamba

Great
Tremulant
4Clarion
8Trumpet
VMounted Cornet 1.8.12.15.17
IIIAcuta26.29.33
IVGrave Mixture15.19.22.26
2Super Octave
4Octave
8Chimney Flute
8Open Diapason
16Quintaton

Choir
8Orchestral Trumpet
Tremulant
8Cremona
IVSharp Mixture22.26.29.33
1.1/3Larigot
2Principal
4Spindle Flute
4Prestant
8Stopped Diapason

Pedal
8Trumpet
16Trombone
IVMixture19.22.26.29
4Tenor Octave
8Gedackt
8Octave
10.2/3Quint
16Bourdon
16Violone

CHANCEL ORGAN

Built by Alfred Monk, rebuilt by Hill, Norman & Beard in 1939 originally for St Andrew's 'Scotch' Church Bournemouth, it was removed in 2004 and moved to All Saints' with new ranks by Kenneth Tickell, who installed it in 2006. The Mixtures are 3 ranks from CC and 4 ranks from TC up. See www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=E01202
Swell
8West Orchestral Trumpet
8Cornopean
16Contra Fagotto
8Oboe
III-IVMixture15.19.22
4Lieblich Flute
4Principal
8Rohr Gedackt
8Voix CelestesTC
8Gamba
8Violin Diapason

Great
8Tromba
III-IVMixture19.22.26
2Fifteenth
4Open Flute
4Principal
8Clarabella
8Dulciana
8Open Diapason

Choir
8West Orchestral Trumpet
8Tromba'
8Clarinet
2Piccolo
4Wald Flute
8Lieblich Gedackt
8Viola da Gamba
8Viole d'Orchestre

Pedal
8Tromba
16Trombone
8Bass Flute
8Octave Wood
16Echo Bourdon
16Sub Bass
16Violone
16Open Wood

MEMORIAL CHAPEL ORGAN
Built by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd in 1983, and consists of 2 ranks
Both the top octave of the Fifteenth 2 and the bottom octave of the Open Diapason 8 are taken from the Gedackt rank. C13 to E29 of the Open Diapason are in the facade. All pipes are zinc/plain metal. See www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=R01572
Manual
2PiccoloB
2FifteenthA/B
2.2/3NazardB
4Gedackt FluteB
4PrincipalA
8GedacktB
8Open DiapasonA/B

Pedal'''
There is a model B Bechstein grand piano in the Song School, and an identical model B Bechstein grand piano in the South Aisle. A D'Almaine baby grand piano resides in the Choir Robing Room.

Directors of Music