Holy Cross Church, Daventry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Holy Cross Church |
|
|---|---|
Holy Cross Church, Daventry
|
|
| 52°15′30″N 1°09′33″W / 52.258264°N 1.159160°W | |
| Location | Church Walk, Daventry, Northamptonshire, NN11 4BL |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| History | |
| Status | Active |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Parish church |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Years built | 1752-1758 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Peterborough |
| Province | Canterbury |
The Church of Holy Cross is a very important parish church in Daventry, Northamptonshire, England. It is so important that it is listed as grade I listed, which means it's a building of special historical or architectural interest. This church is unique because it's the only town church in Northamptonshire built in the 18th-century.
Contents
History of the Church
Little is known about the very first church that stood here. But it was probably built around the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. This was when William the Conqueror came to England from Normandy.
Around 1108, a small Cluniac priory (a type of monastery) was started next to the parish church in Daventry. This priory was closed in 1526 by Cardinal Wolsey. He gave its property to Christ Church, Oxford.
Building the Current Church
The church you see today was built between 1752 and 1758. It was designed by two brothers, William and David Hiorne, who were architects from Warwick. Building the church cost £3,468 (equivalent to £440,000 in 2021) . This money was collected from people who wanted to help. The old church was falling apart and wasn't safe anymore, so a new one was needed. People say the design of the new church was inspired by St Giles in the Fields in London.
For a long time, Holy Cross was the only Church of England church in Daventry. There was once another church called St James. It was built in 1839 by an architect named Hugh Smith. St James church was located on the east side of St James Street, but it was taken down in 1962.
Church Architecture
The church is built from a local stone called ironstone. The front of the church, facing west, is wide. It has large, flat columns called pilasters at its corners and in the middle. The entrance porch was added later, in 1951.
Inside the Church
The tower of the church rises from the middle section. It's square at the bottom and then becomes a tall, pointed shape called an obelisk spire at the top. Inside, the church has three wooden balconies, or "galleried aisles," on the north, south, and west sides.
The pulpit, where sermons are given, is beautifully decorated. It has designs made from different types of wood (called marquetry) and fancy carved patterns (called fretwork). Its staircase has twisted posts called balusters. Above the altar at the east end, there's a large stained glass window with three sections, known as a Venetian window. The two upper windows on the west side have special glass with family symbols, called heraldic glass. You can also see old marble monuments from the 18th and 19th centuries on the walls.
Preserving the Building
In 2012, a report called the Heritage at Risk Register mentioned that Holy Cross Church was well looked after. However, some of the ironstone blocks and limestone balusters high up had worn away badly. The stone parts on the roof edges were a big worry, as some pieces had already fallen. The church received a grant in December 2011. With this money, along with local donations, important repair work was done between May and October 2013.
The Church Bells
After 1550, a new Gothic-style church was built. Records from 1700 show that there were five bells in the tower. Some of these bells were made by the Watts foundry in Leicester.
Recasting and Rehanging
In 1738, these five bells, plus three others from Catesby Priory, were melted down and made into a new set of eight bells by Thomas Eayre of Kettering. They were hung in the new tower in 1754. Most of these bells stayed the same until 1908. One bell, the 6th, was recast in 1764. In 1908, the largest bell, called the tenor, cracked and was recast by John Taylor & Co. In 1915, the 7th bell broke during a Sunday service and was also recast.
By 1938, the bells really needed to be rehung. The old wooden frame holding them was made stronger, and the bells were hung on new metal parts with ball-bearings. In 1951, another bell, the 3rd, cracked and was recast.
Modern Improvements
In 1960, experts found that the bell frame was still moving a lot, making the bells hard to ring. This was because the ends of the large wooden beams supporting the frame had rotted inside the walls. The local bell ringers were very keen to fix this. They decided to install a frame for ten bells and add two new smaller bells. They also thought it was a good idea to recast three of the old bells. The ringers even offered to pay for two of them!
The special ceremony to dedicate the newly restored bells happened at the same time the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers visited Northampton in 1965.
Gallery
-
Rear view
-
Interior
-
Interior
-
High Altar
