Northampton Abbey of St James facts for kids

The Northampton Abbey of St James was an important religious building, like a large church and home for monks. It was founded in Northampton in the years 1104 or 1105. A person named William Peverel started it. It was a home for a group of religious men called Augustinian canons. The abbey was named after St James. William Peverel gave the abbey land and a church in a nearby village called Duston.

History of St James Abbey

The abbey quickly became richer. Within 100 years, it owned ten churches. Most of these churches were in the area of Northamptonshire. The abbey also owned farms. It received money from about 30 different villages in the county.

One story tells us about a man named Walkelin de Duston. He was given land by King Henry II. Later, Walkelin became a monk and joined St James Abbey. He even became the abbot, which is the head of the abbey.

The main church at the abbey was rebuilt. This happened during the time of King Edward I. The rebuilding was finished around the year 1310. When the abbey was closed down in 1538, people said it was well-kept. The monks were respected. They had done a lot of good for the poor people nearby.

However, the abbey was still closed in 1538. Its buildings were given to Nicholas Giffard. He changed the abbey buildings into a large house.

Discovering the Abbey's Location

The abbey was located in an area called Abbots Way. This is off the south side of Weedon Road in Northampton. A factory used to be there, which made lifts. This factory, including the lift-testing tower, was redeveloped for homes in 1999 and 2000.

People knew that the factory site was part of the abbey's land. So, archaeologists dug there to find out more. They wanted to find the exact spot and any remains of the abbey. They successfully found the abbey and a cemetery. The main abbey buildings were kept safe. They were preserved under the new houses.

Exploring the Abbey Cemetery

The cemetery had about 300 burials. It was dug up during the winter of 2000 and 2001. Scientists studied the bones. They wanted to learn about the health of people. They also wanted to understand burial customs. These were the people living in Northampton in the late Middle Ages.

Archaeologists found 294 burials. They were in neat rows. Many people were buried in wooden coffins. Some graves had old ceramic roof-tiles lining them. Others were lined with stone. One grave had a stone coffin. This suggests that the person buried there was important.

Later, the cemetery was used less neatly. Burials were in simple, shallow graves. People were just wrapped in a cloth called a shroud. On the south side of the cemetery, there was a stone building. It had two small chapels for burials. One chapel had a stone-lined tomb. A small piece of a life-sized statue was found there. It showed a leg with chain mail. This statue might have been broken when the abbey was closed in 1538.

In 1970, a fancy grave slab was found. The remains of two skeletons were also found.

What the Bones Tell Us

Studying the bones showed many elderly people. A lot of them had injuries. For example, some had broken legs. Others had leg joints that were fused or deformed. Many also had serious problems with their spines. It is thought that many of these people might have died in the abbey's hospital. More studies are still being done on the bones.

Today, almost nothing remains of the abbey. Only the tomb slab of Abbott de Flore is left. You can find it in the vestry of Duston church.

Burials

• John Catesby
• Sir John de Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Rotherfield
• Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers