St Michael's Church, Upton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Michael's Church, Upton |
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St Michael's Church, Upton, from the northeast
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| OS grid reference | NZ 274 513 |
| Location | Upton, Northamptonshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint Michael |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 3 May 1968 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Norman, Gothic, Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 12th century |
| Completed | 1893 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Limestone, lead roofs |
St Michael's Church is an old Anglican church in Upton, Northamptonshire, England. It is no longer used for regular services. Upton used to be a small village, but now it is part of the town of Northampton.
The church is a very important historical building. It is listed as a Grade I building, which means it has special protection. The Churches Conservation Trust, a group that saves old churches, now looks after it. St Michael's Church is located right next to the A45 road and the grounds of the old Upton Hall.
Contents
The Church's Early History
St Michael's was first built as a private chapel. It was for the local lord or ruler. The church you see today was built a long, long time ago, between 1158 and 1189. People made changes to it between the 1200s and 1400s. For example, the tower was added in the 1300s. A porch was also added in 1594.
The church was fixed up and improved in 1892–93 by M. H. Holding. It stopped being used for regular services on January 1, 1981. Then, on December 21, 1988, the Churches Conservation Trust took over its care.
How the Church Looks
Outside the Church
The church is made from limestone rocks. It has special stone details and lead roofs. The church has a main area called a nave with a porch on the south side. It also has a chancel (the area near the altar) and a tower at the west end.
The tower has openings for bells on each side. It has a battlemented top, like a castle wall. Above that is a pyramid-shaped roof with a decoration and a metal weathervane. On the west side of the tower, facing Upton Hall, there is a small stair tower. Above it is an eight-sided clock face.
The walls of the nave and chancel have a simple top edge. The east window in the chancel has three sections. It has fancy stone patterns from the Decorated Gothic style. In the north wall, there is a small, tall, narrow window. Next to it is a two-section window added in 1892. On the south side of the chancel, there is a round-headed door for the priest. West of this door are two-section windows.
Both the north and south walls of the nave have round-headed doorways from the Norman period. The north wall also has a three-section window from 1892. There are two single, round-headed windows too. The south wall has two-section windows. The porch roof has small, four-leaf shaped windows on each side. The porch has an arched doorway from the Tudor period. There is a round window on the east side of the porch. A rectangular window is on its west side.
On the front of the porch, there is a blank shield. To the left of it is the date 1592. To the right are the initials HC, and above them VK for Valentine Knightley. The west front of the church has tall, narrow windows on each side of the tower. There is also a slanted stair tower. You can find old sundials, called mass dials, in three places: east of the priest's door, in the west wall, and in the porch.
Inside the Church
Inside, the nave and the chancel are open, without a wall between them. The reredos (a screen behind the altar), choir stalls, desks, and pulpit are all made from Riga oak wood. They were designed in 1899 by M. H. Holding. The church also has a wooden chest from the 1600s.
The vestry (a room for the priest) has a communion table from the 1600s. This table was replaced by a new altar in 1907. In the south wall of the chancel, there is a small alcove. It probably used to hold a piscina, which is a basin for washing sacred vessels. There are also small cupboards in the north and east walls.
The colorful stained glass in the east window was made in 1870. On the walls, there are four special painted boards called funerary hatchments. These show the coats of arms of important families. The church has many tombs and memorials. Many of them remember the Samwell family. This includes a wall monument for Sir Thomas Samwell, 2nd Baronet, who passed away in 1757.
There is also a tomb with stone statues of Richard Knightley, who died in 1537, and his wife. In addition, there is a slate wall memorial for James Harrington. He wrote the book The Commonwealth of Oceana. He passed away in 1677 and is buried in St Margaret's, Westminster.
Outside the Church Grounds
The churchyard has many old graves. One of these is a special headstone from 1672. It is made from ironstone and is also a Grade II listed building. Around the churchyard, there are mounds of earth. These are the remains of a deserted medieval village.
Recent Times and Today
St Michael's was a smaller church connected to St Peter's Church, Northampton until 1966. It stopped having regular church services in 1980. A group of local people, called the Friends of St Michael's, helps take care of the churchyard. Special services are still held in the church at certain times of the year.
Quinton House School now uses Upton Hall. The school helps with the church's upkeep. They also hold occasional services for their students there.
See also
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in the English Midlands
- List of churches in Northampton
