One of the few late-19th century Catholic churches in Northants: Grade II listed. “The church is distinguished by some highly original details, and has a largely intact and lavishly finished interior.” (English Heritage). Built in local stone by the London architect S J Nicholl and opened in autumn 1886, so it has recently marked its 130th anniversary. The Wellingborough Catholic mission had been active since 1869, thanks to the Arkwright family of Knuston Hall, but the building of this church was substantially helped by Mrs Lyne-Stephens of Lynford, Suffolk, a former French ballerina who had been left a fabulously wealthy widow. From this base, the redoubtable Canon Bernard Murray developed missions in Kettering and Rushden, and said Mass for the Vaux family at Harrowden Hall, where a private chapel in the grounds is still used. The church is richly decorated in late-Gothic style, with several idiosyncratic features including a rood beam, unusual in RC churches. The sanctuary has an unusual arrangement of a baldacchino integral with the east window.
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