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Our
Church History
< A view of the altar from years
past
It
is surprising to realise that when St. Michael’s Church was consecrated by
Bishop Magee on
June
20th 1882
,
some 121 years ago, it stood on the edge of what was then the town with open
country beyond. Now, of course, it is the centre of a very heavily populated
area, unfortunately from the point of view of the church, it is a shifting
population.
Delving
into history, it appears that this was not the first church in the town to be
dedicated to St. Michael. In the 14th century, the old medieval town of
Northampton
was a walled and gated place, the
Church
of
St.
Michael
stood within these walls near to what is now Greyfriars Bus Station. The
Church
of
St.
Edmund
stood just outside the gate in the wall, near to what is now
Abington
Square
. Not a great deal is known
about them, except that both were thriving parish churches in the 14th century.
With the decline in worship in the 15th century, they fell into decay and in
1411 St. Edmund’s was amalgamated with St. Michael’s.
However,
as time went on and with the growth of the town and its population, during the
Industrial Revolution, more churches were needed and particularly when one
remembers that the church was the only means of education or social life at all
in those times.
To
meet the needs of the growing population eastwards out of the old
Medieval
Town
,
the
Church
of
St.
Edmund
was built and consecrated in 1852.
The
first
church
of
St.
Michael
fell into decay in the 16th century. A second
Mission
Church
was set up in 1862 to serve the growing need of the eastward development of the
town. It was a corrugated building, standing in the Lower Mounts and backing on
to St. Michael’s Road, in fact, one can assume that the name came from this
Church. It was called “Our beloved
Iron
Church
”
by those who worshipped there. As the area grew, it was decided that a permanent
Church was needed further out and Mrs. Whitworth of Dallington gave the land on
which our St. Michael’s church now stands, hence the name Whitworth Road. An
interesting fact - This site was a rubbish dump in the days before the church
was built on it.
The
Iron
Church
was removed from Lower Mounts and erected on its new site, near the new Church
(actually where the Prayer House stands). It was used as a schoolroom and church
room until 1905 when it was removed and other buildings were erected.
Some
12 years later in 1894, a
District
Church
dedicated to St. Gabriel was erected in St. Michael’s Road, near to the site
of the old original
Iron
Church
.
This became a thriving daughter Church for 31 years and many hoped that a second
parish of St. Gabriel would be created. However, this hope was not well founded
as it was being difficult to provide adequate pastoral care even for the Mother
Church of St. Michael, so it was closed at the end of June 1925 causing much
distress to many of its loyal congregation.
St.
Michael’s Church Buildings are some of the largest in the Diocese and over the
years have been fully used to meet the needs of the church, the parish and the
Diocese and sundry other organisations. During the Great War and Second World
War a large portion of the Rooms were requisitioned by the Army.
From
the 1960s, a much closer relationship has been enjoyed between the Church of
England and the
Non-Conformist
Churches
in this parish.
At
11.00am on Sunday 12th February 1978, the congregation of St. Edmund’s Church
and St. Michael’s Church attended for worship at St. Edmund, this being the
last service before its closure and subsequent demolition - another sad day in
the history of these two churches, especially for the devoted members of St.
Edmund’s congregation. The Parish was amalgamated with St. Michael and the
Church to be known as St. Michael and All Angels with St. Edmund.
Recently
a House of Prayer with limited accommodation has been built at the
Turner Street
end of the Church buildings. The House is administered by its warden, Father
Philip Münch.
To
comment on the worship of the Church - it has been regular and faithful over the
many years. In its earlier days it was a “middle of the road” Church, but
with the coming of the Parish Communion Movement in 1950, it has gradually
progressed towards Anglo Catholicism ("High
Church").
Mattins was discontinued in 1961, but Sung Evensong is still held with Solemn
Evensong, with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, once a month. For many
years, Said Holy Communion was celebrated each weekday except on Mondays but now
it is only celebrated in Church on Tuesdays and on other days in the House of
Prayer.
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