St. Gregory the Great, Northampton

Introduction

Saint Gregory the Great in Northampton was designed in the Roman Basilica style, recalling early Christian churches. In 1950 the Diocesan Magazine reported the church was unhealthily overcrowded.

Architecture and furnishings

The church today is essentially the church of Comper’s 1954 Phase 1. The floor is made of wood blocks, and a plenum heating system was installed with grilles in the floor. A wooden side altar was removed to provide space for the present shrine to Our Lady. The two front chandelier fittings were possibly designed by Comper himself.

The font was moved in the 1970s to the left of the Sanctuary, and later moved further left. The consecration crosses mark where the walls were anointed with Sacred Chrism on 3rd September 2004. The two sconces in the sanctuary were installed at the building of the church, the other ten were made for the consecration, re-cycling iron which formerly were light fittings.

A crucifix found among the demolition rubble of the Notre Dame convent was restored and placed in St Gregory’s Church. The flat roof was covered with copper in 1970 by the firm of Braby's. The interior walls were of common fleton bricks, smooth pointed and limewashed, because of cost.

The altar top is a solid slab of stone, in which is sealed a relic of St Gregory the Great. When St Gregory's was opened in 1954, it was equipped with a state-of-the-art electronic organ, the console built by Alfred Davies and electronics by Peter Walker. The organ at St Gregory's was the prototype of the commercially produced 'Gregorian Organ'. Sung Mass is offered every Sunday, and a trained choir sings the solemn elements of the Mass and liturgies of Holy Week.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The first First Communion Mass for the children at Saint Gregory's was held in June 1947. The parish provided pastoral care of Saint Andrew's Hospital, where Mass was also said, as well as Saint John's Hospital and Manfield Orthopaedic Hospital. In the temporary church, Sung Mass was offered on Sundays with a harmonium and a choir trained by organist Tony Haynes.

Visiting

The parish runs the Alpha course as part of its missionary identity. A Repository shop is run by lay volunteers. The carvings of the Stations of the Cross at St Gregory's were made by Anthony Foster, a colleague and pupil of Eric Gill.