Northampton Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Thomas stands in the north of Northampton, along Barrack Road. It serves as the seat of the Bishop of Northampton and the mother church of the Diocese of Northampton, covering four counties. The cathedral occupies the site of the original St Andrew’s Priory, where Thomas Becket once took refuge. Its history began in 1823 when Fr William Foley established a permanent Catholic presence in the town. The first chapel, dedicated to St Andrew, opened in 1825 in a small converted house. The current building traces its origins to 1840, when Bishop William Wareing commissioned Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin to design a collegiate chapel. Pugin’s son, Edward Welby Pugin, later extended the chapel into a cathedral with a new nave, opened in 1864. The cathedral’s stained glass windows, made by John Hardman of Birmingham, date from the 1860s and depict local saints. In 1948, Bishop Leo Parker oversaw further extensions, including a crossing tower and transepts, completed in 1955 by architect Albert Herbert. Inside, the cathedral houses two organs: a 1976 tracker-action pipe organ and a digital Viscount organ installed in 2008. A regular choir sings at the 11:00 Sunday Mass and major liturgies. The Blessed Sacrament Chapel contains a new window by Joseph Nuttgens and the bishop’s throne carved by Stephen Foster. The cathedral also functions as a parish church, hosting organisations like the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, which supports the local community.