One of the Friends’ objectives is to stimulate interest and research into the history and architecture of St Peter’s. We list here sources of information on St Peter’s and would welcome suggestions for further items suitable for inclusion .
General
R.M. Serjeantson A History of the Church of St Peter Northampton together with the chapels of Kingsthorpe and Upton 1906
Serjeantson was Curate at St Sepulchre’s, Northampton, before becoming Rector of St Peter’s. This substantial volume is the most comprehensive book about St Peter’s. It is available now as an affordable paperback reprint and as a pdf download from the Internet Archive.
Architecture
Maguire, Henry P. “A Twelfth Century Workshop in Northampton.” Gesta 9, no. 1 (1970): 11–25. https://doi.org/10.2307/766624.
Baxter, Ron Beakhead Ornament and the Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture
The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain & Ireland (CRSBI)
“St Peter’s is the finest 12th century church in the county, and its capital sculpture is one of the highlights of the Romanesque in England.” This is an invaluable online catalogue of the architectural features of St Peter’s, Northampton. This site is probably the most detailed architectural description and discussion of St Peter’s, including, for example, a detailed catalogue of every corbel.
History
Bazil Marsh and David Sargant Saint Ragener circa 1994
The last rector, Archdeacon Marsh, was able to preserve the story of St Ragener. The cult is mentioned in a number of medieval manuscripts. This booklet revived a legend which had almost been forgotten.
More manuscripts and source materials are now digitally available and further clues emerge about St Ragener. Research is ongoing.
