Northampton Cathedral

St Mary and St Thomas RC Cathedral
Cathedral of Our Lady & St Thomas, Northampton
The east end of the cathedral (1948-55)
St Mary and St Thomas RC Cathedral Shown within Northamptonshire
52°14′53″N 0°53′55″W / 52.248°N 0.8985°W / 52.248; -0.8985Coordinates: 52°14′53″N 0°53′55″W / 52.248°N 0.8985°W / 52.248; -0.8985
Location	Northampton, Northamptonshire
Country	England
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.northamptoncathedral.org
Architecture
Architect(s)	Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin
Specifications
Number of towers	1
Administration
Diocese	Northampton (since 1964)
Province	Westminster
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Peter John Haworth Doyle
Laity
Director of music	Claire Stewart

The Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Thomas is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Northampton, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Northampton and mother church of the Diocese of Northampton which covers the counties of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and that part of Berkshire (formerly in Buckinghamshire) that lies to the north of the River Thames.

History

The origins of the current building date back to 1840 when Bishop Wareing commissioned Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin to design a collegiate chapel of St Felix which was built in 1844^[1]. The number of worshippers soon outgrew the size of the building and Pugin's son Edward Welby Pugin was chosen by Bishop Amhurst to design an extension in order to make the building into a cathedral. This extension came in the form of the current nave which was opened in 1864, dedicated to Our Lady Immaculate and St Thomas of Canterbury.

The cathedral was left in this form until 1948-55^[1] when it was decided by Bishop Leo Parker that the west end of the cathedral should be extended. This meant that St Andrew's chapel (1825) had to be demolished in order for the development to go ahead. The original east end was replaced by a straight east end, transepts and a crossing tower all by Albert Herbert^[1].

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1961). The Buildings of England – Northamptonshire. London and New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 338. ISBN 978-0-300-09632-3. 

External links

• Cathedral of Our Lady & St Thomas, Northampton

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