Building record 0240500000 - OLD CHANTRY CHAPEL

Dimensions - Length 1400cm, Width 600cm, Height 550cm.
Plan Form - Rectangular.
Grade II+. Former chantry chapel, later school. Rebuilt 1475 incorporating Norman doorway, re-roofed late C18 and restored by G Gilbert Scott in 1857 and 1875. Uncoursed limestone rubble with limestone dressings and plain-tile roof. Aisleless rectangle. Norman doorway near middle of left side with 1 order of shafts with leaf capitals, imposts with palmette-in-zigzag ornament, inner arch with ornament of shallow pointed-arched arcading, chevron ornament to outer arch and to hoodmould. Circular sexfoiled window above, near eaves. Two 2-light window to left of doorway one above the other with trefoil-headed lights and straight hoods. 2-light Perpendicular window to right with trefoil-headed lights and hoodmould. Right side is concealed by adjacent building and has 2 sexfoiled circular windows at high level. 4-light windows to gable end facing Market Hill divided in 2 by sub-arches separated by small encircled quatrefoil to head and with foiled Y-tracery and trefoils above pointed trefoil-headed lights with pierced spandrels. Hollow-chamfered surround and hoodmould. Stone-coped gable with kneelers and C19 gabled bell-cote to apex. INTERIOR: principal window to gable end has deep splay and hollow-chamfered head dying into wall. End truss of 4-bay roof has many-moulded tie beam with camber to centre to clear head of window and arch-braced collar, otherwise C18 kingpost trusses, except for truss at other end which has queen struts and collar. Piscina with moulded surround and cusped basket-arched head. Panelled dado. Gallery to inner end with serpentine splat balusters to rail, with 6 former pew ends from old parish church either end and at regular intervals. Pew ends have poppy heads. One is inscribed 'THOMAS/ GROVE/ GENT.' Another is dated 1626 and another inscribed 'ANNO/ 1652' with AG in heart to back. Arms to heads. HISTORICAL NOTE: formerly chantry chapel of St John the Baptist. Endowed early C13 as a chantry by Archdeacon Matthew de Stratton. Belonged to the Hospital of St John Acon in London and perhaps served the Hospital of St John the Baptist in Buckingham. Dissolved with other chantries in the reign of Edward VI and known from c1540 as the Royal Latin School. Now owned by the National Trust. (Buckler JC: Endowed Grammar Schools: 1827-: ILL.)(B7).
PROBABLY 1ST BUILT LATE C12 AS PART OF ST JOHN'S HOSPITAL. BECAME A CHANTRY ?1219-68. WAS A LATIN GRAMMAR SCHOOL 1546-1907. BOUGHT BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION & PRESENTED TO NATIONAL TRUST 1912. IS NOW A GRADE II STAR LISTED BUIDING, USED FOR SOCIAL PURPOSES (MEETINGS, JUMBLE SALES &C) (B9).
WW2 uses of building. The Old Latin School was used by the Land Girls as an off-duty meeting place. At the Royal Latin School a branch of the Air Training Corps was formed in Feb 1941 by Mr Tom Allit (B10).
Assessment of documentary history and building recording (to EH level 2) carried out by Northamptonshire Archaeology in January and February 2009 identifies a number of changes to the building and the extent of 19th century restoration. See report for detail (B11).
Watching brief by Gary Marshall in November and December 2009 during building alterations, recorded a former doorway in the NW end wall, blocked with reused panelling possibly in the 1870s, and evidence for a wider, stepped foundation to the external wall near the NW corner of the building. See report for detail (B12).