Royal Visitors
For nearly 1000 years the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
in Northampton has been visited by Royalty:
King Richard I of England
(Richard Coeur de Lion - Richard the Lion Heart)
spent an Easter at Holy Sepulchre
A small section of the church's famous Battle Window - showing King Richard 'in action'.
The window is in memory of the men of the 58th Regiment of Foot
who were killed in action or died in South Africa 1879 - 1883
Princess Diana
July 1989
HRH the late Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester
Colonel-in-Chief, The Northamptonshire Regiment
During her many years as Colonel-in-Chief, Princess Alice
often came to Holy Sepulchre, especially for the Regimental celebrations
to commemorate the Battle of Talavera (July 1809)
The Lord Lieutenant
The Colonel
and the Aide-de-Camp
in attendance
Lunch with the Duchess
at the Judge's Lodgings
The Duchess
The Colonel
Lady-in-Waiting
& ADC to the Duchess
entering Holy Sepulchre
Princess Alice
as Colonel-in-Chief
taking the Salute as the
4th/5th Battalion,
the Northamptonshire Regiment march past
HRH Prince William, Duke of Gloucester
Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Anglian Regiment
ROYAL VISIT : 12 APRIL 2010
HRH The Duke of Gloucester
David Williams, the Duke and the Revd Michael Hills
In 1979 the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was in danger of becoming a ruin within 25 years, if urgently needed repairs were ignored.
A small team came together & formed the Restoration Trust.
Over the past 3 decades well over £1 million has been raised to fund the restoration and now the work is complete.
The Duke of Gloucester - an Architect himself - came to inspect the external work and congratulated and thanked some of those who have given so much time and effort to ensure the project succeeded.
The Duke also toured the inside of this magnificent
Grade I listed building before departing.
His Royal Highness was accompanied during his visit by
Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant for Northamptonshire
Lady Juliet Townsend LVO
Mr John Kightly MBE - one of the Founder Trustees - said afterwards that the Duke was: "very pleased to see the quality of the work and to know that the structure has been saved for posterity".
However Mr Kightly rightly explained that fund raising will need to continue in order to maintain the building in its present good state.
Donations can be sent directly to the
Church Office, Church Lane, Northampton, NN1 3NL
(Please make cheques payable to Holy Sepulchre Restoration Trust)
Fund raising concerts are planned - full details can be found on the page alongside entitled:
Restoration Trust Musical Evenings.
Contact
Office: Church Lane
Northampton, NN1 3NL
Tel: 01604 627988
Vicar: 01604 230316
Restoration Trust:
Tel: 01604 754782