Delapré Abbey | The Unbelievable 900-Year History

Posted on 31st March 202012th October 2020 by developer

From everyone within the Delapré Abbey team, we hope you are keeping safe. Per government advice, the Abbey, the Orangery café, and Hibiscus are temporarily closed. But we are continuing to work and are putting out lots of content across our website and social media. So keep an eye out.

The Abbey’s grounds remain open so you can enjoy wonderful views during your daily exercise. And we have closed our overflow car park to ensure the grounds are safe and you can practise social distancing easily.

During these times we are asking everybody who loves and enjoys Delapé Abbey to show their support. So please make a difference to the community and Delapre Abbey by selecting Delapré Abbey as your good cause with the Northampton Lottery.

To keep you busy in the meantime we will explore the unbelievable history of Delapré Abbey. This is how the Abbey began and how the beautiful, historic building got where it is today:
The 900-Year History of Delapré Abbey

Originally a nunnery, Delapré Abbey was built in 1145. Over the years it has been occupied and surrendered, destroyed and rebuilt, and is now enjoyed by thousands of people every year. The Abbey has even hosted royalty more than once over the years.

Delapré Abbey hosted King Edward I on his wife’s funeral cortege across the country, from Lincoln to Westminister. Along the way, the King commissioned twelve historic monuments to be built in certain spots along the journey. The Eleanor Cross in Northampton is one of only three to survive until today.

Battles and Wars

Delapré Abbey played a part in a crucial battle during the war of the roses. The war between the house of Lancaster and York. 1460 saw the battle of Northampton between King Henry VI and Edward, the Earl of March.

The king was actually captured not long into the battle and held prisoner within Delapré Abbey overnight. Before being transported to London the next day. The battle of Northampton was also the only battle in the whole war where an attacking army was able to overthrow a defended position. The Yorks capturing the Lancaster position.

Restoration and The Abbey We Know Today

Over 900 years, Delapré Abbey has changed hands on many occasions. From 1546 to 1764, the Abbey was home to the Tate family. This saw many of the historical renovations that turned the Abbey into a domestic building.

One of the biggest changes came later when the Abbey was home to the Bouverie family in 1764. Edwards Bouverie Jnr ordered the library wing to be built. As well as the easting room demolished. The Bouverie family are a mysterious and intriguing part of the Abbey’s colourful history. Something we have explored more during our Downton at Delapré events.

Over the years, Delapré Abbey fell into disrepair. After lots of hard work and resilience from the Northampton Borough Council and Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust (DAPT), the Abbey received the award of a £3.65 million Heritage Lottery Fund grant in 2013. This was the first phase of an ambitious restoration and regeneration plan. And after years of grafting, Delapré Abbey’s incredible history and beautiful views can be explored by everyone once again.

Although we’re temporarily closed for now, if you have any plans that the Abbey could make extra special in the future, get in touch with us today…

Thank for reading this blog, if you have any questions about us or enquires give us a call on 01604 760817 or send us an email on info@delapreabbey.org. Or feel free to fill in the enquiry form on our contact page today. And please remember, if you decide to exercise around the Abbey’s grounds, keep a safe distance from one another.

june, 2023

Filter Events

thu25mayAll Daythu13julThis Grief ThingGrief gatherings are small, free group conversations about grief and they're open to all.(All Day)

Event Details

Thu 25th May – Sat 29th July, various times and locations
Free, booking required
Sessions will last a maximum of 2 hours

This Grief Thing is a project that invites people to think, talk and learn about grief. We’re living at a time when many people find death and grief – our own grief or other people’s – almost impossible to talk about. We don’t know what to say, what to do, or how to act. So we stay silent, we pretend that grief doesn’t exist, or we hide it. This Grief Thing pushes against this, by opening up conversations about grief and making it visible.

As part of our wellbeing programme we are pleased to be working with Fevered Sleep who have created Grief Gatherings. They’re small, free group conversations about grief and they’re open to all. They’re for people who have experienced grief, and for people who haven’t. This will be an inclusive space. Any age, gender, race, faith welcome.
We’ll share thoughts, feelings, ideas and experiences. If you don’t wish to talk that’s fine, people are welcome to just be present.

This project is a partnership between Delapré Abbey and Fevered Sleep and is funded by Northamptonshire Community Foundation.

Dates and Locations

Thu 25th May, 2-4pm, Umbrella Fair
This Grief Thing host: Laura Graham

Mon 5th June, 6:30-8:30pm, Saints Coffee
This Grief Thing host: David Bowden

Thu 15th June, 2-4pm, Umbrella Fair
This Grief Thing host: Laura Graham

Sat 24th June, 2-4pm, Delapré Abbey
This Grief Thing host: Lisa Lovett

Mon 10th July, 6:30pm-8:30pm, Saints Coffee
This Grief Thing host: David Bowden

Thu 13th July, 2-4pm, Umbrella Fair
This Grief Thing host: Laura Graham

Sat 29th July, 2-4pm, Delapré Abbey
This Grief Thing host: Lisa Lovett

How to get to each location

Saints Coffee: 62 St Giles’ St, Northampton NN1 1JW (map)

Umbrella Fair: Racecourse Pavilion, Kettering Rd, Northampton NN1 4LG (map)

Delapré Abbey (this session will be held in our Library): London Road, Northampton, NN4 8AW (map)

Meet the hosts

Laura Graham
Laura Graham is a freelance writer and content creator based in Northampton. In 2009 she lost her mum to breast cancer, a loss that changed her life and taught her about the complexities of grief. She went on to work for a local charity on a project to support people coming towards the end of life. She believes that grief is the last taboo and hopes that grief gatherings will enable participants to feel connected and seen by their community.

David Bowden
Dave Bowden – A.K.A Word Guerrilla – is a poet and performer. Utilising beatboxing, live looping and multi-instrumentalism, he delivers Word Guerrilla’s unique brand of spoken word poetry performances and workshops to a variety of different educational settings, workplaces and events across the country. As an educator and creative facilitator, he seeks to generate creativity in people through writing, empowering them with language and words.
He believes that grief is ever- present, and like bits of glitter: long after you think it has gone, it continues to turn up everywhere, often unexpectedly. It can be challenging to make sense of grief and adapt to it. Dave wants to facilitate grief gatherings to help others understand the experience, giving them a space to articulate how they think and feel about the process of grieving and help others adapt to the experience of grief.

Time

May 25 (Thursday) - July 13 (Thursday)

Buy here

Book Tickets

Calendar GoogleCal

sun28may(may 28)11:00 amsun29oct(oct 29)4:00 amExhibition: "The Walled Garden Was Magical"An exhibition of your memories of the gardens.(may 28) 11:00 am - (october 29) 4:00 am

Event Details

Sunday 28th May – Sunday 29th October
11am-4pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays
Entry included in the price of general admission (£8 adults, under 18s free)

“The walled garden was magical… the absolute treasure.” Councillor David Smith

This exhibition explores the vast history of Delapré Abbey’s gardens and tells the stories of those who have worked here over the centuries to make beautiful outdoor spaces for the house owners and, subsequently, for the general public to enjoy.

There have been gardens here since the opening of the nunnery in 1145. On Saturday 19^th July 1952, Delapré Abbey’s gardens opened to the public and have continued to be a place open for all to enjoy. As Alderman J.V. Collier said upon their opening 71 years ago: “The gardens offer a haven of rest away from the milling crowds. Within almost a stone’s throw of the centre of the town, we have something unique.”

Timed to coincide with the centenary year of Delapré Abbey’s water garden, the exhibition captures and celebrates the local communities’ memories of Delapré through photos, text, ephemera and oral history.

Whether you enjoyed the walled garden as a child, have attended a wedding here, or discovered the grounds during one of the Covid-19 lockdowns, we want this exhibition to encourage visitors to tell their friends and loved ones about any existing memories they have made here while making new ones together.

Photo: John Pettitt