St Giles Church St Giles Church of England School previously St Giles School] are opposite one another in St Giles Terrace.
Pupils that went to the school also attended church once a week on a Wednesday morning
. There we were taught the hymns and some of us were lucky to be asked to read a lesson out of the Bible.
I was one of the lucky ones to be asked to read out of the bible.
The Bible was placed on a golden eagle lectern in front of the choir stands.
We would enter the side door and walk in two by two. Our teachers following us in the church.
Once a year we was invited to the old vicarage in St Giles Street . Northampton for sandwiches and cake.
It was the vicar. Rev Hughes , that was interested in genealogy an ask each one of us in the front rows of the pews our surname.
He then went on to tell us what it meant.
I was told that Clarke meant it was of holy orders.
In other words it was probably a man who worked in the church and could read and write. the name spelt as Clerk.
photos taken from the front of old St Giles Vicarage, now Relate office Northants
St Giles Church . Northampton
Photo. S.E. Clarke
Robert Browne from Thorpe Achurch , Northamptonshire is buried in St Giles Church yard. His work led to the Pilgrims Fathers sailing in Mayflower to America. His son Edward was one of the founders of Maryland .USA
from Northampton Chronicle and Echo newspaper
Old side door to St Giles Church.
This is the one the school used in St Giles Terrace .
Both images above and below.
Courtesy of the Corpus of Romaneque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland
Interior of St Giles Church.
On the left hand side of the isle is the golden eagle lectern .
I read a lesson from it to the school in front of the whole school. i was very nervous but had learnt the piece of writing from the bible well.
The next time i was to read a lesson in church was at St John the Baptist church at Blisworth during the Christmas carols and lessons where i was a Sunday School teacher.
GOOD LUCK IN 2015 HIGH STREET COMPETITION
Above. ST GILES HOUSE. formerly ST GILES VICARAGE.Now offices of RELATE. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
NORTHAMPTON.
Below. 5TH October . parade of Northamptonshire fire brigade with fire engines through the ages. picture taken out side of Relate offices.
September 2015 St Giles Street was put forward in THE GREAT BRITISH HIGH STREET COMPETITION .They have reached the final three. It is a great achievement .To me it has always been special right from when I started school at St Giles School and walked there each school day for six years. Then again in 1991 when my marriage broke down and I became involved with Relate until I resigned in May 2015. During that time six of us have resigned from working there. All of us worked well together.
Getting back to the high street .There is a continuing array of shops selling different things over the years. the empty shops don't stay empty for long.The shop I most remember is OLIVER ADAMS , the cake shop. As a child I could only look in the window and wish. On my return to Northampton I could afford to buy a cake and a sausage roll for which they are famous.
GOOD LUCK ST GILES STREET
ST Giles Street is a street with independent shops selling every thing from flowers to cheese.
It also has a few charity shops which seem to do well.
There are cafes to suit each one of us.
A new shop is opening shortly. more news later
One flower shop which i can remember from 60 years ago when walking to St Giles School.
It is a conservation area and therefore many of the buildings on the out side are just as they were.
It is well worth a walk along to see what goods can be purchased.
St Giles Street looking down from St Giles old vicarage
December 2011
photo . S.E. Clarke
St Giles Cheese Shop 77St Giles Street.The shop opened in 2010.
They stocks many different cheeses from the UK and Europe that cannot be found in supermarkets.
They also sell wine and Belgian chocolates.
Photo. autumngold2 , flckr.com
Corner St Giles Street . Hazelwood Road . This leather shop has moved to Abington Street. Northampton
march 2013
St Giles Street . NHS Clinic
Photo June 2012
1814-1820 a family of eight children and their parents lived in St Giles Street,I am not sure of the address
Edward Clarke was a plasterer. His wife looked after the children, William, Mary, Henry, Thomas, Harriot, Maria, Susan, Martha.
The children were all christened at St Giles Church.
hentall.co.uk
Francis Crick[DNA]paternal grandfather Walter Drawbridge Crick had a boot and shoe factory in St Giles Street.Northampton
CO- OP Arcade. St Giles Street. Northampton
A short cut from St Giles Street to Abington Street
The shops in arcade included a Tobaconist,Barbers, Bakery, Chemist , Wool shops , Department shop. Office to buy tokens to put out on the doorstep for pints of milk.you needed to know your Co Op div number to purchase them. This was my job on the way home from Barry Road School.The Co Op had a large dance hall and resturant. this was used for many functions.
photo Flickr
St Giles Street. Northampton.
Photo. flickr
Abraxas Cookshop
40 -42 St Giles Street. Northampton
The business was started in 1996.
January 2012
The premises have been used as a shop selling curtain material and Stantons Stationery with in my living memory.
A member of the Stanton family was a science teacher at Barry Road School for Girls . Northampton.
Premises empty are ones previously used by Churchs China, they have now been taken over by Jones china as a online shop.
Bonham Shoe shop and Lawrence Bakery.[ OLIVER ADAMS LTD.] St Giles Street Northampton.
These two shops i remember walking by on my way to St Giles School in the 1950`s
The shoe shop window display is still full of well made shoes.
A neighbour of ours from Euston Road, Northampton was the cleaner there for many years.
She and her husband were the first people in Euston Road to buy a television.
It was a small size screen in a wooden box.
For the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, they invited some friends around to watch it on their television in their front room.
My mother and my sister and i was invited and enjoyed their company.
The cake shop and the cafe next door was a shop i stopped and looked in the window and wanted to buy their cakes.
it wasnt to be until 50 years later and the same shops are still there.
I could then treat myself to a Towcester cheese cake. The Towcester cheese cake was made locally and sold at the Towcester race meeting. The recipe is still the same and was made all over the country but only now can be found in Yorkshire and Northamptonshire.It was a way of using up milk that had gone off and using the curds.
Photo . copyright(c) Jeff .R.Parker
Post Office and shops. St Giles Street. Northampton
The town Post Office now houses a grocery store in the middle of the building.
The Post Office is in the front part of the building.
Towards the Guildhall a few of the shops are charity shops. There was some well known shoes shops that sold shoes made in Northampton.
Corner House . Adams Bakery. Side entrance to the downstairs Clipper Cafe
Opposite the bakery was BARCLAY BANK, now a pub/restaurant photo, autumngold2
clipper cafe [ interior] Photo. unknown.
if anyone knows who took this . please get in touch.
i would catch a red bus to town and walk up St Giles Street to school.
I passed by the corner house[ Adams Bakery Shop] every school day.
I seen all the cakes and bread displayed.
To me i was more interested in what was built beneath the shop in the cellar.
Mr Ockley who took over the business before the war.
He wanted to do something different , so he brought seats from an old Clipper Plane to recreate a restaurant like the interior of a plane.
The waitresses dressed like air stewardesses.
Mr ockley made portholes with fake scenery.the scenery was painted by set designer of the Royal Theatre, Tom Osbourne Robinson.
The resturant was a great success until it burnt down.
Article by C. Harrison.
Taken from BBC RADIO. Local History 2009.
Items of some food available from Oliver Adams. Sausage rolls. pies. pasties, doughnuts cream cakes, bread and bread rolls.
Clipper cafe .
For a treat our Aunty Nancy[ Gulliver] would take us there for a cream cake on a Saturday.
The waitresses were dressed like air stewardess.
It really felt like you was sitting in an airplane.
A two or three tier cake stand would be brought to your table full of all sorts of cream cakes.
We was only allowed to chose one cake.I enjoyed the very large meringue with fresh cream.
From that experience i enjoyed going on a plane and eating cakes, and still do today.
Shops and business in St Giles Street area.
COOKSHOP. well worth a visit , see web site for more information. www.abraxascookshop.com
LAWRENCE BAKERY.[ OLIVER ADAMS LTD]
CHEESE SHOP 77 ST GILES STREET
CHURCH CHINA SHOP was in St Giles Street for many years but now has finished trading as of 2012.
JACK HADDON. FLORIST ST GILES STREET.
CORNERHOUSE. OLIVER ADAMS WOOD HILL. see web site for list of shops. www.oliveradams.co.uk
14 Shops in other towns near to Northampton, including one in Regent Street Rugby and Hillmorton Road Rugby. This one i used regularly when i lived and worked near by at CO OP and LIPTONS in 1960-70`s.
