St Matthew's Church, Northampton

St Matthew's Church
St Matthew's Church, Northampton
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Anglo Catholic
Website	www.stmatthews-northampton.org.uk
History
Dedication	St. Matthew
Administration
Diocese	Peterborough
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Fr Nicholas Setterfield
Laity
Organist/Director of music	Justin Miller
Organist(s)	Jonathan Starmer
Churchwarden(s)	Richard Roberts and Mary Wallis

St Matthew's Church, Northampton is a Church of England parish church in Northampton, within the Diocese of Peterborough.

The church is a Grade II* listed building. It was erected (1891-4) in memory of brewer and MP, Pickering Phipps, beside the Kettering Road.

Walter Hussey, vicar from 1937 to 1955 succeeding his father Canon John Rowden Hussey, was a patron of the arts. In the north transept is a stone sculpture, "Madonna and Child", (1944) by Henry Moore and in the south transept a painting of the Crucifixion (1946) by Graham Sutherland.

St Matthew's follows an Anglican service with Catholic traits. The church celebrates two Eucharistic services on a Sunday including a Parish Mass at 10.15am which is Choral on Feast Days. The Parish Mass is 'pro populo' on the Nave Altar and the Lectern has recently been moved from the Chancel step to the High Altar to make way for a traditional statue of St Matthew. Choral Evensong is sung twice a month with Benediction following the service on the third Sunday of each. The church maintains a daily Eucharist service and has done since its founding in 1893. The Daily Offices of Morning & Evening Prayer are also said publicly every day of the year.

Music has long been an important part of the life of St Matthew's, both liturgically and through links forged with local educational, amateur and professional ensembles.

For many years St Matthew's had an all-male choir which was disbanded in the early 2000s. The choir now consists of girl and boy choristers aged 8-18 and adult Altos, Tenors and Basses who sing two services each Sunday. The church choir is supported by The St Matthew's Singers, a choir of local amateur singers, who sing Choral Mass on mid-week Feast Days. The whole music department is overseen by a Director of Music, Parish Organist and Organ Scholar.

The choir has undertaken a tour each year since 2012. These have included week-long trips to sing at St Davids (2012), Portsmouth (2013), Carlisle (2014), Exeter (2015) and Chester (2016). The choir has released two CDs in recent years; in 2013 a disc of music for Advent and Christmas, and in 2014 a recording including recent commissions from David Bednall, David Halls and Philip Stopford.

St Matthew's is a concert venue in Northampton. The church is home to the Northampton Bach Choir who were founded by Denys Pouncey in 1935 and for many years had St Matthew's Director of Music as its Director. The church also has links with the Northampton Music and Performing Arts Trust, the Northampton Philharmonic Choir, the Northampton Chamber Choir and many other groups. Regular organ recitals take place.