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Towcester Town in Drawings
The Chain GateThe Chain Gate, built in 1824, was designed in the classical style as fitting entrance to Easton Neston House and Park. Today it serves as the main entrance to Towcester Racecourse and bookies and punters now pass under the Roman archway which is supported by Corinthian columns and flanked with colonnades and gatehouses.
Watling Street<br />looking northWatling Street has been the main road through Towcester since Roman times. Here it is seen looking north, with the dome of the Town Hall visible in the distance. This spot is the probable location of the southern Roman gatehouse to Towcester. Richmond Road is to the left and Church Lane to the right. Notice that Richmond Road is narrower than it is today, as a shop was demolished to improve the junction with Watling Street.
The Catholic Church<br />of St.Thomas MoreThe church in Meeting Lane had originally been a Congregational chapel. Built in the mid 1800s it had been empty for a few years until acquired by the Catholic Church in 1976. Bishop Charles Grant blessed the church on 16 June 1976. The church of St.Thomas More has a fine organ built in 1865 by J.W.Walker of London. The triptych at the rear of the church and the statues of the Sacred Heart and Our Lady also came from Saint George’s, the previous church in Towcester, now know as the "A5 Rangers Cycling Club". The altar was donated by Lord Frederick Hesketh’s widow. The tabernacle came from the chapel of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Northampton.
Click on the images to enlarge.
Text ©1986,2003 Towcester History Society
Drawings ©1986 Robert Sunderland
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