There is evidence of Christianity in Northampton area as far back as mid-Saxon times and possibly earlier. Subsequent to the Norman invasion it became a favoured residence of the Kings of England. After the reformation it was not until the early part of the nineteenth century that there became a renewed interest in the Catholic faith. 

In 1821 a priest was installed in a house in Northampton town centre, and two years later Father William Foley was installed by Bishop Milner to establish a regular mission in the town. His first base was a small house using one room as a chapel, but it wasn't long before he had the finance to purchase a piece of land on which the current Cathedral stands which had originally been part of St Andrew's Priory, from where Thomas Becket had escaped into exile. The Chapel, dedicated to St Andrew, was opened on 25th October 1825, the feast of St Crispin.

In 1829 the Catholic Emancipation Act was passed, and in 1850 the Catholic hierarchy was restored with the country being divided into dioceses, each with a Bishop.

By 1840 the congregation was outgrowing the chapel, and the newly resident Bishop Wareing commissioned Pugin to design a collegiate chapel. Within no time this to was outgrown by the numbers wishing to worship. Bishop Amherst asked Pugin's son to extend the building to become a Cathedral. The extension, the current nave, was opened in 1864 and dedicated to Our Lady Immaculate and St Thomas of Canterbury.

The building remained pretty much unchanged until 1955 when Bishop Leo Parker decided to pull down St Andrew's Chapel and extended the west end of the Church. The last changes were in 1988 when the land adjoining the Barrack Road was converted to a car park.

Our Lady
Mary, mother of Jesus is the mother of all Christians. It was she who accepted God's will and bore Jesus, the Saviour of all people. We look to her as our model and ask her to pray for us and take our prayers to the Lord. She is the Patroness of the Cathedral under the title Mary Immaculate.

St Thomas
St Thomas Becket was a Chancellor of the realm elected Archbishop of Canterbury. He was a strict reformer of the church and staunch defender of its rights. He has many connections with Northampton. He fled from Northampton in 1164 and was put to death on 29th December 1170. Our local Catholic senior school is name after him.

Famous Connections
CAROLINE CHISHOLM: Born in Northampton she emigrated to Australia where she became famous for her work with immigrants to New South Wales during the 1840s and 1850s. She later did the same good work in the goldfields region of Victoria. She lobbied to ensure that the poor sick and needy were provided with adequate accommodation, and personally organised, the often destitute, young women to journey to rural areas in order to secure employment. She returned to Northampton where she died of illness and was buried from Northampton Cathedral. She is a national heroine of Australia. Schools, hospitals and colleges throughout the land are named after her and she is also pictured on the Australian five dollar note (left). Caroline Chisholm's body rests in Billing Road cemetery.