St. Matthew’s Church, Northampton, is a Victorian Church built in French 13th century gothic style. It was consecrated on St. Matthew’s day in 1893 and the first vicar was John Rowden Hussey. He remained vicar until 1937 when his son Walter Hussey was invited to succeed him. Walter Hussey was driven by the desire to build a bridge between the Church and modern artists through adventurous commissions.
During his time at St. Matthew’s he commissioned for the Church an outstanding succession of fine works of art. Henry Moore’s sculpture Madonna and Child (1944) and Graham Sutherland’s Crucifixion (1946) are tangible evidences of this in the Church. An extensive range of musical works commissioned included Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb (1943) and his Prelude and Fugue on a Theme of Vittoria (1946) and Gerald Finzi’s Lo the Full Final Sacrifice (1946), together with others by Edmund Rubbra, Lennox Berkeley and Malcolm Arnold to name but a few!
The tradition of commissioning works of art continued throughout the 20th century with the Fourteen Stations of the Cross by David Thomas (1987) and the hanging figure of The Risen Christ by Malcolm Pollard (1992). Other musical commissions have included Let All The World in Every Corner Sing by Kenneth Leighton (1965), Five Christmas Carols by Richard Rodney Bennett (1967), and One thing have I desired of the Lord by Herbert Howells (1968). Other composers include William Matthias, Herbert Sumsion, Geoffrey Burgon, John Taverner, Alec Wyton and Diana Burail.
The twentieth century has seen a new nave altar and lectern with accompanying furniture, all beautifully hand crafted by contemporary craftsmen David John using English Maple and Walnut. The most recent addition to the works of art housed within the Church is a life size bronze statue of St. Matthew commissioned from the sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley (best known as the sculptor of the Queen’s head on the current UK coinage) as a result of a bequest from the late Father John Moreton, Parish Priest from 1975 until 1996.
