Oak Apple Day
May 29 @ 12:00 am
An ancient ceremony of thanksgiving at All Saints’ Church will commemorate Oak Apple Day and kickstart the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of Northampton.
The annual civic ceremony, organised by Northampton Town Council and the Lord Lieutenancy, remembers the generosity of King Charles II, who donated over 1,000 tonnes of timber to reconstruct All Saints’ Church and halved the town’s taxes for seven years following the blaze in 1675.
The event on Thursday, May 29 will see a detachment from the Honourable Artillery Company of Pikemen & Musketeers be accompanied by the ‘A’ Company LNR ACF Corps of Drums, with a parade and musket firing taking place on the piazza of All Saints’ Church around 12pm.
The civic procession will then enter All Saints’ Church for a thanksgiving service led by Father Oliver Coss.
The High Sheriff of Northamptonshire will then invite the Mayor to place an oak leaf wreath on the statue of Charles II, standing high on the church’s portico. A prayer of thanksgiving is then read by the Lord-Lieutenant, along with the playing of the National Anthem, a toast to the Mayor and a final blessing.
Stu Vincent Photography