St Katherine’s Gardens has been given a summer makeover by a coalition of community groups, with artists painting litter bins, fresh shrubs going into planters, and the memorial garden receiving a spruce up. Volunteers from Red Rumpus Community Arts, the Royal British Legion, Northampton College, and other organisations took part in the town centre project, co-ordinated by Northampton Town Centre BID. Grass areas were also mown as part of the preparation, with support from Northampton Town Council, West Northamptonshire Council, idverde and Veolia.
Four litter bins were hand-painted with floral designs by artists Little Sausage Factory, Littlest of Them All and Ash Mason. The motifs include cowslips — Northamptonshire’s county flower — and historical references to St Katherine. Tamsyn Payne of Red Rumpus Community Arts said the idea was inspired by a similar project in Kettering. “I saw what was happening over there and thought it was something worth bringing to Northampton,” she said. “It helps to brighten the place up and also stops a lot of the tagging we see.”
Northampton College added new shrubs and flowers to the planters, while Sport4Fitness CIC donated the plants. Volunteers worked through heatwave conditions, with the Mercure Hotel Northampton providing lunch. Mark Mullen, chief operating officer of Northampton BID, said the collaboration built on earlier restoration work funded by a £10,000 Lottery grant. “Since securing funding for the transformation of St Katherine’s Gardens, we have been delighted to work with so many community-minded groups keen to make a positive contribution to our town centre,” he said.
The gardens, which sit on the site of the 19th-century Church of St Katherine and form a walkway between the Bus Station and Horsemarket, were previously neglected. The BID-led restoration began in 2024 with a mural by Northampton College students depicting the garden’s history, including references to religious ceremonies and Sir Frank Dobson’s sculpture ‘Woman with a Fish’. The latest work adds to that scheme, with Bees Be Happy and Orange Juice Communications also among those lending support. Further details are available on the Discover Northampton website.
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