The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 8 miles (12.9 km)
Time to walk: Roughly 3.5 hours
Difficulty: Mainly off road & some steep hills
Parking: Bugbrooke Church car park. Postcode: NN7 3PB. what3words: senses.depravity.bigger
Public toilets: Public Houses in Bugbrooke & Pattishall plus the coffee shop in Upper Stowe
Map of the route:
There are already several walks on this website from lovely Bugbrooke
However during August 2025 the history & events that happened in this area, highlighted by a BBC programme “Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army,” & a series of excellent BBC Northampton podcasts, have thrown it into the spotlight
Always keen to bring Northamptonshire’s history to everyone through walking, the programmes & podcast got me thinking…could I devise a walk that would take in some of surrounding areas that were key to this story
This walk has been written without personal opinion & with facts taken from the public domain
Much has been written but, in synopsis, The Jesus Army, also known as the Jesus Fellowship Church & the Bugbrooke Community, was a neocharismatic evangelical Christian organisation which has been accused of being a cult. Part of the British New Church Movement, the name Jesus Army was used specifically for the outreach & street-based evangelism for which they were known
The Jesus Fellowship was founded in 1969, when Noel Stanton (1926–2009), at that time the lay pastor of the Baptist chapel in Bugbrooke, was inspired by a charismatic experience which led him to successfully expand the congregation, largely by appealing to a younger generation of worshippers. As the new church grew & became more charismatic in nature, many of the original congregation left to continue worshipping in more traditional churches. The Jesus Fellowship grew considerably &, by 2007, there were approximately 3,500 members in around 24 congregations in various cities and towns of the UK
The Jesus Fellowship frequently engaged in evangelism in public places, seeking through outreach to demonstrate the love of Jesus & the moving of the Holy Spirit. The Fellowship used various slogans, in its early days adopting “Love, Power & Sacrifice” & later “Jesus People, Loving People”, & the name “Jesus Army”
The church announced in May 2019 that it “will cease to exist”. Members had voted on 26 May 2019 to revoke the Church’s constitution, after a decline in membership to less than 1,000 following claims against its founder & two other then members of the church of a history of sexual assault during the 1970s
It was planned that the Jesus Centres charity the church created would continue to operate & that individual churches would become independent congregations. Fewer than 200 people were still living in communal households of the Jesus Fellowship
A 2024 “Final Report”, described as “staggering”, stated that a Jesus Fellowship Redress Scheme was available “to those who have suffered harm, abuse &/or adverse experiences within the Jesus Fellowship community
For more information the link to the BBC TV programme is: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002fxr8
The podcasts can be found on all the usual podcast channels & at this link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0lrtw85
Thank you too 003.5 Richard Parkes for doing the leg work for me on this one
Let’s Walk!
1. As with all the walks on the website from Bugbrooke this one starts in the Church car park. Walk to the entrance to the car park & turn right up Church Lane towards the centre of the village…
2. At the top of the Lane turn right at the island & bear right along the High Street…
Almost opposite the Baker’s Arms is a building where the Jesus Fellowship began…Bugbrooke Baptist Church
Noel Stanton, the founder of the Jesus Army, also known as the Jesus Fellowship Church, was born in Bedfordshire & educated at Bedford Modern School. When he was 18, he was conscripted into the Royal Navy. The Navy sent him to Sydney where he was approached by evangelist Frank Jenner, who asked him, “If you should die tonight, where would you go? Would it be heaven or hell?” Stanton felt conflicted for several months afterwards & consequently converted to Christianity the next year
When World War II ended, Stanton attended All Nations Bible College & then went into business. In 1957, he became the pastor of this Baptist church in Bugbrooke
Under Stanton’s leadership, the church took on characteristics of the Charismatic movement & then of the 1960s counterculture. In 1973, he began turning the church into an intentional community modelled after early Christianity, & the resulting movement became the Jesus Army
Stanton remained the Jesus Army’s leader until 2009, when he named Mick Haines the new leader before dying on 20 May. His grave is close by & we shall look further at this later
3. Cross the road & continue in the same direction, turning right at the island down Great Lane…
On reaching No.17 on the left…
…turn left down the side of the house & ahead through the gate
4. The path eventually emerges at the cricket club. Walk along the boundary line, keeping in the same direction to reach the gap in the corner
At the telegraph pole head right (following the Northampton Round arrow), passing the clubhouse on your right
5. Go through the gate & carry on pretty much straight ahead through the next field…
Follow the field edge through the next field, ignoring the bridge on the right!
6. How cool is this! – go through the tunnel & the one just after it…
Once through the second tunnel continue in the same direction
7. Upon reaching the junction in the picture below do not go over the bridge. Instead bear left & continue along the field edge which passes through a couple of fields…
At the gap pass through it & continue to follow the field edge on the right with the hum of electricity above your head
8. Finally you’ll arrive at a bridge on your right in the hedge…
Cross the bridge & head left & then, at the field edge, head right towards the tree at the top of the hill
9. Cross the stile & head to the very highest peak in front of you…
As the hill levels out it’s worth stopping to admire the views all around you
10. Go through the massive gate & head down towards the church…
Climb over the stile to the right of the farm
11. Ahead’s a kissing gate ahead…go through this
Welcome to Pattishall! The name is derived from the Patishall family, three of whom were eminent judges during the 13th century, including one, Simon of Pattishall, who drafted Magna Carta
The first written evidence of Pattishall appears in the Domesday Book of 1086. ‘Pascella’ which scholars interpret as ‘Paetti’s’ or ‘Paettel’s’ hill. The site of this is probably where the Church & Manor house stand today
12. Continue down the road into the village…
…passing the church on the left. The Church of the Holy Cross stands on a small limestone plateau & dates back to Saxon times but there are also Norman additions
13. On reaching the Crescent turn right…
…& then left at the fork
14. On reaching the cycle sign turn left & go down to the road…DO NOT go up the alley…
At the end of the track turn right to follow the road
15. Head into Fosters Booth…
The tiny settlement of Fosters Booth is located on the A5 approximately 4 miles north of Towcester. The name Fosters Booth derives from “Foresters” Booth & the present ‘Peggotty’s Restaurant’ (Nepalese) may well have been the inn where hunters refreshed themselves when Whittlewood to the south was an important royal forest
Carefully cross the A5 & head up the lane opposite
16. Just after number 14 (on your right) cross the stile & walk diagonally left to a further stile…
Cross this one & continue in the same direction
17. On reaching the gap pass through it & walk down the hill keeping the hedge on your left…
Cross the next stile & then the one opposite before heading right down the hill keeping the hedge on your right to the bottom just before left corner
18. Continue ahead &, hidden in the bushes, at the bottom is a bridge… cross this & head directly opposite…
On reaching the gap in the hedge, pass through it & turn immediately left
19. At the corner continue on a path which leads through the bushes, do not climb the hill…
Cross over the stile in the gap in the hedge & turn left
20. In the corner locate the next stile. Cross it & head down to the road…
Ignore the footpath opposite & head right up the road, also ignoring a further footpath shortly afterwards
21. Just after passing a black bench turn left through the gate in the picture below & follow the track ahead…
Go through the next gate & head straight to the bottom right corner of this field
22. On reaching the corner cross over the stile & through the gap…
…turning left & following the hedge down the hill.
On reaching the gap pass through it & continue through the long grass ahead
23. At the tree in the picture below turn left over the stile & follow the right field edge. This isn’t the greatest field to navigate, but your ultimate destination is the metal gate in the bottom left near the farm buildings…
At the gate do not pass through it. Instead turn right & keep the hedge on your left. Follow the field edge, ignoring the gap on the left
24. You’ll eventually come to a bridge…
Cross this & head diagonally right looking for a, slightly hidden stile which leads to the road
25. Turn right & carefully follow the road. Cars do move quickly along here so please watch out
At the corner you’ll find something that you may not be aware Northamptonshire is famous for…
90 years ago two men drove a van with a radio receiver to this spot. The experiment that followed helped win a battle in a war that had yet to start
The plaque tells how two men, Robert Watson-Watt & Arnold Wilkins showed for the first time how radio waves could be bounced off aircraft up to eight miles away. They did so with little more than a set of wooden poles, some wire, a receiver & an aircraft. These were picked up by the transmitters on the top of Borough Hill – see this link for our walk around the Hill which picks up the story
The results of what became known as the ‘Daventry Experiment’ meant radio waves could detect aircraft & it’s thought that the Battle of Britain could not have been won without it
26. Head up the hill to the left side of the wood opposite. Once at the corner follow the field edge up the hill…
At the top cross over the stile
27. Head towards the left of the house on top of the hill…
…& then go through the gate & follow the path to the road
28. Turn left down the road &…welcome to Upper Stowe, which was once called ‘Butter Stowe because the London carrier collected butter here
Follow the road round to the right, ignoring the footpath sign
29. At the island, where the road forks, our route is the right BUT….
…to the left is the Old Dairy Farm, which is well worth a stop for a cup of tea & a slice of cake!
30. If you have partaken go back to the island & bear right along the road out of the village…
Follow the sign & enter the field & keep the hedge on your right
31. Pass through the gap & bear left downhill with the hedge on your left…
At the bottom go through the gap, carefully cross the road once more & walk up the driveway opposite
32. Follow the driveway through the farm…
On reaching the cycle track continue down the track keeping the hedge on your left….
Although you can’t see them, as the trees are so high, close to here on the left are two of the farms associated with the Fellowship…New Creation Farm & Shalom Farm
New Creation Farm covered 100 acres & provided part of the Jesus Fellowship’s £15 million annual income, with a shop selling chicken eggs. Another business, Good Timber, also had its base here too
33. Continue in the same direction, passing through the gap & heading towards the green train bridge in the distance…
Go through the gap & make your way over the train line bridge…
34. Pass over the stile & head diagonally right to a stile half way up the field edge opposite…
…& head to the brow of hill ahead
35. Follow the path towards the house in the distance…
Pass by the property & over the canal bridge
36. Follow the track to the road…
…& carefully cross the road & enter the field opposite
37. Head diagonally right towards the village…
It’s a pretty clear path here so keep going through the paddocks
38. In middle of the last two houses make your way through the kissing gate…
To arrive back at the car park on the right
So that’s the end of this walk around the area where these events once happened
Many people who wish to pay their respects to their loved ones & relatives have asked where the burial ground is.
Please note that this is not on any public walking path, but on private land at Cornhill Manor. The burial ground, including the car park, is private property & not open to the public for recreational use.
Specific arrangements have been made with the burial ground to allow visits during the day solely for those paying respects to their loved ones
The most serene, quiet, walled-garden contains the graves of many members
The gravestones, as well as bearing the names of the people, also bear theie ‘fellowship’ names – it is quite a humbling place
The grave of Noel Stanton who started the movement is also here, just insignificant amongst the others…
It truly is a peaceful place
Like we say, the burial ground is open for people wishing to pay their respects & access to it & car parking are granted on any day between the hours of 10.00 & 20:00
Go Walk!