Over the past two years, The Black, Green and Golden Age of Northampton Saints project has been a powerful exploration of the club’s rich heritage, shaped by the voices of those who lived it.
Rooted in the golden era of the 1950s and 60s, this community-led project has celebrated not just the achievements of Northampton Saints on the pitch, but also the deep personal connections, memories, and social history surrounding the club. Made by possible by funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and delivered by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, the project has uncovered stories that might otherwise have been lost, placing the lives and memories of players, fans, and their families at the heart of local sporting heritage.
The 1950s and 1960s marked a golden age for Northampton Saints, a period defined by exceptional talent and remarkable achievements. Legendary players such as Jeff Butterfield, Dickie Jeeps, Bob Taylor, and David Powell made a significant impact at both club and international level. In total, 27 Saintsmen earned international caps while playing for the club during this time.
During this era, numerous club records were set. Ron Jacobs holds the all-time appearance record with 470 games, closely followed by Don White with 448. Barry Oldham’s 185 tries rank him third in the club's history for tries scored, while Roger Hosen’s 1,463 points place him third on the all-time points list.
At the centre of the project has been a commitment to gathering and preserving personal stories from those who shaped this remarkable era. Through recorded interviews, community events, memory cafés, and outreach sessions, we’ve documented the voices of former players, their relatives, supporters, and others connected to the club. These oral histories offer a unique insight into post-war Northampton, a time when Saints players were often local and juggling their playing career alongside working and family life.
The project has been powered by people. 69 volunteers supported the work, many of them Northampton Saints fans themselves, bringing their own memories and passions to the task. They received training in oral history, digitisation, interpretation, and archiving, with them learning valuable heritage skills while helping to preserve local history.
Clare Clarke, Heritage Leads says “It has been both a joy and an honour to lead this project and to spend time with some of the Saints’ past players and true legends of the club. Hearing their stories, humour, humility and love for Northampton Saints has been deeply moving, and a reminder of just how special this club is. The wonderful team of volunteers and I feel incredibly lucky to have helped preserve these memories, to have shared in such treasured moments and to have been trusted with their personal archives. This project has been about much more than rugby, and I’m so grateful to everyone who welcomed us into their lives to tell that story.”
One major outcome of the project has been the care and protection of a growing Saints archive. Over 5,000 items in our collection or loaned by supporters, players, and families have been digitised, catalogued, stored, and preserved using archive-grade materials. From shirts and programmes to personalised correspondence, scrapbooks and photographs, these objects are now part of a digitalised managed collection that will be available to future researchers and fans alike. This work has also highlighted the gaps in the historical, which we are now focused on trying to fill.
The culmination of the project was our exhibition in May 2025, Black, Green and Golden Age, which brought together many of the voices and objects we uncovered. Unlike traditional exhibitions, this one centred emotion, memory, and dialogue, placing the players voice above linear chronology. Visitors heard the players tell their stories in their own words, saw images of the matches they played, and felt the emotional pull of a shared past.
For many relatives of past players, being invited to share memories and see their loved ones honoured brought deep emotional resonance and comfort, often rekindling powerful connections with the club. One former player, John Shurvinton, remarked on “how wonderful it is to be valued almost 60 years after hanging up my rugby boots.” Fellow Saint John Cooley reflected on the pride he felt in revisiting the club’s legacy: “I never expected the history of the Saints to be portrayed so well, and meeting up with my mate Brian Page was the icing on the cake. As a former player, it made me feel very proud to have played with such great people. Thanks for making us feel very important in the history of this famous club.”
While this chapter of the project is coming to a close, the legacy of Black, Green and Golden Age continues. We are exploring ways to further digitise the archive, share the oral histories online, and embed heritage activity more deeply within the club and local organisations. The friendships, connections, and skills developed during this project will continue to benefit the community, and we hope to inspire similar projects that use sport as a route into heritage.
Our thanks go to all who contributed – players volunteers, interviewees, community partners, and especially The National Lottery Heritage Fund and its players for making this work possible. Together, we’ve ensured that a golden age of Northampton Saints history will remain alive in the hearts, minds, and stories of Northampton, and these stories are now preserved for generations to come.
If you would like find out more about this project, please contact Clare and the team by emailing email [email protected].
