The history of the Northampton Saints and their home in St James

The Northampton Saints currently play in Englands top division of rugby in their home stadium Franklin's Gardens, with their current nickname, The Saints, deriving from their home in St James.

The Northampton Saints were formed back in 1880, originally named Northampton St. James, by Rev Samuel Wathen Wigg, who was a local clergyman. Following their establishment, it did not take long for Northampton to have one of the major rugby union teams in the country. Local farmer Harry Weston, who was the first Saints player, was awarded an England cap just twenty years after their establishment. However it wasn’t until 1995 that the rugby union turned professional, where the club was then taken over by Keith Barwell, a local businessman.

The Saints have played at their home in St James, Franklin’s Gardens, named after John Franklin who bought the site in 1886, since 1880. The stadium currently holds approximately 15,250 people and has 40 corporate boxes. It has four stands, named: The Carlsberg Stand, Cinch Stand, Church’s Stand and the Barwell Stand which replaced the Sturtridge Pavilion and first debuted in 2015 in a game against Saracens.

In September 2021, The Saints announced a sponsorship with cinch, an online car dealership, the stadium then became cinch stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, which is it's current name today.