It is not clear how Sir Arthur Blomfield came to be selected at Kettering, although he did carry out significant restoration work at St Mary the Virign at Weekley only 4 miles from Kettering in 1873. Sir Arthur Blomfield was a serious architect of national importance; the winner of the RIBA gold medal in 1891. Much of his new work was church work or school work in the gothic style, with much of his church work being church restoration. His reconstruction of the nave of Southwark Cathedral is a prominent example amongst many that also included the major restoration at Chester Cathedral. Blomfield was prominent figure in the gothic revival and clearly shared with Billings many of the misgivings about the post-medieval work at Kettering. The Faculty Application of Oct 3rd, 1889 records the following new work undertaken by the then incumbent Revd Canon Henry Lindsay:

New vestries; galleries to be removed; tower arch to be opened; repair roofs and floors; church to be re-seated; bells to be re-hung; doorway in the chancel to be moved; exterior to be repaired using oak and Weldon stone.

The work went considerably further than this, and incorporated new fittings and glazing throughout, changes in floor levels and re-ordering of the monuments. The chancel screens, which Billings noted as absent were designed by Blomfield also. Billings had written of the screens we know nothing, but they are described in Bridges Northants (John Bridges The history and Antiquities of Northamptonshire 1791).

We gain an insight into the process of the works as the consultation process that preceded them is described in a contemporary newspaper cutting held in the County Archives:

Mr. Blomfield ... came and gave one or two days to the work of examining and thoroughly overhauling the church and after he had done so he left behind him an assistant, who remained for a week in the place making further examinations. Plans were afterwards sent down by the architect showing the extent and nature of the alterations he considered advisable, but the committee, while they accepted the plans en bloc, thought that it would desirable before commencing any portion of the works to obtain some idea of the amount of support they were likely to receive ...to obviate the possibility of future misunderstandings.

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The nave shortly after Blomfield's re-ordering	The nave today - very little has changed!

The report describes how, at public meeting, each element was received. The archway between the tower arch the nave... which was only visible from the outside would be opened up to the interior. (Applause)... It was proposed to sweep away the existing pews and side galleries - (renewed applause). The public meeting deferred their approval on the design of the new vestry and choir screens, leaving these as detailed matters for the committee to review. In execution, the full Blomfield scheme was carried out, and the interior, as shown on a C19th postcard held in the County Record office is very much as the church appears today (above left), except for the removal of Blomfields light fittings and changes in the reredos treatment (above right) The extent of the C19th work in the fabric of the church can be seen at a glance on the sketch plan below which is coloured to denote the architectural development of the fabric overall. In the plan everything that is green relates to this major re-ordering.