For whom North church bells tolled
Nostalgia Editor THE tolling bells of England’s churches and cathedrals have been calling the faithful to their knees for centuries.
But today, it’s a sound that seems to be dying out.
If, 50 years ago, we still lived in a God-fearing society and churches were often full to bursting, organised Christianity has increasingly found itself on the retreat.
A report in The Guardian recently highlighted a British Social Attitudes survey revealing “more than half the population say they have no religion, and the generation gap on religious affiliation is widening”.
Across all denominations, fewer are going to church.
And the figure keeps falling. According to the last Census in 2011, just under 60% considered themselves to be Christian, while another review four years earlier found only 10% of us attended church on a weekly basis.
The same survey found 59% of people “never or practically never go to church”.
It seems many step into hallowed space only for christenings, weddings or funerals.
Compare this to 50 years ago, and another British Social Attitudes survey reveals 74% of people “belonged to a religion and attended services”, but by 1983 this figure had fallen to 55%.
So what of the churches of the North East?
From mighty cavernous cathedrals to tiny country chapels, our region is home to a wealth of fabulous ecclesiastical constructions.
Magnificent buildings like Durham Cathedral, Hexham Abbey and St Nicholas’ Cathedral in Newcastle are steeped in history. But so too are many smaller, humbler places of worship.
Take our cover image of St John The Baptist Church, on the corner of Newcastle’s Westgate Road and Grainger, taken in 1959.
Originating in the late 13th century, it’s a quietly historic church which has stood through the ages and remains an oasis of calm in the heart of the busy Newcastle city centre of 2018.
Some of the churches in our picture selection are places of worship no more.
St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Hebburn is now a Buddhist temple; the nearby chapel of St Bede in Monkton village, Jarrow, is a stylish family home; and St Mary’s, next to the Gateshead end of the Tyne Bridge, is today a heritage centre.
St John’s Church on Sheriff Hill, Gateshead, with its impressive tower and spire is said to be the highest point on Tyneside, while St Andrew’s on Newgate Street lays claim to being Newcastle’s oldest place of worship.
One of city’s original four parish churches, the building dates back to the 12th century, with the last major alterations taking place 600 years later.
Thankfully, the church survived cannonballs fired by besieging Scots during the Civil War in 1644, and the ancient graveyard remains especially atmospheric today.
Enjoy our pictures from the Sunday Sun archive. Front: The historic St John the Baptist Church, on the corner of Westgate Road and Grainger Street, Newcastle, April 1959. The place of worship dates from the late 13th century South Shields Market Place, the old Town Hall, and St Hilda’s Church, early 20th century