Bringing historic church site back into use
UNUSUAL BUILDING TO BE PLACE OF WORSHIP FOR THE YOUNG
ONE of Newcastle’s most prominent historic churches is set to be brought back into religious use.
The Grade I listed All Saints Church, completed in 1789, occupies a key position above Newcastle Quayside on the city’s skyline near the Tyne Bridge, but is on Historic England’s at risk register.
It is one of only two elliptical churches in Britain – with an ovalshaped main body – the other being in Edinburgh.
Deconsecrated in 1961, the city council-owned building lay empty for 20 years and then had a variety of uses. These included use by the educational body Town Teacher and as a base for a faith group, but the church has been mothballed for the last four years.
Now the Church of England has awarded £2.6million for a project which aims to help All Saints revitalise church life in Newcastle city centre.
The grant will see the creation of a new Resource Church, aimed at people between the ages of 17 and 45, including students, office workers and their families. It is projected that the church will have a 400-plus strong congregation within five years. The total cost of the project is estimated at £4.7m with the rest of the money coming through grant funding, sponsorship, and the Diocese. Once established, the church will act as a catalyst for growth across the whole of the Diocese of Newcastle, working with other churches in both urban and rural communities to stimulate growth. Tyne Wear Building Preservation Trust has been working with the city council over the past year on a condition survey of the church and in the search for a new use. “It has been a cause for concern as this is one of the most important churches in the country,” said the trust’s Martin Hulse. “It was imperative that a new use was found for the building and this would be an incredible project.” The Bishop of Newcastle, the Right Reverend Christine Hardman, said: “The news that we have been successful in securing such significant funding to create our own Resource Church is wonderful and supports God’s call to us to be faithful and bold in everything that we do.
“This ambitious and exciting project will help transform Christian life across the Diocese.
“As the Resource Church grows, it will be able to provide support and resources to other churches as they too seek to grow and develop.”
The project, which represents a new approach for the Diocese and supports its fiveyear vision “growing church bringing hope”, is in response to challenges faced by the national church as a whole to increase church numbers.
The Reverend Ben Doolan, the newly-appointed leader for the Resource Church in Newcastle, said: “We are so grateful to the Strategic Investment Board of the National Church for their support.
“This is a new and exciting project that we trust will bring growth to the church in the city and other parts of the diocese. “We believe that within five years the Resource Church will have played its part in revitalising church life in the city of Newcastle, particularly reaching out to the huge numbers of young people who live in the city. We look forward to working with other churches in Newcastle to see this happen.” Cabinet Member for Communities on Newcastle City Council, Coun Habib Rahman, said: “Newcastle is a city of many faiths which prides itself on diversity and religious tolerance. “It is wonderful news that All Saints, one of the most prominent buildings in the city, could be brought back into use as a place where young Christians will come together, worship and enjoy fellowship.” The church was designed by leading local architect David Stephenson, and is the third tallest religious building in Newcastle and the seventh tallest structure in the city. It replaced the original All Saints or All Hallows Church which was probably built in the 12th century.
This ambitious and exciting project will help transform Christian life across the Diocese The Right Reverend Christine Hardman (inset)