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All Saints Church

All Saints on Lower Pilgrim Street, Newcastle, is an eighteenth-century church built on the same site as its medieval predecessor that dated back to at least 1286.

At a glance

  • A church has stood on this site since the thirteenth century.
  • In 1786, the old church was demolished, and a new one designed by David Stephenson (1759-1819). Stephenson was a carpenter’s apprentice until he became the first Newcastle architect to train in London.
  • Stephenson’s design has clear Greco-Roman influences as it features ionic framing and pilasters and a Greek Doric style portico (a porch area supported by pillars). The tower, however, is Baroque – a grand and theatrical style of architecture that began in seventeenth-century Italy and spread across Europe.
  • The new church remains the only elliptical church building in England. The term ‘elliptical’ refers to the oval shape of the main section of the building.
  • The churchyard has many eighteenth and nineteenth century graves featuring memento mori symbols. ‘Memento mori’ means ‘remember death’ in Latin and including symbols like skulls, hourglasses, angels, and extinguished torches encouraged visitors and mourners to think about their own mortality and making the most of their lives.
  • Also, from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, a ghost story developed about the graveyard. John Alderson, the beadle who was supposed to take care of the church and its grounds, was caught stealing the lead from nine coffins to sell it for a profit. Alderson spent 12 months in prison but later became a bogeyman type figure who parents would warn their children about if they misbehaved. His ghost is still rumoured to haunt the churchyard to this day, carrying a lantern and looking for more lead or children to steal.

1893 – 2015

History

Before the construction of All Saints as it stands today, another church known as All Hallows was on the same grounds. All Hallows was one of Newcastle’s four original churches and was constructed some time between 1150 and 1190. St Nicholas’ Cathedral was Newcastle’s only official church at the time, with All Hallows, St. Andrew’s and St. John’s technically only being chapelries of the parish.

In 1696, the new bells founded for the church were made from the melted down metal statue of King James the Second who had been deposed during the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The statue previously stood in the Sandhill area of the Quayside.

All Hallows went through various restorations and changes through the following centuries but, by 1785, it was in a serous state of disrepair and the pillars supporting the building were giving way.

When the decision was made to demolish the old church, parts of the tower had to be blasted with gunpowder and, unfortunately, Captain William Hedley was killed by one of the stones falling on him while he was watching the demolition.

The construction of the new church cost £27,000, £2061.19s of which was made from the sale of the old pews, £30 from donations, and an additional £100 donated by a Mrs Atlee as she insisted that the internal fittings be made from mahogany rather than oak.

By the 1880s, the church had again fallen into disrepair and appeals were made for donations.

In the 1950s, the congregation was declining as people moved away from the area. By 1961, it was deconsecrated and turned into offices in the 1980s.

The building was also previously used by the Royal Northern Sinfonia before they moved over to the Sage in 2004.

An early aerial shot of All Saints.
Memento Mori symbols in the churchyard
Dunston Staiths

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