St John the Baptist Church, Newcastle upon Tyne : History and Building Description, Graveyard Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St John the Baptist Church, Newcastle upon Tyne

Church in Newcastle upon Tyne , England

54°58′12″N 1°36′56″W / 54.9701°N 1.6155°W / 54.9701; -1.6155OS grid referenceNZ245639LocationGrainger Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 5JGCountryEnglandDenominationAnglicanChurchmanshipTraditional CatholicWebsiteSt John the Baptist ChurchHistoryStatusParish churchArchitectureFunctional statusActive

St John's Church is a 13th-century church on the corner of Grainger Street and Westgate Road in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, dedicated to St John the Baptist. It is a Grade I listed building.^[1]

History and Building Description

The old church of St. John is believed to date from c.1287.^[2] William Gray, a 16th century topographer and burgess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, called it "a pretty little church, commended by an arch-prelate of this kingdom because it resembled much a cross".^[3]

The church, surrounded by modern buildings on three sides, is modest, with a low square tower featuring small pinnacles and windows with flattened arched tops. A stone in the south transept window commemorates Robert Rhodes, the builder of St. Nicholas' Cathedral's steeple in Newcastle, and a benefactor to the town's churches. The current stone is a copy of the original, removed around 1861 during repairs, and now housed in the castle.^[4]

Interior

The 15th-century font cover and the Jacobean pulpit are examples of local woodwork. The chancel, now the Lady Chapel, contains a window including the fragments of medieval glass with the earliest known representation of the arms of Newcastle. Further along the wall is a cruciform opening which enabled the anchorite, whose cell was above the present sacristy, to see the altar. The rood and reredos are both the work of Sir Charles Nicholson.^[5]

Graveyard

Part of the graveyard was built over in the 1960s for meeting rooms and a hall. As of 2010, there remained about ten gravestones. Two of these, that to Sarah and Sarah Hodgson,^[6] owners of the Newcastle Chronicle and that to the artist Ralph Waters^[7] are listed Grade II.

Irish actor and poet John Cunningham is buried in the graveyard.^[8] Not far from the east window lies a stone slab, part of a table monument, its four supporting pillars lying half buried in the soil beneath it. The inscription on it reads as follows:

Here lie the Remains of
JOHN CUNNINGHAM
Of his excellence
As a Pastoral Poet
His works will remain a monument
for ages
After this temporary Tribute of Esteem
Is in dust forgotten.
He died in Newcastle Sep. 18, 1773,
Aged 44.

References

^ "CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, Non Civil Parish - 1024728 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
^ "St John's church | British History Online".
^ Gray, William (1649). Chorographia, or, A survey of Newcastle upon Tine.
^ Charleton, R.J. (n.d.). A history of Newcastle-on-Tyne from the earliest records to its formation as a city. London: Walter Scott Ltd. pp. 142–145.
^ "St. John the Baptist's Church, Grainger Street, Newcastle". Retrieved 9 April 2010.
^ "HODGSON TOMB ABOUT 15 METRES EAST OF CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, Non Civil Parish - 1024730 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
^ "WATERS TOMB ABOUT 2 METRES SOUTH OF CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, Non Civil Parish - 1024729 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
^ "St John's church | British History Online".