Parish Notes Durham

Benfieldside St Cuthbert

[Population 1911: 4,178 incl. 231 persons enumerated in the Gateshead Union Workhouse Cottage Homes]

Church

The Church, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, occupies a commanding situation, south of the village, and when viewed from the north is acknowledged to be one of the most imposing structures in the county. It was erected by subscription in 1851, at a cost of £2,696 7s. 4d., and comprises nave, aisles, chancel, and handsome tower, surmounted by an octagonal spire, 130 feet high. The site for the church and burial ground was given by Thomas Wilson, Esq. of Shotley Hall, who also contributed upwards of £450 towards the building. The church is spacious and lofty, with open roof, and contains 412 sittings, 275 of which are free and unappropriated. The living, valued at £150, is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the crown and the Bishop of Durham, who present alternately. Rev. T.B. Thompson, incumbernt. [Whellan's History, Topography and Directory of Durham (and Newcastle) (1856), page 886.]

| Top of page |

Townships

| Top of page |

Topography

| Top of page |

History

| Top of page |

The Parish Chest

| Top of page |

Non-Parochial Records

Gateshead Observer 19/1/1850 BEFIELDSIDE CHURCH.- The district church at Benfieldside, Shotley Bridge, was opened by license on the 6th inst., on which occasion the Rev. F.B. Thompson, the incumbent, preached an eloquent and appropriate sermon, and a collection amounting to nearly £14 was made to assist in liquidating the debt still remaining on the building. Mr. Thompson has also been presented by the ladies of the congregation with an elegant silk gown and cassock.

| Top of page |

Monumental Inscriptions

| Top of page |

© 1999-2005 Original Indexes