Sacred Heart Church, North Gosforth


The Sacred Heart RC Church is a Roman Catholic church and ecclesiastical parish in North Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. Situated between Wideopen village to the north and Gosforth Park to the south, the church was made a Grade II listed building in 2006. It is notable for its stained glass windows bearing designs by members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, in particular Sir Edward Burne-Jones.

History

St Mary's Church

The church is a 19th-century former Anglican church, built and donated by Thomas Eustace Smith in the 1860s, and named St Mary's. Use of the church fell following the more general use of St Columba's church in Seaton Burn, which was closer to most of the parish, and the church later closed.

Sacred Heart Church

The church was bought in 1911 by Bishop Richard Collins, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and endowed to the Diocese. Mass was first led by the Bishop on 28 January 1912, and the church was formally dedicated to the Sacred Heart on 24 June 1912.

List of Incumbent Priests

DateIncumbent
1912–1918George C. Jeffreys
1918–1921C. Bede Tuohey
1922–1925Charles Hart
1925–1926None
1926–1937Charles Hart
1930–1937C. Bede Tuohey
1937–1948William T Harris
1948–1949James O'Brien
1949–1962James Phelan
1962–1964William McKenna
1964–1984Edward Ord
1984–2000Thomas Cass
2000–2008Joseph Travers
2008–presentJames Dunne

Architecture

Built in the 1860s, the church is designed in the Early English Gothic style, although much of the masonry is brick rather than more traditional stone. The architect is unknown, but due to a number of similarities to the church of Baldersby St James in North Yorkshire, the parish believes that it is the work of William Butterfield or one of his students.

Stained glass windows

The church is notable for its stained glass windows, bearing designs by Pre-Raphaelite artists Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Madox Brown and William Morris.