Visit to St James Church and Graveyard, Benwell
Report by Mike Pearce
St James’ Parish Church, Benwell, is the most important heritage church outside Newcastle city centre. When built in 1832 it stood in an area of green and pleasant fields and served an area inhabited mainly by the rich and famous. The graveyard is the last resting place of some 15,000 souls, some of whom were important citizens of Newcastle and the surrounding area while others were residents of the local workhouse. The last 180 years have seen great changes to the Benwell district as well as the church and graveyard. Even more changes are planned for the foreseeable future.
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Photo ©Mike Pearce
We were fortunate to have Judith Green and Cyril Winskell as expert guides to the graveyard and the church. Judith explained the tasks entailed in clearing and renovating the large graveyard where forgotten graves have been revealed by a process of deforestation and others, such as those of Richard Grainger and John Buddle, have been restored to something approaching their original state. This work has been carried out largely by volunteers, several of whom were hard at work burning Japanese knotweed and shovelling topsoil while we were there. Cyril showed us how the church, originally a chapel of ease designed by John Dobson, was enlarged to accommodate a thousand worshippers. Now this space can be modified and put to new multi-cultural purposes serving a rather different multifaith local community.
These changes all have to be paid for, so fund raising is an important issue. Grants from English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund are the most significant sources, but every little helps. In particular the roof is in serious need of repair to prevent the penetration of damp. We were made very welcome by all and offered lovely refreshments at the end of our visit. The church and graveyard are open to visitors every Tuesday from 11.00 to 3.30. If you were unable to join us on this occasion, you can easily go under your own steam. Everyone will be very pleased to see you.
City and County
August 2011
