Stained Glass of Percy Bacon & Brothers

St Chad's Church, Bensham from the south.

St Chad's Church, Bensham from the north.

St Chad's Church, Bensham from the south

Posted 7th August 2022.

St Chad's stands dominant above the surrounding terraced streets which originally housed the workers in the shipyards of the Tyne. It was a bold statement of grandeur in the midst of a growing industrial city, the work of Newcastle architect William Searle Hicks (1849-1902) of Hicks and Charlewood with whom Percy Bacon had worked at St Michael & All Angels, Newburn in 1897, and at St Mary's, North Creake, Norfolk in 1899. This was perhaps Searle's final design, and one of his largest and most ambitious projects. Unfortunately he did not live to see its consecration in 1903. The land on which the church stands was donated by Walter Henry James, 2nd Baron Northumberland and the building costs borne by Miss Emily Easton, a member of a wealthy mining family. The cost was reported to have been £26,000, an enormous sum in those days.¹ It is a lofty building, cruciform, cathedral-like in its proportions (it became known as the "Cathedral for the Working People" of Bensham), with a large octagonal lantern tower above the central crossing, largely Perpendicular in style. The design is not unlike that of Dunn, Hansom and Fenwick's for St Michael's on Westmorland Rd in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1892), another church somewhat out of proportion in its loftiness. At the east end accessed by an ambulatory is a small chapel, All Saints Chapel, which seats about 50 and was built for daily worship. In 1990 the west end of the nave was "boxed in" creating a community space with kitchen, and offices and meeting room above, along with what is effectively now a western gallery. These were built to replace an external building which occupied a site to the north of the church (now a children's' play area) which had fallen in to disrepair. Although such efforts to support local communities are to be commended, especially one which is in one of the poorest areas of Gateshead, the result is a church whose intrinsic beauty has been vandalised to an extraordinary degree, cutting the west window in two and making is impossible to see in its entirety. Were they still alive to witness this monstrous cruelty to such a magnificent building, I cannot see how Mr Hicks, or Miss Easton could possibly have countenanced such a hideous modification. I am not the only one to find this modification at odds with the fine Arts and Crafts style interior of this church. In a presentation of circa 2014, Inspired North East a charity set up to "achieve a sustainable future for church buildings in the north east", commented that the reordering of the west end under a "Faith in the City" project was, "fairly brutal".²

At the date of writing, St Chad's is listed on Historic England's At Risk Register³.

West Window: 1903: Composite image.
Zoom using the mouse wheel and click/drag to explore.

West Window; 1903. Composite image indicating what it would look like without the new modifications to the west end of the nave.

West Window; Lower lights: Angels holding the earth; 'And God called the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, he called Seas'.

West Window; Lower lights: Moses building the Tabernacle; 'According to all that I show thee...even so shall ye make it'.

West Window; Lower lights: Solomon building the Temple; 'I have hallowed this house which thou hast built, to put my name there forever'.

West Window; Lower lights: Abraham; 'He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God'.

West Window; Lower lights: Isaiah; 'Behold, I lay in Zion...a precious cornerstone... & I will make judgment the line and righteousness the plummel'.

West Window; Lower lights: BVM and disciples: Decent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; 'And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh'.

West Window; Upper lights and tracery

West Window; Upper lights: Centurion of Capurnaum, Ss Chad & Edward Confessor.

West Window; Upper lights: Ss James Minor, Paul & John Evangelist.

West Window; Upper lights: Centurion of Capurnaum, Founder.

West Window; Upper lights: St Chad holding a model of St Chad's, Bensham.

West Window; Upper lights: St Edward the Confessor. He holds a model of Westmister Abbey which he founded in 1042.

West Window; Upper lights: St James Minor.

West Window; Upper lights: St Paul.

West Window; Upper lights: St John Evangelist.

West Window; Tracery; Ship on tempestuous seas.

West Window; Tracery; Pelican in her piety.

West Window; Tracery; Dove representing the Holy Spirit.

The west window was inserted in 1903 as a memorial to Bishop Westcott of Durham and the architect, William Hicks who died before the church was completed. It was given by Miss Emily Matilda Easton, a generous benefactor to the church, not just at Bensham.⁴ She also funded the restoration of St Mary's Church, Hutton Magna, Co. Durham.⁵

Due to the modifications at the west end of the nave, it is no longer possible to view the entirety of the window. The lower lights can be seen by visiting the upper meeting room, but the upper lights and tracery can only be viewed close up by using a ladder on the west gallery. The photograph opposite is a composite and gives an indication of what the entire window would have looked like before the community rooms and gallery were built into the west of the nave. A postcard of circa 1930 gives an idea of the original view west.

The lower lights depicting anti-types, the three leftmost lights representing the building of the material fabric of the church, while the spiritual fabric is illustrated by those on the right.
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These are (l-r):

Angels holding the earth; "And God called the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, he called Seas".
Moses building the Tabernacle; "According to all that I show thee...even so shall ye make it".
Solomon building the Temple; "I have hallowed this house which thou hast built, to put my name there forever".
Abraham; "He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God".
Isaiah; "Behold, I lay in Zion...a precious cornerstone... & I will make judgment the line and righteousness the plummel".
BVM and disciples: Decent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; "And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh".

Above them are six saints holding their symbols (l-r) The Centurion of Capernaum; St Chad with a model of St Chad's Bensham; St Edward the Confessor holding a model of Westminster Abbey which he founded; St James, Minor; St Paul; St John the Evangelist.

In the tracery angels hold scrolls which read across the window; "The whole earth is full of his glory". Above them images of a sailing vessel on rough waters and a pelican in her piety. At the very top a white dove representing the Holy Spirit.

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1. Consecration ceremony report: The Building News and Engineering Journal, Vol 85, 02 October 1903, p411.
2. Inspired North East: Presentation document circa 2014: St Chad's Church, Bensham.
3. Historic England At Risk Register entry.
4. Durham County Advertiser - Friday 16 October 1903, p2.
5. Notice of Emily Easton's death at the age of 93, with report on her works for the church. Newcastle Evening Chronicle - Friday 26 December 1913, p4.

Links and other resources (links will open in new tab):

1. A Church Near You: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/13661/
2. Church of England Faculty Online; https://facultyonline.churchofengland.org/church-heritage-record-bensham-st-chad-613063
3. History of St Chad's: https://stchadsbensham.wordpress.com/about/