Newcastle- Sept 2019 – St.Marys Cathedral

St. Mary’s Cathedral in Newcastle is a grade 1 listed building, catholic cathedral and the mother church of the Dioscese of Hexam & Newcastle and seat of the Bishop of the diocese. The cathedral was designed by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, an English architect, designer,artist and critic and was a pioneer of the Gothic Revival style of architecture. He designed many churches in England, Ireland and as far as Australia, but also the interior of the Palace of Westminster, and its iconic clock tower, later named the Elizabeth Tower which houses the bell known as Big Ben.

Construction of the cathedral began in 1842 and was completed by 1844 except for the spire and the tower which were added in 1872.

Sophie and I had been meaning to visit when we were in Newcastle, so this day was our chance.

View down the nave to the east window.
The East Window showing the Tree of Jesse (the genealogy of Jesus from Matthew’s gospel), showing kings and prophets of the Old Testament. The High Altar and Golden Crucifix.

The East window was designed by Pugin and made by renowned glassmaker William Wailes.

The High Altar
Blessed Sacrament Chapel screen: it bears the Latin words Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy)

There are some fab stained glass windows creating some lovely light in the cathedral

Blessed Sacrament Chapel window: Jesus the Bread of Life with Seraphim
North-East industrial heritage
Lady Chapel window: Our Lady, St George and St John the Apostle
South Aisle
Ambo or lectern (originally part of the pulpit)
Looking back down the nave towards the entrance. At the top is the Organ (built by Kenneth Tickell of Northampton in 2012–13) and choir gallery.

We really loved the light and colours in the Cathedral, it is a nice blend of modern and original features, and well worth a visit.

Stay tooned for more out and about in Newcastle.

59 thoughts on “Newcastle- Sept 2019 – St.Marys Cathedral”

      1. Ah. Interesting. There are historic towns in New Jersey like that. Not everyone likes it. I know people who have bought homes but several years later some “well-intended” persons petition the state for historic status of entire streets, rendering the home owner unable to renovate anything in their own home. It’s become controversial:

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  7. Fantastic pictures! How did you get the lines so vertically straight, without perspective distortion? Did you correct them after the shots in a special programme, or do you have one of the special and expensive lenses for architectural shots?
    Best,
    Pit

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  14. I love the light. I’m not sure how I feel about Pugin’s interiors. I visited the chapel at Upshaw College which he also designed and found it overwhelming and distracting. The cathedral doesn’t seem to be quite as overdone, but it would surely be difficult to sit there and concentrate on God. You’d be forever looking at the patterns or the colours or the windows. It’s obviously inspired by medieval interiors, which would also have been colourful, but everything in a medieval church would have been saying something about God. It is beautiful, though.

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  19. I think in the U.K. still the Catholics are not well considered in society (and I follow an indigenous religion, I couldn’t be Catholic and neither follower of any Christian, Jewish or Muslim religion because the tenets are opposed to my culture) So it is a surprise when I read Chesterton or when I see a magnificent building like this I have to confess is a surprise. In one comment I see that it is shocking the amount of money spent in a building when there is poverty, for what I know about Catholics I understand a mass in a building like this they, rich and poor, feel it like theirs, in the same way Anglicans and Muslims (I adore the Muslim temples in Iran) are surely proud of the buildings are made for their ceremonies. I don’t think people protest when a government makes museums or millionaires Congress buildings. Maybe it is just an hereditary opposition to Catholicism? I don’t say it as a critic but a genuine curiosity, I recall an English YouTuber that seemed afraid to say “it is okay to be Catholic” and said instead “Christian.”

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      1. https://www.newsweek.com/priests-commit-no-more-abuse-other-males-70625
        Being serious accusations I would like some official stats.
        A simple search show me also cases by the Anglican church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_Communion_sexual_abuse_cases but… I have not heard much about it.
        Of course abuse has to be denounced but an institution and the whole religion should not be judged by the bad elements, or, what is wrong too, we should not denounce one institution and be blind to what does our institution. There was a time in Peru and Chile when media was pushing that idea but in many cases it was false because parents wanted money, and others cases of abuse by teachers (not priests) were set under the rug. So the motivation was not moral but just for tv rating.

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