St Andrew's Church

About St Andrew's Church

St Andrew's is listed Grade I and is traditionally described as the oldest church in Newcastle, though that is a tradition rather than a finding: Historic England's entry records only 12th-century work in the chancel arch, the lower tower and the arcades, and an archaeological assessment commissioned by the Diocese of Newcastle in 2018 puts it more carefully as substantially the earliest of the city's three old parish churches. The thing to come for is the Norman chancel arch, dated in that assessment to about 1150 and carrying zig-zag moulding in two orders, above nave arcades of round piers with octagonal capitals. A radiocarbon date of around 1000 from a nearby excavation keeps an earlier church on the site a possibility rather than a proven fact.

The other surprise is Georgian: the south porch was refronted in 1726 with channelled rustication, a cornice and a segmental pediment, a classical frontispiece bolted onto a medieval church. John Dobson rebuilt the south transept in 1844. Look down as well as up, because medieval cross-slab grave covers are set in the floors, one in the chancel carved with a hammer and three horseshoes. The churchyard's northern boundary is the 14th-century town wall, which the church predates. It remains an active parish church with a workplace chaplaincy and is home to the Northumbria Deaf Mission; published opening hours vary between sources and depend on volunteers, so ring ahead before a special trip.

Featured in These Guides

Blog posts and guides that feature St Andrew's Church.

Historic Churches and Places of Worship in Newcastle City Centre

Newcastle has two cathedrals within ten minutes of each other, three medieval parish churches, an oval Georgian church above the Quayside and the cloister of a Dominican friary. A guide to the city centre's places of worship, and the honest truth about their opening hours.