Beadles, Bibles and Bordeaux: A History of All Saints’ Church
The old church of All Hallows
In the second of our series of blog posts on Newcastle’s medieval churches, Cathryn will be taking a look at All Saints’ Church. Here you’ll find a site with a fascinating history including an athletic steeplejack and a light-fingered beadle.
First let’s take a look at its’ history. Two churches have stood on the site of All Saints’. The first a medieval church, known as All Hallows’ Church was founded sometime between 1150 and 1190, with the building being completed in 1286. By the 1780s the medieval church had fallen into a state of disrepair and during Easter week of 1786 the parishioners voted to completely rebuild the church, with work on the new church starting shortly after. Architect David Stephenson was commissioned to design the new building, which was completed with the building of the tower in 1796. Fun fact, when the weather cock was being fixed the steeplejack John Burdikin did a handstand on the very top of the church. When repairs were needed twenty years later his son did the same thing. By 1881 this new church had also fallen into a state of disrepair with churchwardens appealing for donations for repairs.
In the 1950s the church lost significant numbers of its’ congregation as people moved away from the area. The church was deconsecrated in 1961 (although it was used by the Old Catholic Church Anglican Diocese as the Church of St. Willibrord with All Saints) and was converted into offices in the 1980s. Before the opening of the Sage Gateshead in 2004, the building was used by the Royal Northern Sinfonia for rehearsals and concerts. In 2019 Gateshead Presbyterian Church, now All Saints Presbyterian Church took out a 150-year lease and began extensive restoration work on the building. In October that year a dedication ceremony was held, and All Saints is once again used for regular worship. Another fun fact, some people believe that a Roman Pantheon, (a temple dedicated to all the gods) once stood on the site.
Although the church has been repaired and restored several times things haven’t always gone according to plan. When the medieval church was being demolished in 1786, an unfortunate accident occurred. Gunpowder was used to break the mortar holding the stones of the tower together, and one of these stones above the Great West Door landed on Captain William Hedley, who died as a result. Hedley was a respected figure both in Newcastle and in France, where he had rescued a drowning child in Bordeaux harbour in 1783. It’s not just the church building itself that’s had issues with disrepair. In January 1802 a thirty-yard section of the churchyard wall along with some coffins collapsed into nearby Silver Street. Repairs to the wall and a house in Silver Street damaged in the incident came to a total of £249 12s and 1d.
A comical 19th century image of a Parish Beadle
We’ve often heard of thieves stealing lead from church roofs and windows, but lead thefts are nothing new. John Alderson (the parish beadle, responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the church and its grounds), opened five graves and stole the lead from the nine coffins in them before selling the metal on for profit. In July 1854 he was sentenced along with his wife and mother to eighteen months imprisonment. Alderson’s accomplice, bellringer Hewison Marshall received a sentence of twelve months imprisonment. After the events Alderson, a once liked and trusted member of the community became a figure of hate and known as, ‘Jack the Bad Beadle.’ The story doesn’t end there though, in the second half of the 1800s Alderson was a local bogeyman with Newcastle parents telling their children that he would take them away if they misbehaved. Supposedly, his ghost can be seen in All Saints’ churchyard at night, carrying a lantern looking for either more lead to steal or children to take away.
John Alderson isn’t the only light- fingered person in All Saints’ history. In March 1859 Henry Bullock attended a service at the church. At the end of service whilst other worshippers left Bullock, described by the Newcastle Chronicle as an 'idle vagrant,’ hid and stole prayer books, hymn books and Bibles, which he later tried to sell at local shops.
In our last blog post about Newcastle Cathedral, one of the memorials discussed was the memorial brass to Roger Thornton, his wife Agnes and their fourteen children. Originally this could be found in the medieval All Saints’ where it formed part of a large and impressive monument. Like all the other monuments etc. in the medieval church it was lost, but the monumental brass survived and continued to be held in the church until at least 1841, when it was cleaned and restored by the then vicar of All Saints’ the Reverend R. Green. The brass was moved sometime after this to Newcastle Cathedral where it can still be seen. We also discussed the various links to maritime history that can be found in Newcastle Cathedral, and the original All Saints’ Church had its own. On the north side of the church was the seamen’s porch and gallery, built in 1618 by the Master and Brethren of the nearby Trinity House. Painted panels decorated the gallery, with the centre panel showing the arms of Trinity House, whilst the four side panels depicted maritime Biblical scenes.
As you can see whilst All Saints’ Church has had a chequered history, it’s certainly an interesting and fascinating one.