In this week’s blog post, our volunteer Cathryn has been looking at our neighbour, the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas and its links to Newcastle’s maritime past.

If you’ve ever visited us here at Newcastle Castle, you’ll have seen, and perhaps visited our neighbour Newcastle Cathedral. Whilst St Nicholas, who the cathedral is dedicated to, is more usually associated with Christmas and gift giving, two of his many patronages include sailors and merchants. With Newcastle boasting a rich maritime and trading history, you’ll find plenty of links to the two both inside and outside the cathedral.

First, let’s take a quick look at the history of the cathedral. The then parish church of St Nicholas was built shortly after the Norman conquest at the end of the 1000s, originally built from timber, it was rebuilt with stone in the 1100s. We don’t know the exact location of the Norman church, but it is likely to have been close to the castle. As the town grew and developed the church outgrew its location and moved to its current site. The present building was completed in the mid-1300s, becoming a cathedral in 1882 when Newcastle was made a city. Fun fact, Newcastle Cathedral is the only cathedral in England dedicated to St Nicholas.

The cathedral’s Lantern Tower was built in 1448, and at almost sixty metres tall, (that’s just over 194 feet), it was the highest structure in Newcastle for hundreds of years. The tower was paid for by Robert and Alice Rhodes, who were local businesspeople and philanthropists. The tower isn’t the couples only mark on the cathedral, you’ll find their coat of arms on the font, which also dates to the 1400s. For over 300 years a beacon was lit on top of the tower. This light guided both travellers from the north, and ships coming up the Tyne. It fell out of use as what was effectively an inshore lighthouse with the introduction of gas lighting. In 2011 the tower’s now electric light was turned back on, forty years after it was turned off in the early seventies.

Inside the cathedral you’ll find memorials and monuments to some of Newcastle’s most famous figures. One such figure is Newcastle’s version of Dick Whittington, Roger Thornton (whether Thornton owned a cat or not is unknown). He was a merchant who served as Mayor of Newcastle several times between 1400 and 1426, and as an MP between 1399 and 1419. Although he is popularly known as Newcastle’s Dick Whittington, it has been suggested that Thornton came from a landed family in North Yorkshire. Whatever his origins, he became a successful wool and cloth merchant, and was also involved in lead and silver mining in Weardale. In 1412 he founded, by royal license, the Hospital of Saint Katherine, also known as the Maison Dieu or Thornton’s Hospital. It was located in the Sandhill area of the Quayside close to the Guildhall, and housed a priest who acted as warden, nine poor men and four poor women. The residents were provided with food and clothing and were to pray daily for the health and souls of the hospital’s benefactors and Newcastle’s townspeople. Following his death in 1430, he was buried in All Saints’ Church. The Flemish style monumental brass which depicts Roger Thornton and his wife Agnes along with their fourteen children was eventually moved to Newcastle Cathedral and can now be found opposite the altar and Great East Window. Another fun fact, you can find a statue of Roger Thornton along with statues of Henry Hotspur, Thomas Bewick and Sir John Marley above 45 Northumberland Street.

Another famous Newcastle figure memorialised in the cathedral is Lord Collingwood. He was born within sight of the cathedral in The Side, where Milburn House now stands. A commemorative bust and plaque can be found above the entrance marked D Floor, so take a look when you’re next passing by. He volunteered for the Royal Navy at the age of 12, serving first aboard the frigate HMS Shannon. He formed a lifelong friendship with Nelson after the two met in Jamaica in 1772 where they were serving as midshipmen. During his naval career Collingwood saw action in the American Revolutionary War (including at the Battle of Bunker Hill), the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. Collingwood is probably best known for taking over the command at the Battle of Trafalgar following Nelson’s death, and on his death in 1810 Collingwood was buried next to Nelson in St Paul’s Cathedral. A memorial to him was put up sometime after the death of his wife Sarah in 1819. Yet another fun fact, Collingwood attended the Royal Grammar School, which was located opposite what is now Central Station. To get there he would have had to walk along what is now Collingwood Street.

A more recent link between the cathedral and Newcastle’s maritime history can be seen with the Danish Seamen’s Memorial and Danish Memorial Window, both found in the north aisle. After the invasion of Denmark by Nazi Germany in 1940, any Danish ships in British ports or waters came under British protection, with Newcastle becoming the official home port of the Danish Merchant Navy. The St Nicholas building opposite the cathedral became their base, and a memorial plaque can be found here. Somewhere between 3000 and 4000 Danish seamen sailed from Newcastle between 1940 and 1945. Designed by cathedral architect Ronald G. Sims, the Danish Seamen’s Memorial was unveiled in 1982 and can be found directly underneath the Danish Memorial Window. The four slates of the memorial represent the four main islands of Denmark, and every year on the Sunday closest to Danish Liberation Day (5th May), an annual service of remembrance is held. The Danish memorial window was designed by Mike Davis and was unveiled in 2002. The window shows the symbols for the virtues of faith, hope and charity as well as the coats of arms of Copenhagen, Marstal and Aarhus, where many of the sailors had come from, along with those of Newcastle.

As you can see there are many links to Newcastle’s maritime and trading history in both Newcastle Cathedral and the surrounding area. So, the next time you’re in or around Newcastle Cathedral, be sure to keep an eye out for the sites mentioned here.