England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Newcastle upon Tyne All Saints

The Parish

Newcastle upon Tyne (hereafter simply Newcastle) lies in the extreme south of Northumberland forming part of the border with County Durham, the Tyne performs that boundary function. Newcastle is the major city of the county, its capital and seat of local administration. Newcastle is situated some 276 miles north of London and 117 southeast of Edinburgh and sits on the main A1 road (The Great North Road) which connects the two, modern communications also connect with the main East Coast rail line passing through Newcastle, a major stop and junction for the railway too. Once consisting of a just a short stretch of waterfront and hinterland, the metropolis that is today's Tyneside has engulfed many former villages and become contiguous to the North Sea coast and for almost 5 miles in every other direction. Newcastle's economy grew from its great strength as a port, the exporting of coal from Newcastle being almost a cliché but was certainly true, industries of many kinds grew up around the port, shipbuilding being one of the more obvious. The city also functions as the main market for its region, possesses all the shopping, and white collar businesses for a regional capital. Newcastle was not a city at the time of this transcript, that status being granted only in 1882. St Nicholas church then becoming the cathedral church. Newcastle sits on the banks of Tyne which drains the area to the nearby North Sea, a journey of 12 miles by river. The parish of All Saints is sited at around 20 metres above the sea, the banks of the Tyne rising steeply into the city, local heights rise nearby to almost 120 metres within a mile or so. All Saints parish covered the eastern section of the city including former rural areas now covered in housing & industry, it included large sections of the city's docklands and some of the poorest areas in densely packed yards & tenements, the parish area of just under 700 acres would have supported a growing population of around 25,000 parishioners at the end of this transcript's period. Newcastle is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area of England.

The Church

All Saints' church was deconsecrated in 1961 and has had many uses mainly as offices since that event. It sits on the northern side of Pilgrim Street close to the waterside and the iconic Tyne Bridge. Whilst records show an early church of the 12th century on this site, the medieval church which once stood here and included a 12th century Norman Romanesque doorway amongst its fabric. Today's former church was built between 1786 & 1796 and throws together two distinct pieces into a unified whole. The stunning tower, a major feature of the city's skyline as it stands on the top of steeply falling ground into the Tyne, is the principal feature which draws attention. Ironically it was something of an afterthought but was eventually added to the south of the main body. That main body makes use of classical forms including Tuscan & Corinthians columns and forms an oval structure unlike conventional church design. Like most urban churches this is one to approach on foot after finding one of the city's car-parks as there is little if any parking close by. The urban setting, tightly enclosed to both north and west, reduces the opportunities for the photographer but viewed directly from due south and due east the former church is an impressive building even if not used for its designed function.