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1838
In July 1838 a public meeting of local Catholic residents of Newcastle
passed a resolution "that ... it behoves the Catholic Body to endeavour
to erect a large and handsome Church, that may be at the same time
an honour to their religion, an ornament to the Town, and capable to
afford sittings for about twelve hundred persons".
The Catholic population of Newcastle was poor; their resolution to build
a great church an act of faith. Leading members of the committee overseeing
the project were James Worswick and William Riddell, his assistant priest.
A subscription list was opened and by 1842 the total amounted to £6,500
(equivalent to around £1 million today). The land was purchased and Augustus
Welby Pugin was commissioned to design the building.
1842
Pugin, a convert to Catholicism and famous for his major contribution
to the neo-Gothic decoration of the Houses of Parliament, visited Newcastle
in 1842 and, shortly after, produced his design. The committee was
anxious that the project should not exceed its very modest budget,
but Pugin doubted that it could be done for so little.
Despite the committee's various cost-cutting suggestions, the final
design was much as Pugin intended, except that his tower and steeple
were not to be built.
1844
The building work had been entrusted to George Myers, Pugin's friend
and principal builder. By this time, construction was well under way
and the architect and builder were agreeing alterations as they went
along.
The church was opened on 21st August 1844. The first parish priest was
William Riddell, who had been appointed bishop earlier that year. James
Worswick had died the previous year and had been buried in the church
as it was being built.
1850 - 1872
On 29th September 1850, the Diocese of Hexham was created and St. Mary's
became the Cathedral Church of the Diocese. On 23rd May 1861 the title
of the Diocese was changed to that of Hexham & Newcastle. The Cathedral
was dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption on 21st August 1860.
Thanks largely to a bequest from Elizabeth Dunn, who had died in 1870,
a tower and steeple could finally be added.
1894 - 1944
To celebrate the Golden Jubilee in 1894, considerable redecoration work
was carried out with a vast amount of stencilling work around the arches
and windows. In 1901, the work continued and included the erection
of the Baptistery, re-tiling the floor and the installation of decorated
tiles around the walls and on the window sills.
During the Second World War, bomb blasts caused much damage to the stained
glass windows resulting in the windows on the south wall being replaced
by plain glass.
1980 - 1998
Work was started on restoring the roof, which was badly affected by dry
rot. While this was underway, the internal stonework was cleaned and
much reordering was done (to accommodate post-Vatican II reformed liturgical
practice). This included raising the level of the sanctuary floor;
installing the Lady Chapel altar as the new free-standing high altar;
the Sacred Heart Chapel reverting to being a Blessed Sacrament Chapel.
The cost of the modern repairs and re-fittings of the 1980s was more
than ten times the cost of building the entire church in the 1840s!
The Cathedral Centre was opened in January 1985. In May 1998, renovation
work was carried out to the centre and it reopened as "Café Cathedral".
On 21st August 1997, the Cathedral website was inaugurated.
In September 1998, an audit of the Cathedral was commissioned. The
architects report proposed a four-year programme which included building
repairs, improvements to the heating system and restoring of the Cathedral
fabric. Work began in the summer of 1998 to install Central Heating in
Cathedral House.
1999
August
The Cathedral crucifix was restored to its original position in the
sanctuary, facing the congregation, on Thursday 19th August. This
was its location from 1860 until 1982 when the major reordering was
completed. It was felt at the time that the crucifix should be moved
to the side of the sanctuary as an experiment and on a temporary
basis following the removal of the rood screen underneath it and
the raising of the sanctuary floor-level. The experiment revealed
an overwhelming consensus in favour of restoring the crucifix to
its original position. A clear indication of this was that the appeal
for funds to relocate the crucifix was completed in under 30 minutes
of it being announced.
On Saturday 22nd August, His Lordship Bishop Ambrose Griffiths, Bishop
of Hexham & Newcastle, sealed the Cathedral's West Door in preparation
for the Holy Year. The door, which was designated the diocesan
Holy Year Door, was opened on Christmas Eve, signalling the beginning
of the Jubilee Year 2000.
September
The Cathedral's Statue of Our Lady was moved to the former Lady Chapel
on Wednesday 8th September. Designed by Edward Pugin, it was relocated
to its former position close to the beautiful carved carved stone
panels in front of the confessional rooms. It was felt that this
location would be a more prayerful and secure area for private devotion
to the patron of the Cathedral.
December
On Christmas Eve, the Jubilee Door was opened by His Lordship Bishop
Ambrose, signalling the beginning of the Jubilee Year 2000.
29th September 2000
The Cathedral celebrated the 150th Anniversary as Cathedral Church of
the Diocese of Hexham & Newcastle.
2002
May
As part of her Golden Jubilee celebrations, Her Majesty The Queen came
to Tyneside on 7th May to open the Metro extension from Newcastle
to Sunderland, the Millennium Bridge between Gateshead and Newcastle
and the Cardinal Hume Statue & Memorial Garden at the Cathedral.
December
The interior decoration of the Cathedral was completed. However, the
installation of the new lighting system was delayed and would not
be completed until February 2003.
2003
January
The panels depicting Ss Aidan, Cuthbert, Benet Biscop & Bede, which
had been housed in the café for the past twenty years, were
returned to their original location in the carved stone reredos at
the back of the sanctuary. Aidan & Cuthbert, of the Holy Island
of Lindisfarne, are grouped together on the left and Benet Biscop & Bede,
of Monkwearmouth, are grouped together on the right. The panels were
first installed in the church in 1902.
February
The interior decoration was completed with the installation of a new
lighting system.
May
On Wednesday 21st May 2003, the previously hidden underground crypt
in the courtyard was located. It had been sealed and covered over
with grass since 1848 when Bishop William Riddell [1847] and Fr William
Fletcher [1848] were buried there. Both men died from the typhus
fever which swept through Newcastle and this was the likely reason
for the sealing of the crypt.
June
As part of the Cathedral redevelopment, started in 1998, the new Diocesan
Books & Media Centre was opened on 19th June by Bishop Ambrose,
Bishop of Hexham & Newcastle. On the same day, the new Cloister
Café was opened. The Centre and Café were built on
the site of the existing Café Cathedral and a new cloister
was erected between Cathedral House and the former baptistry, creating
an enclosed courtyard.
September
The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, visited the Cathedral on 16th
September to formally unveil the Tyneside Irish Colours plaque and
open the Pauline Books & Media
Centre.
October
On the evening of Thursday 2nd October, Bishop Ambrose and Tony Flynn,
Leader of Newcastle City Council, with the Sheriff and Lady Sheriff
of Newcastle, led a ceremony for the lighting of the Cathedral spire,
the lighting of the Cardinal Hume statue and garden and the back-lighting
of the church's three east windows.
2004
June
The first in a series of new stained glass windows in the Cathedral
was unveiled and dedicated by Bishop Kevin in the Cathedral on Sunday
27th June. The window, the first new stained glass window to be installed
in over 100 years and replacing one of the windows damaged by the
bombing of Newcastle during World War II, is dedicated to the life
of Private
Adam Wakenshaw VC. Private Wakenshaw died saving his comrades in
rearguard action in a battle at Mersa Matruh on 27th June, 1942.
He was posthumously
awarded the Victoria Cross, the only member of the Forces from Tyneside
to be awarded this honour in the Second World War.
2005
May
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the ministry of the Sisters of
Mercy in Newcastle, a new "Mercy Window" was unveiled and dedicated
on Tuesday 31st May.
2006
January
Two new stained-glass windows were installed in the Blessed Sacrament
Chapel. Bishop Kevin Dunn officially unveiled and blessed the windows on
28th January.
November
A new brass rood screen was installed at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel.
A new three-pane window depicting the industrial heritage of Tyneside
was unveiled and blessed by Bishop Kevin Dunn on 26th November.
2008
March
On March 11th, Bishop Kevin Dunn was buried in the Cathedral Crypt. He died
on March 1st.
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