The Cathedral Church of St Nicholas, Newcastle, also known as Newcastle Cathedral is the cathedral for the Church of England diocese of Newcastle and the seat of the Bishop of Newcastle.
Fun facts
- A church was built on the site of St Nicholas’ Cathedral during the Norman period.
- The church was damaged by fire in the 1200s but was repaired and extended.
- It is said that there is a plague pit next to St Nicholas’ cathedral.
- The lantern spire was added in the 1400s.
- For hundreds of years the spire was used as a navigation point by ships on the River Tyne.
- In the 1640s, during the English Civil War, the inside of the church, including much of the stained glass, was badly damaged by Scottish armies.
- It is said that John Marley, the Mayor of Newcastle, saved the church from being blown up by the Scottish armies during the English Civil War by putting Scottish prisoners in the lantern tower.
- The church was restored in the late 1700s and was given Cathedral status in 1882 when it became known as the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas.
- There is a bronze statue of Queen Victoria in the public square outside the cathedral.
- One of the stained glass windows in the cathedral features the Turbina, the first steam –turbine powered steam ship. Today the Turbina is on display at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle.
- There is a monument to Vice Admiral Lord Collingwood inside St Nicholas’ Cathedral. Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and played an important role in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Then and now
Find more images of St. Nicolas’ Cathedral on the Co-Curate website.