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St Mary the Virgin, Whickham
The Historic Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is still the heart and soul of the village of Whickham. The church was once the only place of worship for the surrounding communities of Swalwell, Sunniside, Dunston, Marley Hill and Streetgate. The villagers walked miles, up very steep hills, to attend any form of church service there. Fortunately for the people of the districts, over a period of time each of the communities not only started up their own established Church of England but other non-conformist churches came into being too.
It is intended to give details and a brief history of the newer churches and the clergy, but not to dwell deeply on the exterior of St Mary's, as over the years, this has been researched and written fully regarding its bricks and mortar. Therefore the Church building is being left to the experts and this account will concentrate on some of the wealth of material inside the church from the stained glass windows which are fascinating; the wonderful organ, the marvellous bells, and then there is the history of the church itself. History as diverse as the well-known and wealthy families who attended the church and who would leave Whickham Parish Church with many wonderful legacies and the famous people like William Shield, Henry Byrne Carr, Ralph Carr Ellison, and not so famous families who are buried in St. Mary's churchyard and lastly the Clergy themselves.
Churches have always played an important part in village life. In the olden days the church would collect a Tithe, which was allotted for its up-keep and although Tithes are a thing of the past, St Mary's over the years has on the whole been fairly well maintained by church members through a combination of plan-giving and fund raising activities when work needed to be carried out. At this present moment, although roof repairs have been completed, money is still urgently required.
More information about fund raising can be had from the church.
Information about the actual church building can be found on:
http://www.whickhamstmary.co.uk
The first Rector recorded in Whickham Church was in 1200 A.D.
The Rector at the beginning of the Twentieth Century was the Rev. Arthur Allwork.
The present Rector is the Rev. Duncan Reed.
The stained glass windows in Whickham Parish Church are something to behold; there are eighteen windows in all, fourteen are stained glass and four plain. The colours are astounding, such wonderful vibrant colours; on the right hand side of the Church, magnificent lilac, purple and red hues and on the left side we can enjoy the dark reds, blue and white.
There were lots of artists involved in the work of the windows and many people donated money in memory of loved ones, teachers or friends and their legacies have provided enjoyment for generations of visitors to St. Mary's.
As many as possible of the artists and companies who did the work on the windows will be named.
Looking East:
"The Sermon on the Mount"
Chancel:
Two windows; King David and Saint Gabriel
Nave:
Three depictions - Jesus as a Baby with his Mother and Joseph with the animals in the Stable plus Mary at Prayer.
Jesus on the Cross and Jesus carrying the Cross.
The angels coming to Mary and Her companions and Jesus with staff in hand talking to one of his people.
North Aisle:
St. Monica "To the Glory of God and in memory of Clare Burrowdale Huthwaite May 18th 1931"
Two depictions, one of St. Peter and the other of St. John.
Porch West:
"St. George".
West: Right Side:
"He is my beloved Son whom I am well pleased" and "Suffer little children to come unto me".
South Aisle:
"Suffer the little children" and "All ye who labour".
South West:
"Simeon and the Baby Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary".
In the Baptistry:
"Ascension of Our Lord".
In the South East section of the South Aisle:
"The Five Wise Virgins, our Lord rebuking Martha , the raising of Jairus' daughter, and Christ blessing little children".
Standing above the altar:
"The Rose Window".
North Aisle:
"St. Peter and St. James Curing the Paralytic at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple"
North Wall of Chancel:
"Augustine of Hippo"
West:
"Nativity Presentation - The Birth of Christ and the Presentation in the Temple".
This list of burials at St Mary's from 1901 shows just how many parishioners died in infancy at that time:-
July 18 Barbara Gilchrist Little (Whickham) Aged 19 days.
21 George Oloman (Swalwell), aged 10 weeks.
22 Catherine Scott Radford (Swalwell), aged 5 weeks.
23 William Benn (Swalwell) aged 32 years.
24 Ada Noble (Swalwell), aged 15 months.
28 Edmund Turner (Swalwell), aged 1 month.
28 James Hardy (Whickham) aged 72 years.
29 Bertie Hickson (Whickham), aged 3 months.
30 Joseph Raine (Swalwell), aged 40.
Aug 3 Jane Rutter (Swalwell), aged 17 years.
3 Ridgeway Foster Hutchinson White (Whickham), aged 75 years.
4 Thomas Arthur Gowland (Whickham) aged 5 years.
4 Archibald Allison (Swalwell), aged 39 years.
6 Mary Cook (Swalwell), aged 4 months.
6 Lydia Amelia Hardy (Whickham), aged 5 months.
7 Rachel Brown (Swalwell), aged 10 months.
11 Thomas Norman Lumley (Swalwell), aged 4 months.
12 Alice Clark (Swalwell), aged 9 months.