Newcastle upon Tyne, Bainbridge Memorial Wesleyan Church

The origins of the Bainbridge Memorial church lie in a WM chapel erected in the St Lawrence are of Newcastle in 1839. This was known as Centenary Chapel. In 1873, it amalgamated with a small Wesleyan Society at Byker Hill and a new church was built at Heaton at the corner of Shields Road and Edwin Street. It opened in 1875 and was named after Cuthbert Bainbridge, a prominent member of the Wesleyan Connexion whose father, Emmerson Muschamp Bainbridge, founded the department store that bore his name in Newcastle.

The membership of the Society increased rapidly and it soon became clear that a larger church would be needed. A new church building was built on Heaton Road and was opened on 25 November 1885 retaining the old name of Cuthbert Bainbridge Memorial.

A Sunday School held on the premises soon required additional space and an additional school was held at North Heaton in the Tosson Terrace school.

In 1965, the Leighton Memorial and Walker Gate Methodist Churches closed and their members joined Bainbridge Memorial. In October 2006, the Society joined with Shieldfield Methodist Church (now the “Holy Biscuit” Art Gallery) and Heaton United Reformed Church to form one join congregation known as St Cuthbert’s Church, Heaton and occupies the former United Reformed premises on the corner of Heaton Road and Cardigan Terrace.

Additional information will be added when the NDA Collections re-open and access to the collections is gained.