The Churchyard

The Churchyard is very extensive, it was at one time reputedly the largest in England (some say in Europe!). On the day of the consecration of the Church on Tuesday 22nd August 1848 (see above), the Bishop of Durham consecrated 1.5 acres of ground surrounding the Church for burial purposes. A further 3 acres were added in 1864 and 7 more in 1899, making a total of 11.5 acres. Despite considerable local effort and input from Newcastle City Council and European funding, it suffers greatly from neglect and vandalism. There is a fine memorial to Robert Chambers, 19th Century 'aquatic champion of England', a great oarsman. In the year 2000. a Yew tree was planted in the Churchyard (to the east of the Church) to commemorate the Millenium.

Although at first sight, it appears that there are many unfilled spaces , the churchyard is actually full and no more burials are allowed. Many of the graves are of very young children and infants, as infant deaths were much more common inthe 19th century and early 20th century. Additionally, in past times, not all families could afford gravestones.

The Churchyard contains a number of war graves, from both world wars, which are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission