St Paul's Church is the parish church of

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around eas ...

North Tyneside North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend. North Tyneside is bordered b ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

.The church was founded in 1864. The church's official title is St Paul's Church,

Cullercoats Cullercoats is a coastal settlement in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, North East England. Historically in Northumberland, it has now been absorbed into the wider Tyneside conurbation, sitting between Tynemouth to the ...

but it is located near the centre of the town rather than the suburb of Cullercoats.

History

The building was designed by

Anthony Salvin Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations. He restored castles and country ho ...

for the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke ...

. It is designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Present day

The church produces a regular newsletter and parish magazine. It also holds an annual summer fair and the St Nicholas Fair and Festival during the first weekend in

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

. Ann Laing and Sandra Graham are the churchwardens. As a parish it has been decided to revoke the

Traditional Catholic A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays o ...

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

, they now accept the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

and so receive episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Newcastle (currently

Christine Hardman Christine Elizabeth Hardman ( Atkins; born 27 August 1951) is a retired British Anglican bishop and former Lord Spiritual. She served as Archdeacon of Lewisham, 2001–2008; Archdeacon of Lewisham & Greenwich, 2008–2012; and Bishop of ...

Parochial church council

The parochial church council (PCC) oversees the administration, finances and fabric of the church. The 22 member council, which meets monthly, comprises two clergy, one lay reader, two churchwardens, one treasurer, one diocesan synod representative (who attends meetings with others from the

Diocese of Newcastle The Diocese of Newcastle is a Church of England diocese based in Newcastle upon Tyne, covering the historic county of Northumberland (and therefore including the part of Tyne and Wear north of the River Tyne), as well as the area of Alston Moo ...

and Tynemouth Deanery), three deanery synod representatives (who attend meetings with others from the Tynemouth Deanery) and 12 lay members. All members except the clergy and lay reader are elected. The standing committee, consisting of five PCC members, deals with any emergency issues arising between meetings and sets agenda for PCC meetings.

Notable clergy

* Norman Banks, later

Bishop of Richborough The Bishop of Richborough is a suffragan bishop and provincial episcopal visitor for the whole of the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England. History The see was erected under the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 by Order in Council dat ...

, was the vicar from 1990 until 2000. *

Paul Bayes Paul Bayes (born 1953) is an English Anglican retired bishop. He served as Bishop of Liverpool, 2014–2022, and as Bishop of Hertford in the Church of England Diocese of St Albans, 2010–2014. Early life Bayes was born in Bradford, Wes ...

, later

Bishop of Liverpool The Bishop of Liverpool is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool in the Province of York.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. . The diocese stretches from Southport in the no ...

, served his curacy at St Paul's from 1979 until 1982.

List of Vicars

Music

The church has a 15-strong choir. A former organist, John Percival Forster, was killed in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

on 1 July 1916, aged 28. He was organist at St Paul's for six years from 1912 to 1916. A plaque commemorating his life remains to the right of the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

References

{{reflist

External links

St Paul's Bell RingersEntry on British listed buildings website
Whitley Bay, St Paul's Church Grade II listed churches in Tyne and Wear Whitley Bay Anthony Salvin buildings