St Cuthbert's Church, Darlington is a parish church in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Diocese of Durham in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

, County Durham.

History

The church dates from the early 12th century. The church became collegiate when Richard Whitton was appointed by the

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durha ...

Rt Revd Robert Neville as the first Dean of Darlington in 1439. To support the dean, there were four prebendaries, Cockerton, Newton, Blakwell and Darlington. The college survived until 1550 when it was dissolved. Following a lightning strike on the spire on 17 July 1750, the crossing tower was rebuilt in 1752. A major restoration took place in 1864-65 by the architects

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he starte ...

of London and James Pigott Pritchett of Darlington. The estimated costs of the works were £1,590 () and William Vane, 3rd Duke of Cleveland gave £500 () towards the restoration. The work involved removal of the galleries and ceilings, the opening out of the gable windows in the nave and transepts, the rearranging of the pews, and the replacing of several stalls which had been destroyed. The main work was the restoration of the chancel where the piscina and armoury were restored, the sedilia restored to their original depth, the floor laid with encaustic tiles and eleven stained glass windows inserted. A font was presented by R.H. Allan, of grey polished marble. A lectern by Messrs King and Collie of Durham was presented by Miss Topham. The organ was restored and the bells in the tower were recast. The church was reopened for worship on 14 December 1865.

Incumbents

Vicars 1309 - 1436

* Robert de Royeston 1309 * Richard de Hadyngton 1344 * William de Welton 1354 * Robert de Hunmandby 1361 * William Hoton 1398 * William Hesel 1411 * Stephen Austell 1416 * Richard Wytton 1428 * Richard Bicheburn 1436 * Richard Witton

Deans 1439 - 1550

* Richard Witton 1439 * Roland Hardgyll 1451 * Robert Symson 1466 * Ralph Lepton 1497 * Cuthbert Marshall ca. 1548

Vicars 1550 onwards

* Sir John Claxton 1561 * James Thornton, 1571 * John Welshe 1571 * John Woodfall 1584 * Robert Gesford 1601 * Robert Tomlinson 1602 * Isaac Lowden 1606 * Bryan Grant 1612 * Robert Hope 1622 * Thomas Clapperton 1640 * William Parish * George Bell 1661 * George Thompson 1693 * John Hall 1712 * Cornelius Harrison 1727 * Andrew Wood 1748 * Henry Hemington 1772 * William Gordon 1784 * John William Drage Merest 1831 - 1846 * A.J. Howell 1846 - 1860 * John Garencieres Pearson 1860 - 1873 * Canon Hodgson 1873 - 1894 * Francis Warren Mortimer 1894 - 1905 * David Walker 1906 - 1919 * Robert Ferry Drury 1919 - 1935 * William C. Jordan 1935 - 1943 *

David Brownfield Porter David Brownfield Porter (10 May 190614 May 1993) was the suffragan Bishop of Aston from 1962 to 1972. He was born in Wandsworth, London and educated at Hertford College, Oxford. He studied for ordination at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford before a curacy ...

1943 - 1947 (afterwards Rector of St John's Church, Princes Street, Edinburgh) * George Holderness 1947 - 1954 (afterwards Bishop of Burnley) * Peter Wansey 1955 - 1974 *

John David Treadgold John David Treadgold, LVO (30 December 1931 – 15 February 2015) was an Anglican priest. He was born on 30 December 1931 and educated at the University of Nottingham, he was ordained after a period of study at Wells Theological College in 19 ...

1974 - 1981 (afterwards Canon of Windsor) * Canon Leslie Gready ???? - 1993 (afterwards Dean of Bulawayo, Matabeleland, Zimbabwe) * Geoff Miller 1996 - 1999 (afterwards Dean of Newcastle) * Robert John Williamson 2000 - 2016 * Matthew Paul Firth 2018 - 2020 * James Harvey 2021 -

Organ

The organ dates from 1880 when it was built by

Forster and Andrews Forster and Andrews was a British organ building company between 1843 and 1924. The company was formed by James Alderson Forster (1818–1886) and Joseph King Andrews (1820–1896), who had been employees of the London organ builder J. C. Bisho ...

. Later work by Binns Fitton & Haley and Bishop & Son in 1987 has resulted in a 38 stop 3 manual and pedal organ. The specification can be found on the

National Pipe Organ Register The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) is a British organisation and registered charity which aims to promote study and appreciation of all aspects of the pipe organ. Further, it acts as a lobbying body to raise awareness of organ issu ...

. The new organ cost about £1,000 () and was opened on 3 November 1880 by William Thomas Best.

Organists

*George J. Crossley ca. 1830s - 1850 *Frederick Second 1850 - 1858 *J.W. Marshall 1858 - 1896 (formerly organist of Richmond Parish Church) *Dr. Thomas Hutchinson 1896 - 1917 *Arthur Kitson 1917 - 1941 (formerly deputy organist at

Halifax Parish Church Halifax Minster is the minster church of Halifax, Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. The church is dedicated to St John the Baptist. Formerly the parish church of the town, it was granted minster status in 2009. Halifax Minster is one of thr ...

) *Edgar Miller 1941 - ???? (formerly organist of Tonbridge, Kent) *Hector C. Parr *Paul Busby 2005 - 2012 *David Ratnanayagam

Bells

The tower contains a peal of 8 bells by Gillett & Johnston dating from 1937.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darlington

Saint Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Nor ...