St Hilda's Church, South Shields is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

parish church in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

, England. It is part of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

History

The church, the parish church of South Shields is said to be on the site of a chapel founded by

Aidan of Lindisfarne Aidan of Lindisfarne (; died 31 August 651) was an Irish monk and missionary credited with converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in Northumbria. He founded a ministry cathedral on the island of Lindisfarne, known as Lindisfarne Priory, ser ...

circa AD 647 and placed in the charge of

Hilda of Whitby Hilda of Whitby (or Hild; c. 614 – 680) was a saint of the early Church in Britain. She was the founder and first abbess of the monastery at Whitby which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby in 664. An important figure in the Chri ...

. Some restoration work was carried out in 1675 by

Robert Trollope Robert Trollope was a 17th-century English architect, born in Yorkshire, who worked mainly in Northumberland and Durham. His work includes: * Eshott Hall, about 1660 * Capheaton Hall, 1667-8 * Cliffords Fort, North Shields, 1672 * Callaly Cas ...

. In 1753 a north aisle was added to the church. It was then mostly rebuilt between 1810 and 1881 and the interior galleries are supported on cast-iron columns. The rebuilding of the church incorporated the font of 1675 by Robert Trollop, and a gilt chandelier dating from 1802. The church is most famous for the model of a lifeboat by

William Wouldhave William Wouldhave (1751–1821) is a rival of Lionel Lukin for recognition as inventor of the lifeboat. His tombstone (erected thirteen years before Lukin’s) describes him as: ::::::‘''Inventor of that invaluable blessing to mankind the Life ...

dating from 1802 which is suspended from the ceiling.

Organ

In 1788 Donaldson of York built an organ for the west gallery, which was rebuilt by J. W. Walker in 1850. The current organ is a fine instrument by

Thomas Christopher Lewis Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, built in 1866. It was his first major build outside of London and includes a fine case designed by John Francis Bentley which measures 26 ft high, 13 ft wide and 18 ft in breadth. It was rebuilt and enlarged by five stops in 1904 by Nicholson & Lord. A full restoration was carried out in 2003/2004 by Harrison & Harrison. A specification of the organ 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 issue ...

Ernest Farrar Ernest Bristow Farrar (7 July 1885 – 18 September 1918) was an English composer, pianist and organist. Life Ernest Farrar was born in Lewisham, London, but moved in 1887 to Micklefield in Yorkshire, where his father was a clergyman. The rest ...

held the position of organist from March 1910 to August 1912. A stone dated 1710 is in the grounds of St Hilda's Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:South Shields, St Hilda Church of England church buildings in Tyne and Wear Grade II listed churches in Tyne and Wear

St Hilda Hilda of Whitby (or Hild; c. 614 – 680) was a saint of the early Church in Britain. She was the founder and first abbess of the monastery at Whitby which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby in 664. An important figure in the Chri ...