St Hilda's Church, South Shields

St Hilda's Church, South Shields is a Grade II listed parish church in the Church of England[1] in South Shields.

St Hilda's Church, South Shields
St Hilda's Church, South Shields
54°59′47.25″N 1°26′15.81″W
LocationSouth Shields
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
ChurchmanshipAnglo-Catholic
Websitewww.sthilda.org.uk
History
StatusActive
Architecture
Functional statusParish church
Completed1811
Administration
DeaneryJarrow
ArchdeaconrySunderland
DioceseDiocese of Durham

History

The church, the parish church of South Shields is said to be on the site of a chapel founded by St Aidan circa AD 647 and placed in charge of St Hilda. Some restoration work was carried out in 1675 by Robert Trollope. 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 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, built in 1866. It was his first major build outside of London and includes a fine case designed by J F Bentley which measures 26ft high, 13ft wide and 18ft 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.[2]

References
  1. The Buildings of England : Newcastle and Gateshead: Nikolaus Pevsner.
  2. "Durham Shields, South, St. Hilda, Market Place [N14939]". The British Institute of Organ Studies. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.