Church

St John the Baptist, Newcastle

St John the Baptist, Newcastle

St John’s is a Grade I parish church on the corner of Grainger Street and Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, in the Diocese of Newcastle.

Location
Newcastle, Tyne & Wear
Country
England
County
Tyne & Wear
City / town
Newcastle
Address
Grainger Street, Newcastle, Tyne & Wear, NE1 5JG
Postcode
NE1 5JG
Built
Mostly 14th and 15th centuries; chancel largely rebuilt 1848
Denomination
Church of England
Dedication
John the Baptist
Diocese
Newcastle
Parish
Newcastle St John the Baptist
Grade
I
Style
Medieval Perpendicular town church
Materials
Sandstone with ashlar dressings; Welsh slate roof
Grid reference
NZ 247 640
Opening hours
Open every day 8.30am to 4pm. Usually close at lunchtime on Friday to Sunday.
Access
Level access to the main areas

Overview

Historic England dates the parish church mostly to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, with the chancel largely rebuilt in 1848. The fabric is sandstone with ashlar dressings and a Welsh slate roof. The plan is cruciform, with aisles clasping the west tower, a south porch, and a north transept with a west aisle.

The three-stage tower has a three-light west window, bar-traceried two-light belfry openings, a battlemented parapet with corner pinnacles, and octagonal clasping buttresses. Aisle windows are segmental-headed with Perpendicular tracery. Inside, four-bay arcades have double-chamfered arches dying into octagonal piers without capitals. The baptistry under the tower has a ribbed vault. Fittings include a seventeenth-century octagonal stone font with shields. A small round-headed window survives high in the north chancel wall.

Further Information