:St John's Church, Gateshead Fell
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{{Infobox church
| name = St John's Church, Gateshead Fell
| fullname =
| image = St Johns Church, Sheriff Hill(a).jpg
| imagesize = 300px
| imagealt =
| caption =
| pushpin map = Tyne and Wear
| pushpin map alt =
| pushpin mapsize = 250
| pushpin label position =
| map caption = Location in Tyne and Wear
| location = Church Road, Sheriff Hill, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|54.9383|-1.5885|region:GB_type:landmark|display=title}}
| osgraw = NZ 265 605
| denomination = Anglican
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| website = [https://sites.google.com/site/stjohnsgatesheadfell/home St John, Gateshead Fell]
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| dedication = John the Evangelist
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| status = Parish church
| functional status = Active
| heritage designation = Grade II
| designated date = 26 April 1950
| architect = John Ions
| architectural type = Church
| style = Gothic Revival
| groundbreaking = 1824
| completed date = 1825
| construction cost = £2,742
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| materials = Stone, slate roof
| parish = Gateshead Fell
| deanery = Gateshead
| archdeaconry = Sunderland
| diocese = Durham
| province = York
| vicar = Revd Danie Lindley
| curate = Revd John Mayes
| asstpriest = Revd Ken Coulson
| warden = Catherine Mayes
Yvonne Stonebank
| parishadmin = Diane Kindred
}}
St John's Church, Gateshead Fell, is in Church Road, Sheriff Hill, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Gateshead, the archdeaconry of Sunderland, and the diocese of Durham.{{Citation | url = http://www.achurchnearyou.com/gateshead-fell-st-john-th-evangelist/| title = St John, Gateshead Fell| access-date = 16 December 2011| publisher = Church of England}} The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.{{NHLE |num= 1277868|desc= Church of St John, Gateshead Fell|accessdate= 16 December 2011|mode=cs2}} It was a Commissioners' church, having received a grant towards its construction from the Church Building Commission.{{Citation | last = Port| first = M. H.| year = 2006| title = 600 New Churches: The Church Building Commission 1818-1856 | edition = 2nd| publication-place = Reading| publisher = Spire Books| page = 326| isbn = 978-1-904965-08-4}} The church stands at the highest point in Gateshead.{{Citation | url = https://sites.google.com/site/stjohnsgatesheadfell/the-building-and-parish| title = The Building and Parish| access-date = 16 December 2011| publisher = St John's, Gateshead Fell}}
History
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Gateshead Fell Church Act 1809
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act for building a Church on Gateshead Fell, in the Parish of Gateshead.
| year = 1809
| citation = 49 Geo. 3. c. cxvi
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| royal_assent = 27 May 1809
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| original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo3/49/116/pdfs/ukla_18090116_en.pdf
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Section 12 of the Gateshead Inclosure Act 1809 (49 Geo. 3. c. cxxxv) set aside an acre of land at Gateshead Fell to build a church, and another act of Parliament passed the same day, the {{visible anchor|Gateshead Fell Church Act 1809}} (49 Geo. 3. c. cxvi) decreed that there be a church built on it.MacKenzie, E & Ross, M (1834): An historical, topographical, and descriptive view of the county palatine of Durham p. 107 oclc 59482663. A grant of £1,000 ({{Inflation|UK|1000|1824|r=-4|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y|mode=cs2}} was given towards its construction by the Church Building Commission. Designed by John Ions, the foundation stone was laid by Rev. John Collinson, at a "lofty eminence" on Sour Milk Hill, on 13 May 1824. Building continued into the next year and the church was consecrated on 30 August 1825. The total cost was £2,742 ({{Inflation|UK|2742|1824|r=-4|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y|mode=cs2}}Lewis, Samuel (1831): A Topographical Dictionary of England, Lewis & Co, p. 217 {{ISBN|0-8063-1508-3}}. In the 1990s alterations were carried out at the rear of the church to create meeting rooms, toilets, and a kitchen.
{{boxquote|... in the first Place, the said Commissioners shall set out and allot unto and for the Rector for the Time being of the Parish of Gateshead aforesaid, and his Successors, such Plot or Parcel of Land, not exceeding One Acre, as in the Judgement of the said Commissioners shall be most conveniently situate and best adapted for the {{sic|Scite|hide=y}} of a Church and Church Yard or Cemetery, for the Use of the Inhabitants of the said Common or Waste...|source=Gateshead Inclosure Act 1809, section 12}}
Architecture
St John's is constructed in ashlar stone with a Welsh slate roof. Its architectural style is Gothic Revival. The plan of the church consists of a nave, a short chancel, and a west tower with a spire. The tower also has diagonal buttresses and an embattled parapet. The windows along the sides of the church are lancets. The two-manual organ was made by Harrison and Harrison. It replaced an organ made in about 1929 by Blackett and Howden, and was installed in 2000. The organ was formerly in St Aidan's Church, Blackhill, Consett.{{Citation | url = http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=D07943| title = Durham (Tyne and Wear), Gateshead--Gateshead Fell, St. John, Low Fell (D07943)| access-date = 16 December 2011| publisher = British Institute of Organ Studies}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Deanery of Gateshead churches}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gateshead Fell, St John's Church}}
Category:Church of England church buildings in Tyne and Wear
Category:Grade II listed churches in Tyne and Wear
Category:Churches completed in 1825
Category:19th-century Church of England church buildings
Category:Gothic Revival church buildings in England