St John the Baptist Church, Newcastle upon Tyne

{{Infobox church

| name = St John the Baptist

| fullname =

| image = The Church of St. John the Baptist, Newcastle.jpg

| imagesize = 240

| imagelink =

| imagealt =

| caption =

| pushpin map = United Kingdom Tyne and Wear

| pushpin label position = right

| pushpin map alt =

| pushpin mapsize = 240

| map caption = {{small|8px St John the Baptist shown within Tyne and Wear}}

| coordinates = {{coord|54.9701|-1.6155|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| osgraw = NZ245639

| osgridref =

| location = Grainger Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 5JG

| country = England

| denomination = Anglican

| churchmanship = Traditional Catholic

| website = [https://www.stjohnthebaptistnewcastle.co.uk/ St John the Baptist Church]

| status = Parish church

| functional status = Active

}}

St John's Church is a 13th-century church on the corner of Grainger Street and Westgate Road in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, dedicated to St John the Baptist. It is a Grade I listed building.{{Cite web |title=CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, Non Civil Parish - 1024728 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1024728 |access-date=2022-09-06 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}

History and building description

The old church of St John is believed to date from c.1287.{{Cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/newcastle-historical-account/pp342-357|title=St John's church | British History Online}} William Gray, a 16th-century topographer and burgess of Newcastle, called it "a pretty little church, commended by an arch-prelate of this kingdom because it resembled much a cross".{{Cite book|last=Gray|first=William|title=Chorographia, or, A survey of Newcastle upon Tine|year=1649}}

The church, surrounded by modern buildings on three sides, is modest, with a low square tower featuring small pinnacles and windows with flattened arched tops. A stone in the south transept window commemorates Robert Rhodes, the builder of St Nicholas' Cathedral's steeple in Newcastle, and a benefactor to the town's churches. The current stone is a copy of the original, removed around 1861 during repairs, and now housed in the castle.{{cite book

| last = Charleton

| first = R.J.

| title = A history of Newcastle-on-Tyne from the earliest records to its formation as a city

| publisher = Walter Scott Ltd

| date = n.d.

| location = London

| pages = 142–145

}}

=Interior=

The 15th-century font cover and the Jacobean pulpit are examples of local woodwork. The chancel, now the Lady Chapel, contains a window including the fragments of medieval glass with the earliest known representation of the arms of Newcastle. Further along the wall is a cruciform opening which enabled the anchorite, whose cell was above the present sacristy, to see the altar. The rood and reredos are both the work of Sir Charles Nicholson.{{cite web

| title = St. John the Baptist's Church, Grainger Street, Newcastle

| url = http://www.northumbria.info/Pages/stjohnncle.html

| accessdate = 2010-04-09}}

Graveyard

File:The Church of St. John the Baptist graveyard, Newcastle.jpg

Part of the graveyard was built over in the 1960s for meeting rooms and a hall. As of 2010, there remained about ten gravestones. Two of these, that to Solomon Hodgson (died 1800){{Cite web |title=HODGSON TOMB ABOUT 15 METRES EAST OF CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, Non Civil Parish - 1024730 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1024730 |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} and Sarah Hodgson,{{dub|date=February 2025}} owners of the Newcastle Chronicle, and that to the artist Ralph Waters{{Cite web |title=WATERS TOMB ABOUT 2 METRES SOUTH OF CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, Non Civil Parish - 1024729 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1024729 |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} are listed Grade II.

The Dublin-born actor and poet John Cunningham is buried in the graveyard.{{Cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/newcastle-historical-account/pp342-357|title = St John's church | British History Online}} Not far from the east window lies a stone slab, part of a table monument, its four supporting pillars lying half buried in the soil beneath it. The inscription on it reads as follows:

class="wikitable" style="margin:auto; text-align:center"

Here lie the Remains of

JOHN CUNNINGHAM

Of his excellence

As a Pastoral Poet

His works will remain a monument

for ages

After this temporary Tribute of Esteem

Is in dust forgotten.

He died in Newcastle Sep. 18, 1773,

Aged 44.