Brunswick Church
Newcastle, Tyne & Wear
Brunswick Methodist Church is a vibrant city centre church.
Everybody in Newcastle recognises the distinctive hollow spire of St Thomas’ on the skyline. It’s sometimes known as ‘the black church’ because of the discolouration caused by mining. St Thomas the Martyr was built to designs by John Dobson between 1827 and 1830 in Newcastle upon Tyne's Haymarket. It was the first church by that architect.
Latter years have seen the removal of some pews and the font, the installation of glass entrance doors – interventions aimed at maximising the usable internal space and adapting to changing community needs. Most recently St Thomas' has installed a biomass boiler and converted the North Vestry into a meeting room with kitchenette. With the addition of a ‘One World’ shop, the church can be kept open all day, 6 days a week, and sees hundreds of visitors.
The grant will support roof repairs and works to the north side guttering, work to redecorate damaged interior, whilst a wider project will also see the installation of a new accessible toilet and improved heritage interpretation.