Visit-a-Church
Key Image St John the Baptist
Grainger Street
NE1 5JG Newcastle upon Tyne
United Kingdom
Denomination: Anglican
Congregation: Newcastle upon Tyne (Diocese of Newcastle, Archdeaconry of Northumberland, Newcastle)
Geogr. Coordinates: 54.97008° N, 1.61567° W
Geo Location
Reference year: 1130
Architectural style: Gothic
Building type: Basilica
Description: Three-aisled basilica with transept and west tower, predominantly of the Decorated and Perpendicular styles. The English composer and organist Charles Avison was baptised and worked here.
Name derivation: After St John the Baptist
Font
  • Font cover (1520)
Organ
  • Built in 1876 by F. C. Nicholson, Newcastle, modified in 1909 and again in 1996 by Harrison & Harrison, Durham; 33 speaking stops, 3 manuals and pedal
History:
About 1130:   Construction of the Norman church (nave and chancel)
1196:   First mentioned as dedicated to St John
14th cent.:   Construction of the aisles and elongation of the nave to the west tower
1451:   Construction of the clerestory, enhancement of the south aisle
Important persons:
Congregation member:  Avison, Charles (1709–1770, english composer and organist, lived and worked in Newcastle)
Organ builder:  Harrison and Harrison Ltd (Organ builders in Durham, UK, established 1861 by Thomas Hugh Harrison)
Patron:  John the Baptist (-5–29, prophet, Jesus’s baptizer, martyr)
Sources
St John the Baptist: St John the Baptist, Informationsblätter in der Kirche
© 2026
TuK Bassler
CC-BY-SA 4.0