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inscriptions are a wonderful source of information for both the
local historian and for the genealogist. Even the briefest epitaph
can reveal such details as name, age, date of death, religious
denomination and social class, while the more elaborate inscriptions
can plot an entire family history. The aim of this site is to
provide a photographic record of the old graveyard at St
Mary's
Church. Heworth. Gateshead and as a resource for the benefit of genealogists
and the descendants of the people interred there, who live far away
and for anyone interested in graveyard inscriptions and graveyard
architecture. I now have
photographs over 700 graves in the old churchyard, with more to
come.
If there are certain images that you think should be removed, please
let me know. Please be aware that there is no intention to harm the
dignity of the dead.
 he
old churchyard features a mixture of a few old family tombs and
vaults, large and impressive family
or individual graves and
footstones, as well as the more traditional and reasonably-sized
graves, such as will be seen in any church graveyard.
Environmentally it has a mixture well-maintained areas
and some of a more or less neglected
nature. There is some evidence of vandalism, and certainly
no evidence
yet of the recently introduced health and safety concerns,
resulting in many gravestones being pushed over to lie flat,
many face down. However I am concerned that may happen soon in
the old graveyard . Whether there is a plan to erect the headstones
again if they are 'pushed over' is anyone's guess. However many have merely fallen over due to the unstable nature
of the ground and the passage of time. It
is not my intention to dwell on the history of St. Mary's Church
or of Heworth itself, though I will add a few historical notes.
(see below) For a comprehensive guide and history of the church try and find
a copy of Joan M. Hewitt's excellent books 'St. Mary. Heworth A
History & Guide' and 'The Township of Heworth'. Gordon Stridiron,
the Wardley historian has allowed me to use his research file on
Felling, which holds some wonderful old photographs of the
church and village which I will add.
I will also be adding other church graveyards which are in the
Gateshead & Newcastle area.
 hen
I visit a church graveyard I will usually come away with 200 to
250 useable pictures; St. Mary's churchyard provided me with
about 230 the last time I visited. Now a
few
notes on photographing in cemeteries and how the photographs are
presented on the site.The first requirement is a camera with a waist level viewfinder
or swivel viewing screen so that whenever possible the lens axis
is parallel to the object being photographed. Using an eye level
camera, such as an SLR results in all the pictures being taken
from above which can make the inscription difficult to read.
However some times it may not be possible to get a low level
viewpoint and a higher angle will have to suffice. I use a Canon
G6 or the Canon S3 IS for this type of photography. Both cameras
have swivel viewing screens. The 3S IS also has a huge 12 x zoom
enabling close-ups of details high up on church walls or towers.
As its name suggests the Canon 3S has built in image stabilizer
enabling photographs taken at high magnification to be pin
sharp. I also carry memory cards holding over a 1000 images or
more at 7 mega pixels and over. Light also will have an effect
on the photograph, colour casts, cast shadows, lack of contrast, backlighting and the
ambient light level..
During a cemetery photo shoot I am careful not to tread on any
nearby graves or plants and flowers, and earnestly try at all
times to treat the immediate surroundings with respect.
I have presented the photographs at a size large enough to
read the inscriptions clearly, so most are over a 1000 pixels
high. This will mean you will have to scroll the page down to
view the whole picture. However there is away of reducing this
or eliminating scrolling altogether. Hit f11 and all the menu
bars at the top of your browser will disappear. (Hit f11 again
to get them back)
Whenever possible if there is a story to tell about any monument
it will be on a separate page as well as the listings.
he Churchyard
he
West gate is the oldest way into the churchyard and was the only
entrance to the old chapel. The village stocks were just a
few yards to the south of it, close to the churchyard wall.
The oldest burying ground lies to the north, north-west and
north-east of the present church, where the earliest dates still
readable on headstones date from the late 17th century - 1676
and 1699 are near the north door.
In 1822, when the present church was under construction the
builder received instructions as to the exterior works. A
new north gate was made 'eight feet wide, and the path from it
to the north door also eight feet broad', as a funeral entrance.
The path to the west wicket gate should be laid along the length
of the drain from the churchyard, four feet wide, and a footpath
from the turn of the drain four feet wide go one way to the
south door and the other way to the tower and north doors.
Also a border stone will be laid on each side of the flaggings
of the footpaths which are to be four inches thick, but the
colour of them not to be regarded. Ordered also that the
word DRAIN be cut upon the flagging where necessary to show the
directions of the drains.
 A number of graves round the old chapel were covered by the new
building. Their headstones were removed and after work was
completed and the paths were being laid, they were set down,
flat, in the north-west, north-east and south-east angles of the
church walls, and are now among the oldest gravestones in the
churchyard. Most are 18th century and several show the
fashions in tombs for that period, with carved skulls and
crossbones, the hour-glass with the sands of life running out,
Father Time with his scythe, the Grim Reaper, hearts pierced by
arrows, angels blowing trumpets.
This older part of the churchyard contains most of the table
tombs, Georgian chest of box tombs, and the unusual four-poster
bed of the Haddons whose three children lie sleeping under their
coverlet and canopy. Near it, by the north door are two
'coffin' or 'body' tombs.
The
old headstones are rich in detail and description, much
ornamented with swathes of leaves and flowers, surmounted by
urns or cones. Sculptures depict the occupations of the
deceased, such as ships for sailors, corn-sheaves for farmers,
the mason's crest or the blacksmith's anvil. Obelisks,
angels and crosses became fashionable in the 19th century.
The earlier memorials are all of local sandstone, but imported
granites and marbles appeared in later Victorian times, and up
to the present. The monumental mason's name usually
appears on the base of the headstone or kerb, and many in this
churchyard carry the names of the Alexanders, generations of
monumental sculptors, whose last work yard and home was the Old
Mill House.
There are un-marked burials, when the deceased could not afford
a memorial. Paupers were interred thus, and in the early
19th century the plot for pauper burials was in the eastern
corner of the chapel yard.
Epidemics of cholera, typhoid and other plagues brought
unmarked, hasty or mass burials also. After the 1832
cholera outbreak another two roods on the south-west side were
added to the over-crowded graveyard. Again in 1855, after
the formation of the Heworth Parish Burial Board, under the
Gateshead Union Board of Guardians, it was decided that the
churchyard must be extended. More than two acres was added
on the southern side, reaching Sunderland Road.. The piece near
Heworth Village belonged to Richard Wellington Hodgson, eldest
son of John Hodgson, who offered it at a price of £200.
The easterly portion was part of the Hall grounds. A
massive new enclosure wall was built in sandstone from the Heworth High Burn and Low Burn quarries, whose owners were
members of the Select Vestry and Board of Guardians. The
new ground was consecrated by Bishop Langley of Durham on
September 30th 1859, and in 1862 the new walk was completed form
the south door to the gate on Sunderland Road.
In 1894, Dr. Steel built a large new vicarage in Heworth Burn
stone, beyond the new churchyard, along Sunderland Road, on the
site of which Vicarage Court was build about 1976. The old
parsonage in Heworth village became at first a Conservative Club
and then a Public Assistance Office for dole and poor relief.
It was demolished in 1958.
After the Great War a plain stone cross War Memorial was put up
on the eastern edge of the churchyard, round which the annual
Remembrance Day Service were held until after the Second World
War.
About 1920-21, local ratepayers responded to an appeal by the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners (successors to the Dean and
Chapter), by giving over £2,000 to buy and reserve a further
large plot of land in the Hall Fields, all around the vicarage,
part of which was Heworth Cricket field, as a future extension
to the churchyard, which was filling up.
Felling Urban District Council made an order in 1932, that
Heworth old churchyard would be closed for new graves after June
1934. The only interments there would be in existing
graves or in reserved burial plots, and a new cemetery would be
commenced. It would seem that the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners had required Felling Council to buy the land for
the cemetery, as a letter appeared in the press from Major
English of North Leam, reminding all concerned that the plot of
land had already been purchased in 1921.. He demanded that the
Commissioners give the land to the Council as 'the only fair
thing to do'. The Council finally paid only the amount
representing the increase in the land's value since 1921.
Felling Council was in charge of the new cemetery until
Gateshead Borough took over in 1974. The old eastern
enclosure wall was taken down and large new gates suitable for
hearses to drive through put up in Sunderland Road. Some
ground was given up on the north when Felling-by-pass was built.
The north-eastern corner of the old churchyard was also lost to
road works. It had to be removed to make the approach to
Heworth roundabout in 1958-1959. The re-built section of
the boundary wall
has a plaque inset thus.
he
lych-gate replaced the 1822 north ate when the Parochial
Church Council decided to provide it as a memorial to King
George V in 1937. Still intended as a funeral gate (the
word Lych comes from the Anglo-Saxon 'lic' which meaning 'a
corpse'), it was built by Pelaw C.W.S. Cabinet Works, as the
contractors. The woodwork is oak and base is in Heworth
Burn sandstone. The dedication of the lych-gate was
performed by Dr. Hensley Henson, Bishop of Durham, on Saturday,
July 17th, 1937. It has ceased to be a useful entrance to
the churchyard since the by-pass cut it off from easy access.
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photographs are free to copy for personal use and may be used on
any non- commercial web sites on condition you mention or link
to this site. You may not use any image for commercial purposes
without permission, whether on a web page or in a book,
newspaper or journal. If you do require an image, then the usual
photographic rates apply.