The imposing St Bede’s Roman Catholic Church in South Shields, was designed by Thomas C Nicholson in the early English Gothic style and built between 1874 and 1876. The church is dedicated to St Bede, an English monk and scholar who lived in the seventh century, well-known for his theological and historical writings. The only British native designated a Doctor of the Church, St Bede spent most of his life at St Paul’s Monastery in Jarrow, an area adjacent to South Shields.
In the first half of the 19th century, Catholics in the South Shields area had to travel to North Shields to attend Mass. In 1849, St Cuthbert’s Chapel was opened in South Shields to accommodate the growing congregation. As the congregation continued to grow, a larger church, dedicated to St Bede, was built to replace the chapel. The stained-glass, depicting the seven sacraments, from St Cuthbert’s was incorporated in the apse of the new church. The northwest bell tower was left incomplete after quicksand was discovered, meaning deeper foundations were needed; rising costs meant it was never completed. A presbytery was built in the late 19th century in the Tudor revival style and acts as an office/home for the clergy at the southern end of the church.
St Bede’s has continuously been used as a place of worship since its opening in 1876 and stands as a pillar of the community in South Shields. Despite a mid-20th century reorganisation, the church retains several original Gothic features, the building was Grade II listed in 2016.
J&JW Longbottom was delighted to be involved in a restoration project undertaken by Wensley Roofing in 2024. We supplied seventy lengths of No.95 gutter for the straight roofs and fifteen lengths of bespoke curved gutter. This renovation was made particularly interesting due to the curved apse that forms the sanctuary at the southern end of the church. The curved shape provides a challenge for a modern guttering system, but the foundry’s capacity to make custom guttering meant we could create a bespoke solution. As a particularly distinctive feature of this listed church, it was important to maintain the character, as well as the function of this space.
The traditional style of cast iron guttering supplied ensures that the appearance of this wonderful church is enhanced without compromising on the durability and functionality of the gutters. The ironwork will serve to protect this historically significant building for decades to come.
