The Sacred Heart

Introduction

The Sacred Heart church in North Gosforth was formally opened and dedicated to the Sacred Heart on 24th June 1912. The church is in the Early English style with chancel, nave of four bays, two aisles and a short tower.

History

Thomas Eustace Smith built the church costing over £12,000 and a schoolhouse, and partly funded the living. Bishop Richard Collins bought the church for £3000 with his own money and said the first Mass on 28th January 1912. Bishop Collins left over £2000 and other investments to build and maintain a presbytery and for the parish, and allocated a bequest of some £1000 from Ellen Harding to the Sacred Heart. The church was re-roofed in 1913 and again in 1934.

A new parish hall linked to the church was erected in 1999. In 2012 the parish celebrated its centenary year beginning with Mass on Saturday 28 January 2012, exactly one hundred years to the day since the first Mass was celebrated in the building. Two members of Eustace and Mary Smith's family became Catholics: Helen Harrison and Virginia Crawford.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is built of brick faced in coursed ashlar buff sandstone with slate roofs, in the Early English gothic style. The interior is of orange brick horizontally banded with black brick and buff ashlar, with sandstone double chamfered pointed aisle arcades on quatrefoil columns with unfinished capitals. The church has a truncated west tower, south porch, nave with aisles and clerestorey, north and south chapels, and a square-ended sanctuary.

The church is self-evidently incomplete, lacking finish to some of the exterior and interior stonework, and the tower is merely a capped stump without even a parapet. The church contains stained glass dating from between 1872 and 1875 by Morris and Co., including a three-light east window principally designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. The lectern, altar and priest's chair were added c.1986. The church has a sumptuous painted and marble reredos spanning the east wall, with the organ re-sited to replace the former central high altar. The tower has four deep statue niches that are occupied by Catholic statues.

Music and liturgy

The celebration of Mass is the centre-point of the parish liturgy, with a vigil Mass on Saturday evening and Mass on Sunday morning. Weekday Mass is celebrated in the parish twice during the week. First Communion and Confirmation preparation are undertaken by teams of trained catechists who aim to involve families as much as possible. Twice a year there is a special Mass for the sick followed by a fish and chip lunch. The parish hosts a range of spiritual activities and opportunities for reflection throughout the year.

Parish life

Sacred Heart SVP Conference was founded in 1931 and has been active ever since. The parish supports food banks run by the Diocesan Refugee Service and by organisations in Hazlerigg and Brunswick. The parish is part of the Jesmond Saint Mary Partnership. The parish works closely with St Oswald’s Catholic Primary School across a range of activities and events.

Confirmation preparation is becoming the responsibility of the whole east partnership of Newcastle parishes. The parish has a Pastoral Council, an elected body acting in an advisory capacity to the parish priest. The First Holy Communion programme starts in September each year, and the First Holy Communion Mass is usually in June.

Regular events

During Lent, each community hosts an ecumenical lunch celebrating common aspects of Christian belief. The parish held its 2nd Annual Sacred Heart Food Festival on Sunday, 30th November 2025. The parish held a Beetle Drive on 17th May, with 75 tickets sold. The parish held an Easter Sunday celebration with over 200 people gathering after the Family Mass. The parish held a Sacred Heart Food Festival on September 22nd 2024.