The story of Saint Bede’s
began when the Vicar of Horton appointed a curate to
look after New Delaval and Newsham in 1885. This was
the Rev’d David Bryson, who realized that while
the free churches had built chapels in the village,
Anglicans were expected to walk across the fields to
the Parish Church of St Mary, Horton. He approached
the owners of the Richard and William Pits, the Seaton
Delaval Coal Company, who donated the necessary bricks
and building materials, and a piece of land at the west
end of Middle Row and North Row in New Delaval Colliery
(now Blyth Golf Course). This was dedicated on 15th
February, 1892, and was of a similar design to St Andrew’s
Cambois and St Michael’s New Hartley, which are
still standing.
By 1920 the church proved
to be inadequate, and the congregation moved to an army
hut on Newcastle Road, almost opposite land donated
by Lord Ridley for the construction of a new church.
The original building continued to serve as a church
hall, until the new church and parsonage (now the Parish
Centre and Vicarage) were completed in 1930. The bricks
from the original church were used on the internal walls
of the new buildings. In 1931 a declaration of the King
in Council established Newsham as a “conventional
district” within the Parish of Horton, and its
curate became a “priest-in-charge.” During
the Second World War the choir vestry was requisitioned
by the Air Raid Prevention and Father Graham became
an A.R.P. warden.
After the war it was felt
that St Bede’s was ready to become an independent
parish, but it wasn’t until December 14th, 1957,
that the present Parish Church was consecrated, and
Father Luxmoore (later Bishop of Bermuda) became the
first Vicar of Newsham.
Very few items from the
first church remain. The original altar cross is used
in the chapel of a local funeral director. The original
statue of Our Lady is still carried in procession on
Our Lady’s feasts. A small plaque of the Mother
and Child can still be found in the present Lady Chapel.
The original tabernacle veil now serves as a pulpit
fall. The original portable font, so necessary in the
days of home births and high natal fatalities, is now
the holy water stoup.
From 1957 the “third
church” continued in use as a church hall. In
1991 it was refurbished to become a modern parish centre,
and in 2004 it was improved and extended, with the help
of a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund,
to improve our facilities for the disabled. In 2002
a ramp for the disabled was added to the church to commemorate
the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen.
The church is normally
open for private prayer from Tuesday to Thursday during
the day, services are held daily, and the Church Family
is lively, welcoming, and active. St Bede’s has
always stood firmly within the Anglo-Catholic tradition
of the Church of England, and combines a dignified ceremonial
with a modern and homely liturgy.
The Parchial Church Council has passed resolutions A, B, and "C", and the parish is under the extended episcopal care of the Bishop of Beverley.
The Clergy during Sunday morning Mass
