Heritage Open Day - Anchorites and Dolomites

The High Altar in the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas

This weekend was a nationwide 'Heritage Open Day', where historical landmarks throw open their doors to visitors in a celebration of architecture, culture and history. For me it meant another opportunity to combine my interest in the past with a spot of feelgood volunteering. In other words, Win-Win!

Church Of St Andrew

I had offered my services as a guide/steward/bouncer (don't ask) at the Cathedral Church of Saint Nicholas in Newcastle on Saturday afternoon, leaving me the morning to look at some of the other places of interest.

My first port of call was the Church of St Andrew on Newgate street. Dating from the 12th century, it's considered the oldest church in the city, and it has the scars to prove it. On display inside are three cannonballs, almost certainly souvenirs from the siege of Newcastle during the Civil war in 1644. The location of St Andrew's, just inside where the old defensive town wall used to run, would have made the church tower a useful platform to mount cannon on to 'discomfit' the besiegers. This cuts both ways however, and it's visibility would have made it a prime target for enemy artillery.

The font (note the cannonballs on the window-ledge)

Besides cannonballs, there's much to be seen inside, though since I don't want this post to be ridiculously long I'm going to opt for the edited highlights and maybe do a fuller account at a later date. To that end, top billing has to go to the font. The font itself is fairly plain but the cover, dating from the 15th century is marvelous, and still in use today.


 


  The other feature that really struck home with this budding medievalist was the chancel arch. Dating from the late 12th century, it has the classic roundness and zig-zag pattern of the period. It may just be my wonky eyes, but it also looks a bit squashed, though whether this was intended I have no idea.

A rather squashed arch

The font and the nave

 I left St Andrew's, having made a mental note to return when time is less of an issue, and made my way to my next destination, the Church of St John the Baptist on Grainger Street. Going straight from one church to another proved to be a good decision as it meant I could look at the second while the first was still fresh in my mind and so make comparisons. 

Church of St John The Baptist

St John's was started around 1130 so is roughly contemporary with St Andrew's, though both have changed a lot since then. One of the great things about Heritage Open Days is that there's often guides to explain details to you and this was the situation here, I was treated to an explanation of the building's history by a very knowledgeable gent. Indeed, were it not for him, I may have missed some of the finer details such as the Anchorite's window in the chancel.

Anchorite's Window

Medieval Stained Glass

An anchorite was a sort of religious hermit, someone who withdraws from secular life to live a life of prayer and contemplation in a cell (rather like a prison) adjoining a church. The window (cruciform or cross-shaped in this case) was there to allow them to view the Mass without being seen. I had no idea Newcastle had an anchorite and there was even a (modern) plaque giving their name as Cristina Umfred and the year of 1260. I did wonder if this meant it should be anchoress rather than anchorite but I didn't want to quibble.

 The main other standout feature is some medieval stained glass, something which is sadly in short supply in Newcastle due more to the excesses of the Scottish/Parlimentary army in the Civil War than the Reformation itself.

Neville Hall, home of The Mining Institute

After this, I had time for one more stop before duty called, so I made my way around the corner to The Mining Institute in Neville Hall. It's not an area of particular interest to me to be honest but I've heard it's a lovely building so I thought I'd pop in and have a look. As it happened, I got there just as a tour and lecture were going on so I joined in.
What followed was a fascinating talk on the history of the Institute and on mining itself, including an interesting anecdote about Lord Armstrong, former President of the Institute, selling weapons to both sides in the American Civil War. The building itself proved to be no disappointment, a Victorian extravaganza of iron and glass. In amongst the various documents and papers related to the mining industry, there were also various rocks and minerals for sale, hence the 'dolomite' in the title of this post. To be honest, I'm not 100% certain dolomite was there, but the fact it rhymes with 'anchorite' was too good to refuse. Call it artistic license.

Lecture Theatre in the Mining Institute

By now, it was time to report for my shift at the Cathedral so I quietly sneaked out before the lecture had finished. The Cathedral Church of St Nicholas dates mainly from the early 14th century and is the grandest of the four original churches of Newcastle. Of the other three, St Andrew's and St John the Baptist's are described above, while the fourth, All Saints, was demolished and replaced in the late 18th century.
My role as a guide was to assist with any visitor inquiries and make sure none of them run off with any of the valuable artifacts on display for the Open Day. These included some ornamental silver - communion plates and wine goblets and something intriguingly labelled as a 'temperance stick'- some ceremonial garments known as 'copes' and, best of all for me, a bible dating from the thirteenth century. There was also guided tours of the lantern tower (very popular) and  a group of harpists providing music in the nave while visitors browsed the cathedral.

Harp Action in the Cathedral

My shift proved happily free of incident and I was able to enjoy the music and my surroundings. My one almost moment of drama occured when I saw a disheveled looking young man heading toward the collection box for votive candles, where people can leave a small donation in exchange for lighting a candle and writing a note for an event or a person they'd like to be prayed for. The box carried the sadly obligatory 'no money is left in here overnight' warning and I kept a watchful eye as he hovered over the candles. Imagine my surprise when I heard the clink of coins going into the box as he lit a candle and wrote a few words on a post-it note. After he left I couldn't resist going over to  read what he'd left. The note said simply 'For my girlfriend to do well at uni'. I came away feeling happier about the human race and a little ashamed of my previous suspicions.