Although some sources suggest that this church – NZ049614 – is later than St Andrew’s, but Pevsner says that the north nave wall and the west parts of the chancel side walls are now more generally recognized as parts of a large Saxon church. In 802 Bishop Egbert of Lindisfarne was consecrated at Bywell – here? Today it had a marquee attached from an art festival last weekend – an art festival I had seen no mention of anywhere!?!
Nice scratch dial on the south side, and I assume this is the oldest work on the north.
Inside a well kept church, quite high and airy. They have a bat problem – worse than ours’ – which seems ironic when you consider the altar frontal (“All things bright and beautiful, but excluding bats”)! I wonder where the congregation comes from.
In the churchyard is a memorial to William Morrison, late station master, Swalwell. This station was in County Durham, or the Derwent Valley line going south from the Tyne towards Consett. There’s a couple of excellent railway websites about it:
http://www.swalwelluk.co.uk/railways.html
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/s/swalwell/index.shtml
