A DAC meeting, preceded by an excellent lunch, in this church on Churchill Gardens on 12 September 2013. Their grid reference is NZ261660 and website http://www.htjesmond.org.uk. Obviously a welcoming and busy church, but interesting that the website says nothing at all about the building.
The chancel by Hicks & Charlewood 1905, then nave, aisles, tower and spire built as a war memorial by Hoare and Wheeler in 1922. It was the gift of the Dalgleish and Hoare family. Mark the Vicar commented that they were “ship builders or arms dealers, depending on your point of view”. HMS Valentine came to the Tyne for the consecration. It is a nice church, and the original chairs can easily be moved so they do exciting things like a Traidcraft Fair.
The stained glass windows were installed as a set, and as a memorial. They were designed by the Nicholson Studios and contain a lot of regimental badges, pictures of ships, as well as the religious imagery. There are a lot more details at the North East War Memorials Project – http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=7762 – and much better photos than mine at http://www.flickr.com/photos/davewebster14/sets/72157629089560866/with/6786912026/
Your final task is to muse on the theological significance of this wonderful carpet. The word “button” does not appear in the bible – although the oldest buttons (though as an ornament rather than a fastening) are 5,000 years old and were found in the Indus Valley. The earliest functional buttons come from Hungarian tombs of the C9. Alternatively, perhaps it is really a twister mat – it is new version of the liturgy, where you play twister at the Peace.
