St. Mary's Church

St. Mary’s was the parish church for Gateshead from the middle ages and until 1825 all baptisms and marriages and most burials in the borough had to be performed there. In the church grounds, the headstones show how varied the trades and professions in the town were in the 18th and 19th centuries: an inn keeper, a rope maker and a glass cutter lie close to the grave stone of industrialist William Hawks. Inside the church are some fascinating memorials, including one to Barbara Coulson who 'kept this church clean for 50 years' and another to James Renforth, a local hero in Victorian times. Renforth, who was Champion Oarsman of England, died tragically young competing in a race in Canada.