St. Cuthbert's Church History

History of St Cuthbert’s Church, Shadforth

from Helen Grindley and Mabel Smith

The Parish Church of Shadforth is dedicated to the Northumbrian saint, Cuthbert, and was consecrated by Edward Maltby, Lord Bishop of Durham, on August 5th 1839. From Norman times, Shadforth had been part of the ancient parish of Pittington and was served by priests from the Church of Saint Laurence in that village.
The building of a new church in Shadforth was prompted by a large increase in the populations of the villages of Shadforth, Sherburn, Sherburn Hill and Ludworth. New collieries were sunk in these areas, attracting many miners and their families. Shadforth remained an agricultural village, with a population of about 180 in 1801; by 1841, this had risen to about 336. The splitting-up of the ancient parish of Pittington took place formally on 8th May 1841, at a Court held in Council at Buckingham Palace, attended by Queen Victoria herself. The Pittington parish included Pittington, Elemore, Hetton on the Hill, Shadforth, Ludworth and Sherburn. The Court ruled that the whole of Shadforth Township, with Ludworth and most of Sherburn Township, was to be served by the new Church of Saint Cuthbert in Shadforth.
The first incumbent of the new parish was the Reverend R G L Blenkinsopp BD, who had the title of Perpetual Curate. At that time, it was known as the Shadforth Parochial Chapelry, and the ‘living’ was in the ‘gift’ of the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral. This meant that the income from land allocated by the Dean and Chapter provided an income for the incumbent. For Shadforth, this was about £260 a year. In order to provide a residence house and offices for the incumbent, the Bishop of Durham and Thomas Hooper of Yorkshire conveyed a parcel of land (2 acres, 2 roods and 33 perch) to Her Majesty’s Commissioners for Building Additional Chapels and Churches. This was built in 1840 by Benjamin Adamson, and the incumbents of Saint Cuthbert’s Church lived in that house, later known as the Rectory, until it was sold in 1967.
The status of the parish was altered in 1866, when the Reverend Blenkinsopp was appointed as the first Rector of Shadforth. The living remained in the gift of the Dean and Chapter, but now had a net value of £335. The Rector now had complete control of the glebe land and could sell it, if he so wished. (By way of comparison, the Curate in the Parish had a stipend of £20 per annum! A house in Church Villas was provided for his use.)
The rector also had mineral rights, and there is a record in 1889 of a lease granted by the Reverend Willmore Hooper, the Rector at that time, to the Right Honourable John George, Earl of Durham. The lease, for seven years, allowed this coal owner to bring the Hutton Seam of coal under part of the Shadforth glebe lands, the area being about 2 acres 3 roods and 4 perch. The consideration for this was 4 pence per ton of coals per annum. Later, in 1941, a claim was made for compensation under the1938 Coal Act, and in 1947 a report was prepared by a consultant mining engineer for damage to the Church by subsidence.
In April 1887, a decision was taken to restore the Church and Mr Hicks of Newcastle was to be asked to prepare plans and specifications. The Grand Concert, in aid of the Church Restoration Fund, was given in the Town Hall in June by several ladies and gentlemen, including the Choir Master of Newcastle Cathedral, as well as members of University College and a Minor Canon of Durham Cathedral. The concert was said to be of the best, ‘but the attendance was very thin in the back seats’, the sum raised being only £6 8s. 6d.
The fund increased slowly over the next year or two, standing at £540 by August 1888. A comment was made that out of 81 subscribers, 74 were non-residents, and nearly all had never even seen the parish of Shadforth - another indication of the hard times being experienced by the people of Shadforth. Hard times too, for the Earl of Durham, who stopped making his annual subscription of £10 to Shadforth Parish Church.
There is no record of the Restoration Fund progress for two years, as publication of the Church magazine was discontinued. It was restarted in January 1891, when it was reported that the restoration of the church was progressing well. Also, the intention to replace the existing bells with a ‘sweet bell of 5 cwt. 1 qr. 6lbs.’ was taken, to be made by Messrs. Taylor’s famous foundry at Loughborough. The new bell was used for the first time on Ascension Day 1891, its ‘sweet tone giving the greatest satisfaction’.
The restoration of the Church was finally completed, and the re-opening took place on the 22nd July 1891. Unfortunately, on the day, there was heavy rain from morning until late at night. The proceedings began with a luncheon for the Lord Bishop and others, held in the Rectory. Then the opening service of Evensong took place at 3pm, at which the Bishop preached a ‘powerful sermon’ on the greatness of the English Church. It had been intended to follow the service with tea in the Rectory grounds (price 9d) but, because of the rain, this had to be held in marquee and there were three ‘sittings-down’. The Lord Bishop was far from well and unable to join the congregation at tea, so had to be driven directly from the church to Durham. At 7.30 pm, a second Evensong was said, the preacher this time being the Archdeacon of Durham. The choir wore newly acquired cassocks and surplices on both occasions.
In 2002, a United Parish was formed to include St. Laurence’s at Pittington, St. Mary’s at Sherburn, and St. Cuthbert’s at Shadforth. At the end of 2002, following the resignation of the Reverend Penelope Martin, on health grounds, an arrangement was made to serve the United Parish by a priest with oversight, assisted by three self-sustaining curates.