St Columba’s Church celebrated its 350th anniversary with a historical exhibition on 25-26 August.
The exhibits which attracted the most interest were some photographs from the 1940s of the cup-winning Northumberland Square Presbyterian Church AFC. We were grateful to Tyne & Wear Archives Service for their help in making these items available for display.
The church traces its roots to North Shields Presbyterian Church, which began in 1662. After the restoration of the monarchy, laws were passed to try to reunited the country and enforce uniformity on the Church of England. Two thousands clergymen who felt unable to conform left the established church, and many began to lead their own congregations of Presbyterians, Independents and Baptists. Despite persecution and arrest in the early years on Nonconformity, many of these churches survived.
In the twentieth century, the church in North Shields united with other Presbyterian and Congregational churches in the town, becoming United Reformed in 1972.
You can read more on our website about our church history.
There was also a quiz with a historical theme during the all-age part of the morning service on Sunday 26 August. The evening services in August have been held jointly within Churches Together in North Shields, and as at happened on this weekend, we met in St Augustin’s Church of England, showing that Anglicans and Nonconformists nowadays are able to worship together on good terms.