The magnificent Gothic edifice was built for the dual purpose of serving the Irish Catholic community based around Mickley and West Wylam collieries and commemorating the founder of the Mission, Matthew Liddell of Prudhoe Hall.  He had been the principal owner of the Mickley Coal Co and it was his wealth and generosity, which were crucial to the development of the Catholic Faith in the area.  His widow, Susanna, after his death in 1881, entrusted the design to Dunn, Hansom and Dunn, a firm of architects based in Newcastle.  Less grand than many of their mature works, the church is built on a diminutive scale and is relatively modest in its execution.  Yet, a great deal of care has been lavished on it, and it abounds both inside and out with fine carving and rich contrasts of materials, colours and textures.

Archibald Dunn (1832-1917) and Edward Hansom (1842-1900) are among the most important but unsung local architects.  Under the style of Dunn and Hansom they became the foremost Catholic architects in the North of England, and gained such notability for their prodigious church-building that they received three of the most prestigious English Catholic commissions since the Reformation – namely the colleges of Downside, Stonyhurst and Ushaw.  Their principal works in the North East include the noble tower and spire of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Newcastle, and the magnificent church of St. Michael in Elswick.  Dunn was also a prominent local landowner. Across the valley from Prudhoe is Castle Hill House (1878-9), which he designed and built for his own occupation in Wylam, the town of his birth.

Our Lady and St Cuthbert’s origins as a memorial church are immediately visible. It reproduces the short nave and asymmetrically-attached belfry of chapels he had designed at St Andrew’s Cemetery, Hexham and Benfieldside Cemetery, Blackhill during the early part of his career.  The small entrance porch on the south side allows a vast window to occupy the east face.  Above the steeply-pitched nave rises an octagonal bell-tower with open belfry and gargoyles projecting from each vertex.  The tower is akin to those Dunn and Hansom created for St Bede’s Church, Jarrow in 1885, and the church ends with a robust semi-hexagonal apse, which was their preferred method of enshrining the chancel. Apsidal termination was also a characteristically French device and it was common for English Catholic churches to be given this kind of stylistic inflection, in order to distinguish them from their Anglican counterparts.  Perhaps the most consistent feature of Dunn and Hansom’s work are the gargoyles that continually haunt the upper portions of their buildings.  Here they are carved with consummate attention to variety and expressiveness.  Unusually, however, they represent signs of the zodiac, a kind of symbolism that does not occur elsewhere in their work and which is unusual in any architectural context. 

The building itself is ‘Perpendicular’ in style. This term refers to the latest phase of medieval Gothic architecture, which flourished c.1335-1530 and is typified by the church’s membranous tracery and ornate wooden roof.  The firm employed this mode frequently towards the end of their career, it was the style of their greatest ecclesiastical works.  This may be observed from the chapel of St Aloysius, part of their majestic contribution to Stonyhurst College in Lancashire.

The placement of the mortuary is evident from the sepulchral character of the sombre north transept, penetrated only by a single rose window and adorned with symmetrical finials.  Spanning the wall is an arcade of pointed arches.  These enclose heraldic and foliated carving in which the monograms of Matthew and Susanna Liddell figure prominently.  Dunn had a love of heraldry and it enriched the works produced throughout his entire career.  It is not surprising that this passion extended to monograms, and such motifs pervade both Castle Hill House and his early masterpiece Neville Hall in Newcastle, as well as our Lady and St Cuthbert’s. 

The Reredos in the mortuary chapel has a painting giving a composite picture of Heaven, Earth and Purgatory.  Purgatory is depicted symbolically by rising, golden flames.  Earth is roofed by clouds and presents nine men and women who are appealing to heaven with their prayers for those who may be undergoing their purification in the flames below them.  So, we are encouraged to join our prayers to theirs for the repose of the souls of the Faithful Departed, including those of Mr and Mrs Liddell.  This brings out the whole meaning of the Mortuary Chapel.  Notice the predominant place given to the Glorious Christ.  His Mother Mary kneels before Him and petitions her divine Son.  The two smaller angels above his shoulders are supplicating Him.  All heaven joins the prayer of the Faithful on earth in their charity towards the Holy Souls in Purgatory.  Christ blesses all and gestures gently towards his Mother.  The Six Angels of the Frame itself support shields bearing the implements of Christ’s Passion: the whipping post and scourges, the seamless garment and the crown of thorns, the hammer and pincers, the spear and sponge and the three nails.

Dunn and Hansom’s churches are remarkable for the spiritual erudition that is displayed in their planning and decoration.  This is seen to best effect in the splendid church of our Lady and the English Martyrs, Cambridge, a cruciform edifice of gleaming white stone that overflows with effigies and portraits of saints, bishops and kings.  Yet, is also apparent in the more modest churches they created throughout their own diocese.  At Prudhoe the chancel ends with a tabernacle containing statues of the Virgin and Child and St Cuthbert, which give tangible expression to the church’s dedication.  Though weathered, they set a high standard that is upheld by the statuary inside, the finest instance being the beautiful representation of the baptism of Christ, aptly situated in the baptistry.

The word ‘Nave’ is derived from the Latin word ‘navis’ which means boat or ship. The Nave is covered by a pitch pine roof, clearly evoking an upturned ship. This is a fine wooden-truss roof with fibrous tracery between the structural timbers.  In keeping with the contemporary liturgy, the richness of the nave roof is exceeded by the lavishly-stencilled chancel ceiling.  This ensures that nave and chancel – the sacred and worldly domains – are kept visibly distinct.  The glowing colours of these fittings are beautifully offset by the more muted tones of the dappled grey stonework.  The Reredos of the High Altar contains the symbols of the four Evanglists: Matthew – a winged man; Mark – a winged lion; Luke – a winged ox; and John – a winged eagle. The Tabernacle, which contains the most holy Eucharist, has fine brass doors and is embellished with four enamels, Alpha Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet) and IHS (the first three letters of ‘Jesus’) CHR (Christ).  Above the Tabernacle (Tent) is the throne for the Crucifix, above which is a carving of a Pelican with the words: ‘Adoramus Te Christe’ (‘We adore Thee O Christ’) Following the edicts of the renowned Catholic architect A.W.N. Pugin, Dunn and Hansom’s work continually embodies the ideals of rational construction and structural expression, and the ceiling fulfils Pugin’s assertion that decoration may enrich but must never disguise construction.  Similarly, the visual effect of the gargoyles is underscored by their functional purpose of channelling away water.

Owing to the poverty of the Roman Catholic population, many of Dunn and Hansom’s northern churches are small, aisleless buildings devoid of decoration.  Situated in the poorest areas of town, among the chemical works and factories, they are often little more than meagre preaching boxes.  At Prudhoe, however, the beneficence of the Liddell family ensured that the architects were able to transcend the usual financial difficulties and produce a perfect example of splendour on a small scale.  Replete with naturalistic carving and expressive gargoyles, the church has the full beauty of the firm’s mature work.  Its turbulent history of transference and alteration has not impaired the original fabric, and Our Lady and St Cuthbert’s remains one of the most pious and beautiful churches that Dunn and Hansom ever created, undiminished as a monument to their contribution to the architecture of the North East.

The fine octagonal Bell Tower with open belfry is home to a fine bell cast by Taylor’s of Loughborough with the following inscription:

  “Bell made in 1891 – 300 cwt”.  

It has the following Latin inscription around the base:

 

“Me Sonnante Pia Succure Virgo Maria”

 

(“O Blessed Virgin Mary When I Am Sounded Come To Our Aid”)

 

To the right above the porch, there is a pair of human heads in place of gargoyles.  They are thought to be representations of Mrs Susanna Liddell who built the church and her nephew Mr John Liddell, carrying the scales of justice as a Justice of the Peace, who paid for the relocation of the church.

 

 

At the end of the drip stones of the upper Sacristy windows are the heads of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Above these is a superb carving of Agnes Dei (the Lamb of God). 

 

DUNN HANSOM & DUNN 

            Archibald Mathias Dunn was born in 1832.  His father was Mathias Dunn, a Mining Engineer and Manager and one of the first Government Inspectors of Mines for the North East of England.  Archibald was educated at Ushaw and Stonyhurst.  He then went to Bristol to be apprenticed to Charles Francis Hansom (1816-1888) the younger brother of Joseph Aloysius Hansom (Inventor of the Hansom Cab in 1834 and Founder of the Builder).  It was here that Dunn met his future partner Edward Joseph Hansom (1842-1900) son of C.F.Hansom.

            A.M.Dunn returned to Newcastle after completing his training and set up a practice in c.1855 and about 1871 formed a partnership with E.J.Hansom. As well as having an office in Newcastle, they established another office at 2 Westminster Gardens in London in 1880.  About 1887 a son of A.M. Dunn became a partner and the firm became known as Dunn, Hansom & Dunn.

            In 1862 Archibald Mathias Dunn married Sara an authoress and daughter of Hugh Armstrong of Newcastle and Bromley, Kent.  They were fond of travelling and Dunn published a book in 1886 ‘Notes and sketches of an Architect’ – a collection of sketches made in France, Germany, Spain and England based on their travels.

            Dunn and Sara resided at Castle Hill House in Wylam in Northumberland, which he had designed and built in 1878.  Previous to this they had been living in Gateshead, where Dunn was an Alderman, one time Mayor and also a Justice of the Peace for County Durham, and in 1870 was President of the Northern Architectural Association.

            Dunn also submitted a design for Westminster Cathedral, which was unsuccessful (J.F.Bently received this commission).

            Dunn retired from full time practice around 1883-87 with the firm later becoming Dunn, Hansom & Fenwicke.   In 1901 Archibald and Sara moved to Wood House, Branksome Park, Bournemouth, where he died on 17^th January 1917 in his eighty fifth year, leaving £36,000.   

   

Here is a list of his works:       

   

THE 2004/5 RESTORATION OF THE CHURCH

        The Church of Our Lady and St Cuthbert is a marvellous Dunn, Hanson and Dunn Grade II List building set in its own walled grounds in Prudhoe, Northumberland.  Napper Architects were commissioned in November 2001, with a remit to complete the project to coincide with the church centenary celebrations in October 2005.

The significant £600,000 conservation and restoration project included: total renewal of the internal Sanctuary spalled limestone ashlar; adaptation of the baptismal font; cleaning of the terrazzo and parquet flooring; limewashing and decoration of the whole interior; new bespoke furniture to the Sanctuary and Nave; replacement heating and lighting installation; replacement lead and slate roofing including cast iron decorative ridge; re-pointing and DDA compliance works, including substantial external terrace works. Other works included; improvements to the confessional, adaptation of the choir balcony rail, the installation of staircase to upper store for the Sacristy and the cleaning and sealing of the ceilings. The main contractor was Stephen Easten Ltd of Newcastle.  

The Parish Council and Finance Committee were consulted from the start of the planning process.  All the parishioners were kept up to date on the expected costs of the project.  In the beginning, the cost of some remedial work was thought to be in the region of £50,000!   A certain degree of dismay must have been experienced by the parish as the cost inevitably escalated.  But all can now enjoy a rare achievement, that of a completely conserved and restored church. The Historic Churches Committee of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle vetted all the work of conservation and restoration.

          The work was carried out between October 2004 and April 2005.  All the pews were removed from the church and taken to Liverpool by Hayes and Finch Ltd for refurbishment.  All the floors were protected with wooden boards and the high altar was boxed in to prevent damage.  During this time, all the weekend Masses were provided at St Matthew’s School in Highfield Lane, with weekday Masses being held in the Presbytery.  

The Sanctuary furniture, Altar, Ambo and Ministerial Chair are solid marble quarried in the Sichuan Province of Western China. The top piece of the Altar weighs 1200 kilograms.

 The design of the Ministerial Chair has been loosely based on the 7^th century stone chair in Hexham Abbey, known as the Frith Stool, believed to have been used by St Wilfrid when he was bishop there. The marble was principally processed by a company known as Chunkai Trading in their factory in Fuzhou (Fujian Province) on the south east coast of China, near the Taiwan Straits.  This was all arranged by Classic Masonry, who installed the marble in the Sanctuary in September 2005 in time for the Centenary Mass of Thanksgiving on 5^th October.  

          Charles McReavy from Gosforth, the nephew of Monsignor Lawrence McReavy who had been professor of Canon Law for many years at Ushaw College and a very accomplished watercolours artist, was responsible for the painstaking work of restoring the High Altar and the Stations of the Cross, using 23 carat gold leaf.  Charles took the Stations of the Cross to his home to work on them, but the work on the high altar involved many trips back and forth, applying the three hour gold size to dry before the application of the gold leaf.   

          Disabled access and disabled toilet were major items of expenditure in the project.  Matlock sandstone was used for all the paving on the south side of the church.  Floodlighting to the church and the automation of the Church Bell enhanced the presence of the building in the locality.  Smiths of Derby installed the bell ringing mechanism and timer, allowing for the hours to be struck and the Angelus to ring out at twelve noon and six in the evening.  Several groups of women from the town on visiting the church after the work had been completed, such as Prudhoe Heights and the Wednesday group, were curious about the significance of the extra strikes of the Bell at midday and in the evening.  As a result of Father Zielinski explaining the significance of the Angelus to them, about 40 non-Catholic women in ear-shot of the Bell are now praying the Angelus.

          The church was completely rewired and a sophisticated lighting system installed. The dimming system provides great versatility, allowing the creation of multiple lighting ‘scenes’ in both Nave and Sanctuary.  The effect is to make the most of the architectural features of the building, and to change the ‘mood’ to fit varying liturgical themes, such as gathering, celebration, adoration, and meditation, or changing the focus from altar to baptismal font, to reredos.

          A new church organ with digitally sampled pipe sounds was installed by Edinburgh Organ Studio from Edinburgh.

          The final piece of work, which was not carried out until October 2006, concerned the waterproofing and  provision of Matlock sandstone to the Crypt of the Church, and the engraving of the names of Matthew and Susanna Liddell above the entrance.  It seems fitting their final resting place in the Church, which their generous provision had brought about, should also enjoy some conservation and restoration to mark the centenary of the translation of their mortal remains from Prudhoe Hall to Highfield Lane.

 

Donations gratefully accepted to the church restoration fund.