The Primitive Methodist magazine 1880 tells us of the laying of the foundation stones of “a neat and commodious chapel” at Howdon on the banks of the Tyne. It was expected to cost £2,000, and the magazine editor was concerned this would be too great a burden for the society to cover the £1,300 which they did not have.
The 1916 Ordnance Survey map shows a Primitive Methodist chapel on the northern side of Norman Terrace, to the east of Cumberland Street It is still there on the 1947 map. In 2020 the site of the chapel is approximately under the toll booths for the Tyne tunnel.
You can read here what life in the Sunday School was like.
Reference
Primitive Methodist magazine 1880 page 701
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Thanks for the additional information Richard.
This society was formed in the early nineteenth century, initially meeting in members’ houses. In 1840 a Temperance Hall opened and members met there. In 1844 a chapel was erected in East Street (later renamed Church Street). By the 1870s the building was felt to be too small and so on 28 August 1880 the foundation stones were laid for a new chapel and school in Norman Terrace. The new church opened in 1881 and was known as Howdon Primitive Methodist Church. It remained in use until forced to close in 1960 by the building of the Tyne Tunnel. The chapel was 62ft x 45ft and designed to seat 400. The schoolroom was 45ft x 34ft 6″. At the time of opening there were 27 Trustees appointed.
In the late 1950s work began on a new church at the junction of Denbigh Avenue and Ridley Avenue, High Howdon to replace the former Primitive Methodist Church in Norman Terrace. This Church was formally opened on 30 April 1960 and closed in 1995. The society was part of North Shields and Whitley Bay Methodist Circuit until 1970 when it became part of Heaton and Wallsend Methodist Circuit following the extension of that circuit’s boundaries.
Records relating to the chapel can be found at Tyne & Wear Archives (Ref: C.HO2) for the period 1915 – 1998. There are also some misc. records relating to High Howdon at the Newcastle Methodist District Archives Repository at Felling
Thanks for the comment David. After closure, Methodist chapel and circuit records were often placed with the local authority archive service, so Tyne and Wear Archives would be the place to start. Good luck with the search.
It was still operational in 1952, as I was personally Christened there, as were many of my relatives.
A new Methodist chapel was built in High Howdon as a replacement, with the rationale for the move (as I vaguely remember) that High Howdon was a newer centre of population with better opportunities for sustainability in the future, as the old area around Norman street had a declining population.
If anyone knows if the records of the chapel still exist, I would be interested in accessing them
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