St Edmund’s Chapel is a rare survival of a medieval building in Gateshead.

The earliest documentary reference to the Trinity Centre site is around AD 1200 citing a Trinity Chapel which was then amalgamated with a new establishment by Bishop Nicholas de Farnham to create the ‘Chapel and hospital of St Edmund the King and Confessor.’

A ‘hospital’ in the Middle Ages was a charity giving refuge, hospitality, maintenance and education to the needy. It was endowed with a master and three chaplains and the complex included a hall, buttery, kitchen, brewhouse, bakehouse, granary, byre and pigsty. In 1292 the annual revenue was £18.

In 1448 the hospital was given to the nuns of St Bartholomew the Greater, Newcastle by Bishop Neville, but with the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540 it was part of the crown sale of the nunnery property to local merchant William Riddell who built Gateshead House, the gateway of which now sits on the south side of the chapel forecourt.

He kept the chapel and the hospital continued with diminished assets. In 1594 the Catholic priest John Ingram was hanged opposite what by then was known as the ‘Popish Chapel.’ He was beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI and his anniversary is 24 July and commemorated each year by Catholics who gather at St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Newcastle, the site of the old Newgate Prison where he was held, then walk the execution route to St Edmund’s Chapel for a prayer service to commemorate his martyrdom.

In 1746 when the Duke of Cumberland and his army were marching through Gateshead on their way to Scotland, some of the watching crowd climbed onto the garden wall of Gateshead House, the gardener set dogs on them causing a riot and the burning of the chapel and house. By the early 19th century the chapel was being used as a mason’s yard.

In 1836 Cuthbert Ellison, lord of the manor gave the ruined chapel and site to the Rector and Churchwardens of Gateshead. A medieval grave slab was discovered and moved with the old gateway of Gateshead House to its present site. The chapel was restored by the architect John Dobson and reopened for public worship.

By 1894 a larger church was needed for the growing population of Gateshead and one solution was to demolish the chapel. However, architect Stephen Piper decide to demolish one wall and incorporate the old chapel as the south aisle of a new Church of the Holy Trinity.

In 1969 the Holy Trinity Church was declared redundant and the old chapel was portioned off and remains in use. Ten years later the Holy Trinity Church was converted into a Community Centre which ran for many years.

in 2015 it was taken into use by Gateway Studio, a community dance organisation, which - together with various partners - is currently restoring the fabric of the building(s) and renovating the interior to provide a centre for arts, heritage and community that will secure the future of this historic site for future generations  

Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund

Gateway Studio is growing

It all started with an idea. Two people passionate about dance and equality. Over time, our vision has grown from a Community Interest Company to a Charity.

Our building The Trinity Centre has been a beacon of hope for the people of Gateshead. Now, thanks to funds and support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, we are able to improve our facilities, which means that we can create more impact and do more in our community.

See our redevelopment plans created by Ashley Todd from MWE Architects .

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You can help to make this dream a reality by donating today.