Research Notes

Parish Notes Northumberland

Mickley St George

[Population 1911: 2,969]

Church

The first building on the site of the present church was a 'Chapel of Ease' (1823), as the area was part of the ancient parish of Ovingham. Mickley was given parochial status in 1867 and the 'Chapel' was extended in 1884 by the addition of a chancel, trancepts, and a porch and steeple. The original building became the nave and the church has had no further structural alterations since 1884. Both the building and alterations were paid for by Mr Battie Wrightson the land and coal owner of the period. [The Newcastle Diocesan Gazetteer (1982), page 38.]

In the vestry is a photograph of the choir dated 1936:

D. RUDDICK              L. BROWN
T. SPICER               R. PRICE
J. DONNELLY        D. BALLANTYNE
W. ROBERTS              J. BATEY
W. RIDLEY              D. WILLIE
P. HOWDEN           T. NICHOLSON
J. TURNER              H. HOLDEN
H. TAYLOR

REV. F. PATTISON VICAR 1930-1950
W. RIDLEY ORGANIST & CHOIRMASTER

A brass plate on the organ reads:

To the Glory of God
and in Memory of
RICHARD HERBERT WRIGHTSON
Patron and Benefactor
Erected 1894.

One stained glass window behind the altar reads:

ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF SAMUEL
& MARY ANN LITTLE OF THIS PARISH
BY THEIR SON JOSEPH 1921

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History

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

St. George's church was formerly a chapel-of-ease to Ovingham, and was erected in 1823 by W.B. Wrightson who was at that time a land-owner in the district. The area surrounding the chapel was endowed with distrinct parochial privileges in 1857. The patronage of the parish passed into the hands of R.H. Wrightson who enlarged and improved the building in 1885 with the addition of a porch, two transepts and a chancel, giving sitting accomodation for one hundred and fifty persons. The patronage has been the responsibility of the Bishop of Newcastle since 29th July, 1924. The following is a list of the Vicars in the parish since its inception.

1868. J.A. Collingwood-Maughan left to become first Vicar of Prudhoe
1884. William Jesson died March 16th 1893
1893. G.J. Woodward
1897. John Turner
1904. D. Waters
1905-1930. Thomas Stenhouse
1930-Sept. 1951. W.F. Pattison
1952-57. Athol Simpson
1958-1963. Harold H. Baker
1963-1965. in Charge C. Bartlett Vicar of Ovingham
1965-1995. J.E. Symons

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