This church is a 1960's build replacing a mission Church building on Temple Park opposite Park Avenue. This Mission Church was provided by the Parishioners of All Saints, Cleadon whose parish then included Cleadon Park. It was built when the social housing (Council Estate) was developed and dedicated in 1926. The villagers of Cleadon thought they were gifting it to make attending church easier, just as they had benefitted from their own church building some 50 years previously, up until which they had needed to travel to Whitburn in which parish were at that time. Sadly the residents of Cleadon Park, and more widely in South Shields, perceived this act as being one to protect the villagers from contact with Council Tenants. Interestingly Cleadon still has a remarkably low level of social housing, whilst Cleadon Park has only 50% privately owned housing.
The mission church of St Cuthbert, a wooden building, was burnt down in the 1961 after Cleadon Park became a parish in it's own right, independent of Cleadon, in 1952. The new building benefitted from the closure of St Mark, South Shields and a grant for the attached Youth Club and was consecrated 30th September 1967. The attached Youth Club was originally a storey higher but it too has suffered from fire damage. Although plain looking from the outside, within it is light and airy thanks to the lantern in the roof, creating a bedouin styled ceiling effect.
****************** ********************
For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
****************** *******************