St Paul's Roman Catholic Church
A fine Victorian church in the Decorated Gothic style
Standing at the heart of Green Batt, Alnwick’s splendid late Georgian/early Victorian suburb, St Paul’s enjoys an evocative grassy site surrounded by mature trees that shelter many nests of cawing rooks, and add a touch of rural magic in the winter snows.
The church was designed in the Decorated period of Gothic architecture by the renowned architect Anthony Salvin. It was opened for worship in 1846.
The magnificent East Window (pictured here), one of only three of its kind in Europe, was designed and created in Munich and depicts St Paul and St Barnabus preaching at Antioch. This was installed in 1856.
Other features of interest include the Lady Altar and statue, the reredos depicting the Northern saints, and the Stations of the Cross transferred to St Paul’s from the former Catholic church building.
Originally an Anglican parish church, St Paul's has served as Alnwick’s Roman Catholic church since1982, and the previous (smaller) Catholic Church was converted into the Bailiffgate Museum.
This interchange of church buildings is echoed in the inter-denominational services, meetings and activities which take place in the town.
In the 18th century Roman Catholics worshipped in a thatched house next to the Plough Inn in Bondgate Without. The first Roman Catholic chapel was built in a yard behind a house in Bailiffgate, and replaced by a building fronting onto Bailiffgate. This was replaced by the Roman Catholic Church of St Mary, Bailiffgate in 1836.
Source: Alnwick Northumberland Extensive Urban Survey, Northumberland County Council 2009.
Visitor information
Sunday Services: Sunday Mass 9.30am, /See church website for more details of these and other services and events.
Additional information
St Paul's Church website: http://www.stpaulschurchalnwick.co.uk/
Listed Grade II: britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/church-of-st-paul-alnwick