Our Tower Campaign.
September 2026 marks 90 years since the consecration of Holy Cross Church and the church has been part of the Fenham community during this time. It has been an icon on the local landscape and the one that can be seen from the major westerly gateway into Newcastle. " The Church on the Hill". The church is built under the " Modernist" style of design by the architect of Henry Hicks 1883 - 1947, an architect who also conducted work on Newcastle Cathedral and lived locally in both Kenton and Westgate Hill.
The church has stood on the hill at the crossroads of Whittington Grove and Ovington Grove with the addition of the parish hall being built in 1975 serving the community of Fenham. A beacon of Hope and Faith.
Over the years, the tower has had some work undertaken in terms of the gilding of the cross in 2000 and other small remedial actions, however as the church was built on reclaimed bricks from Heaton Hall in the early 30s and being reclaimed and extending the life of the brick, the tower is starting to show signs of wear and tear.
Our recent Quinquennial report from 2023 suggested that significant investment is needed in the tower to repair the deterioration specially around the brickwork and the mortar, to safeguard the tower from further issues and enhance its longevity, but all this work comes at a cost. We have been quoted between £35k & £50K to expediate the project. As a church with a small congregation, we are struggling to understand how we can fund this project and we are looking at many avenues such as Historic Churches grant scheme and the National Lottery Fund heritage grant scheme.
However, as the church has played a major part in the community for 90 years and no doubt had an impact on the families of Fenham, we are seeking to understand whether anyone is able to help us support this project. Any financial help is appreciated and will go towards the costs of starting the project to understand the level of work needed. On a project of this scale architects and advisors are required all for which are costly.
Our parish giving scheme link can be found on our main church page. If you available to support us with any donation, however small will help immensely. This can be donated via the PGS scheme or directly to the church (Contact details can be found in the Who's Who Page)
We thank you for your time to read this and if you wish to know more about this program, please do get in touch.
https://www.parishgiving.org.uk/donors/find-your-parish/fenham-holy-cross-newcastle-upon-tyne/