FAQs

We welcome visitors of all faiths and none, whether you are here to explore the architecture and heritage of the building, attend one of our services, or spend some time in quiet prayer and reflection. 

If you would like to find out more about our tours and cultural programme, please click here.

If you would like to learn about visiting with children or for details of our family activities programme, please visit the ‘Families’ section of our website.

Click here if you would like to bring a school, college or university group.

Click here if you would like to arrange general group visit.

If you have a venue hire query, click here to contact Kate Sussams, Chief Operating Officer.

If the topic you would like to discuss isn’t answered on this page, please email office@newcastlecathedral.org.uk.

Concerts and Special Events

Tickets for concerts and special events cannot be resold, exchanged or refunded with the exception that in the unlikely occurrence of an event or performance is cancelled. For events which external companies organise, please liaise directly with your ticket provider.

Newcastle Cathedral hosts a wide array of concerts and special events, the majority of which are hosted by external companies.

If you have an enquiry regarding an external concert being run at Newcastle Cathedral, please contact the organiser directly.

If your query is regarding accessibility to the building for a concert or external event, please refer to our Accessibility section further down this page.

About your visit

Newcastle Cathedral is free to visit; however, donations are very welcome.

We offer tours and an array of events such as ticketed concerts and performances from both the Cathedral Choir and guest artists. These events may have a fee attached. Full details of all our events are listed in the ‘What’s On’ calendar.

Click here to view the What’s On calendar.

Donations

There are plenty of ways you can donate to Newcastle Cathedral – both in the building and online.

Visit our ‘Donate’ page for more details.

If you live and pay tax in the UK, please consider choosing to Gift Aid your donation. This way, we can claim back 25% off the Government (i.e. £1.25 for every £1 you give).

Photography and Video

Photography is permitted within the Cathedral for your own personal use; however, please be mindful of worshippers and other visitors – especially if using a flash. Please do not include minors and vulnerable adults (outside of your party) in your photos/videos or take photos/videos of Newcastle Cathedral Choir.

If you wish to take photos or footage for media or commercial purposes, please contact a member of our Marketing & Communications team beforehand. Click here to contact the Marketing and Communications team.

Dogs in the Cathedral

Assistance dogs, as well as well-behaved dogs on leads, are welcome with their owners inside the Cathedral and in the café. The external churchyard and nearby Castle Garth (the area surrounding Newcastle Castle’s Black Gate) offer green space and opportunities for short walks.

Car Parking

The nearest major public car park can be found on Dean Street. There are numerous other parking facilities, including multi-storey facilities and 47 surface car parks operated by Newcastle City Council. Please refer to the Newcastle City Council website for more information.

Public Transport

Newcastle Cathedral is within easy reach of many public transport links.

Click here to visit our ‘Getting to Us’ page.

Souvenirs

Take a piece of the Cathedral home with a thoughtful gift for yourself or a loved one from our retail area. We sell a range of Christian gifts as well as souvenirs created by a variety of talented local artists, designers, and creators.

Click here to see opening times for the retail area.

*Please note that the retail space will be closed during services and potentially at quieter times of the day.

Accessibility

Most areas of Newcastle Cathedral are wheelchair accessible with the aid of wheelchair lifts, except the Crypt and Lantern Tower. Level access into the Cathedral is via the new East Entrance (via the South Churchyards which are on the side of the Cathedral facing Newcastle Castle) and the main, West Entrance (on St Nicholas Street, opposite the Old Post Office and Tup Tup Palace nightclub). There is a manually activated automatic door at this entrance which is wheelchair accessible.

There is a new Braille and tactile (touch) floor plan as part of the orientation table near the West Entrance and some resources to support visits.

Click here for an in-depth guide to access at Newcastle Cathedral.

Visiting with young children

Newcastle Cathedral is a family-friendly venue, and we welcome children of all ages to explore, play, and learn in the Cathedral and our grounds. You don’t need to be quiet when you visit the Cathedral; it’s a space where everyone is welcome. The only time we might ask visitors to be quieter is if a service is happening.

Click here for more information about visiting with children.

Food and drink

If bringing snacks or drinks into the Cathedral, visitors are asked to be mindful of fellow visitors and respectful of historic/religious artefacts and furnishings. Packed lunches can be enjoyed in our beautifully relandscaped churchyards. Drinks, cakes and lunches are available at Café 16, run by The Oswin Project; only food and drink purchased in the café premises can be consumed here.

Click here for more information about Café 16.

Worship & Music

Since the 16th century, Newcastle Cathedral has been a protestant church and a part of the Church of England.  Just like the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, we worship God as the ‘Holy Trinity’ – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Under Jesus Christ, the spiritual leader of the Church of England is the Archbishop of Canterbury and the earthly head of the Church is the King.  In the Church of England, women as well as men, may be priests.

Anglican (Church of England) worship is at the heart of Newcastle Cathedral; however, we warmly welcome visitors of all faiths and none.

If you would like to attend a service, please click here to visit the ‘Services’ page of our website.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Christian faith, one of our team of volunteer Chaplains is available in the Cathedral most days.

Attending a service

All of our services are open to everyone. In keeping with our Liturgical Statement, we welcome all visitors to join our regular services of worship – there is no need to book in advance. 

Click here for individual service times and information.

Weddings and Baptisms

To be married at the Cathedral, you or your partner must either live in the Cathedral parish or – as most couples do – at least one of you must commit to worshipping with us regularly over the course of six months and then apply to go onto our Electoral Roll (like a membership list).

We can talk you through this and will do all we can to help – for information, please click here.

If you already have a connection with the Cathedral, we would be overjoyed to arrange a baptism service for you or your child – click here for more information.

Lighting a candle

There are votive candles in the Cathedral. You can light a candle to pray for yourself, for a loved one or for a situation. There is a suggested donation of £2.

Private prayer and reflection

St George’s Chapel is set aside for quiet prayer and contemplation. In the Eastern Chapels, you will also find here a ‘Prayer Tree’ where you can leave a written prayer if you wish. These prayers will be prayed with, and for you by those who attend our daily services of Morning and Evening Prayer. The Quire is also one of our quieter spaces, when not in use for services.

Speaking to Cathedral Chaplains and clergy

If you just want to talk something through, one of our team of volunteer Chaplains is available in the Cathedral most days. Some of our Chaplains are retired clergy, so if you want to speak with a priest, they or one of the Cathedral’s resident clergy will be happy to do so.

Joining the choir

The ‘back row’ of the Cathedral Choir consists of six professional Lay Clerks and student Choral Scholars. We have an extensive list of Lay Clerk deputies and are always keen to hear from appropriately qualified singers who have newly moved to the area.

See our Vacancies page for any roles presently vacant.

We offer a unique and valuable musical education to boys and girls from Newcastle, Gateshead and further afield. Information can be found on our website about the following groups: ChoriStarters (School Year 2+), The Cathedral Boy and Girl Choristers (School Years 3+) and Senior Girls’ Choir (Years 10-13). For more information, please click here.

How we operate

Cathedral Staff

Thanks to support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for delivery of the ‘Common Ground in Sacred Space’ project, the team at the Cathedral has grown significantly since 2018. Aside from Choir and clergy members, we have between 15 and 20 members of salaried staff.

Click here to view our ‘Meet the Team’ page.

We are well supported by a network of stakeholders including Cathedral Chapter, the Project Delivery Board and the Cathedral Trust.

Jobs and Vacancies

Please click here to view our ‘Vacancies’ page.

Click here to sign up to our newsletter to be notified about opportunities.

Volunteers

Volunteers play an important role in our daily life and work at Newcastle Cathedral. Volunteers allow us to:

• Enhance the warm, friendly and radical welcome offered to all who visit us, whatever their reason for doing so.
• Open up our stories – exploring the rich heritage of our wonderful building.
• Offer a range of opportunities for a diverse scope of people to get involved in the life of the Cathedral.
• Empower those volunteering with us to expand their own sense of worth through the development of their skills and experience.

Click here to find out how you can become a Newcastle Cathedral volunteer and the roles we have available.

Café 16

Café 16 is operated by Northumberland-based charity The Oswin Project. Baked goods in the café are produced in their bakery at HMP Northumberland, and all profits help support their work. The café follows the same model as The Oswin Project’s successful flagship Café 16 (named after the 1916 Royal Flying corps station) in HMP Northumberland, with employment and training utilised as a vehicle to independence, personal growth, and fulfilling lives to prevent re-offending.

Through Café 16, The Oswin Project offers mentoring, paid employment and funded training opportunities, to help prison leavers find better lives away from offending.

The Cathedral

Removing the pews

The Victorian pews were in a fixed position and extremely heavy, which made the Nave inflexible. The decision was made to remove them in order to have an adaptable space for the needs of modern worship, community and events.

We instead have a system of seating which allows the space to be flexible and can be positioned as required. The opportunity was taken to install underfloor heating in the Nave and replace the worn-out stone flags with new paving, as well as protect and conserve the ledger stones. All pews went to good homes in the North East and we have retained the mayoral pew and two others positioned in the Eastern Chapels and Quire Aisles.

Support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund

Thanks to funding and support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we were able to complete the works above as well as carry out repairs to the fabric of the building and install new electrical infrastructure; improved security and environmental control; plus, new visitor facilities including an East Entrance, volunteers’ centre, toilets and an accessible shower as well as re-landscaped grounds which include the transformation of our old staff car park into a pleasant space in the heart of the city.

Our name

We have a dedicated page about the naming of the Cathedral. Please click here for more information.

Saint Nicholas

All cathedrals have a dedication (i.e. a saint or saints to which they are dedicated). For example, our Anglican brothers and sisters on the River Wear are officially The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham (serving the Diocese of Durham), but are more commonly referred to as Durham Cathedral.

We are still formally The Cathedral Church of St Nicholas Newcastle upon Tyne, and are England’s only cathedral dedicated to St Nicholas, the 3rd century Bishop of Myra and the inspiration for ‘Santa Claus’. Click here for more information.

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If you would like to speak further about any of the topics addressed on this page, please contact us via office@newcastlecathedral.org.uk.