A small church of the early 1970s, of pyramidal construction and roof form, and with a warm, timber-clad interior. 

Pelaw became an important manufacturing centre in the early twentieth century when the Co-operative Society set up several factories there to produce clothing and household textiles for sale in their stores of the North East. Those factories have gone, and the employment market has changed.

The parish was erected in 1935 and the present church built in 1972, from designs by Rossi, McCann & Partners. The parish is clustered with St Patrick, Felling and there is no resident priest at Pelaw. 

Description

The church has ritual east at actual north; ritual orientation will be referred to in this description. Walls are of buff bricks, roof covering is metallic foil-backed felt; roof lights are of Georgian wired glass with aluminium glazing bars. The pyramidal structure is based on four raking legs, steel encasing laminated beams, rising to a cross finial. An envelope of brick walls forms the church, with a soldier course at eaves level, and a re-pointed or rebuilt parapet above. A boarded timber porch shelters the door. Inside, three strips of roof lights have top-hinged panes, walls are white-painted plaster. Windows are full-height narrow rectangles, filled with interesting but unsigned glass (with symbolic designs) which seems to be contemporary with the building. The laminated beams are exposed. Sanctuary furniture is made of simple blocks, apparently stone, which taper inwards to their recessed black base. Simple, sturdy pews and presidential chair are of varnished light oak, the pews arranged in three blocks round the large sanctuary platform with canted corners. Two steps lead to the altar, and two more to the tabernacle stand. The front panel of each block has horizontal channelling.

Heritage Details