| AdminHistory | The history of the Howard Street Presbyterian Church predates the building by about 150 years. The original church was founded around 1662 by the Reverend John Lomax who obtained a licence for a place of worship (the house of Isabella Green, Magnesia Bank, Thorntree Lane, North Shields). This congregation split in 1757 into Orthodox Presbyterians and Unitarians. The Unitarian faction kept control of the congregational property (Low Meeting House) but declined in number until 1811 when the congregation folded just as the Orthodox Presbyterians opened their new church in Howard Street. From 1757 to 1760 the orthodox presbyterians had met at "Wooden Bridge", and then a new church was erected at New Quay, due to the increasing size of the congregation. By 1801 the congregation were resolved to move again and on 17 September 1810 the foundation stone of the new Howard Street church was laid. The church was erected in 1811, a stone structure in the Grecian Doric style at a cost of £2,275. An organ was installed about 1865 and in 1870 the building was restored.
Primarily the Scotch Church was built for the adherents of Presbyterianism as professed by the National and Established Church of Scotland. Following the death of its first minister (Reverend W Knox), the congregation divided over the choice of his successor. The minority party left the congregation and established their own by building, in 1818, an Independent Chapel at Camden Street, North Shields. This chapel was known as St Andrew's Congregational Church.
Howard Street ceased to be licensed to perform marriages in 1945, but continued as a separate church until 1949, sharing a minister with Northumberland Square Presbyterian Church. On 9 March 1949 the two churches merged to form St Columba's Presbyterian Church, worshipping at Northumberland Square. The proceeds of the sale of the Howard Street premises were used to promote church extention in the area, and All Saints Presbyterian Church, West Chirton opened in 1956 after substantial delays due to post-war building restrictions. This church continued until 1984.
Howard Street Presbyterian Church has also been known as the Scotch Church, High Chapel and the High Meeting of Protestant Disenters in North Shields. |