Bensham, Ely Street, Primitive Methodist Church

The head of Gateshead's second Primitive Methodist circuit. 1873 by Thomas Southrow of South Shields. Enlarged in 1887. A large Italianate town chapel with a full gallery. Last used by the Methodists in 1963, then sold to the Christadelphians. The building is now a mosque.

Ashlar and coursed rubble with ashlar dressings. Slate roof with coped gables and kneelers, plus single gable stack. Red ashlar cill bands and ground floor lintel bands, moulded eaves. 2 storey. Ely Street front: 3 bay with projecting single storey porch. Pedimented centre has 2 round headed doorways with moulded hoods and eitherside square corner piers with pairs of upper pilasters with unusual facing and pulvinated frieze, each topped by a squat obelisk.Set back eitherside are pairs of round headed windows and concave surrounds. Above central bay has round arch rising in to the large pediment above, with 3 round headed plain sashes, the central one broader, with panels below and above a circular panel. Eitherside single pilasters supporting the arch, and beyond single and round headed plain sashes with moulded hoods and imposts. East front: 5 bay, with 5 tall round headed arches with moulded hoods and continuous moulded impost band. Within 5 sunken plain sashes below and 5 sunken round headed tall plain sashes above, with sunken panels below the windows.

Interior: Internal fittings include round ended gallery supported on iron columns with foliate capitals, gallery has panelled front with short baluster balustrade; contemporary pews, combined reading desk, pulpit and organ with flanking side screens; coved plaster ceiling supported on moulded plaster brackets now hidden above C20 false ceiling. LISTED GRADE 2