RC Cathedral of St. Mary, grave of James Worswick

HER Number:
13238

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
RC Cathedral of St. Mary, grave of James Worswick

Place:
Newcastle

Map Sheet:
NZ26SW

Class:
Religious Ritual and Funerary

Site Type: Broad:
Burial Vault

Site Type: Specific:
Burial Vault

General Period:
POST MEDIEVAL

Specific Period:
Victorian 1837 to 1901

Form of Evidence:
Structure

Description:
James Worswick (1771-1843) was a Roman Catholic priest. He was born in Lancaster and was the son of a banker. He trained for the priesthood in France, escaping back to England during the Revolution of 1789. He continued his training at Crook Hall. He was appointed priest to the secular mission and worked from an old house in Bell's Court off Newgate Street in Newcastle. He acquired a house in Pilgrim Street and built a brick church in the garden. By the late 1830s, the church was too small. In 1842 he acquired a triangular plot of land in Clayton Street West on which to build a large Roman Catholic church, later to became St. Mary's Cathedral. The church opened a year after James Worswick's death. Worswick Street, on which St. Andrew's RC Church stands, was named after him. He lies in a vault in the nave. The brass cross from the vault has been moved into the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.

Easting:
424470

Northing:
563900

Grid Reference:
NZ424470563900

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Alan Morgan, 2004, Beyond the Grave - Exploring Newcastle's Burial Grounds, pages 122-123