Spirit in Stone - Historic Churches in Northeast England
Posted: 2013-03-29
Here's an interesting new resource for exploring historic churches in the north east of England; there's a new full-colour printed guide called Spirit in Stone that covers over 120 churches in County Durham, Tyneside, Newcastle, and Northumberland. Printed copies are available for free at tourist information centres and in churches across the region.
You can also download a free pdf version of the guide (which of course you can then print out and take with you if you prefer). There's a special website for the guide at http://spiritinstone.info and a short video introduction to the Spirit in Stone guide on YouTube at http://youtu.be/-Xu7PKnFRY0
I've had a good look at the new guide and I must say I'm impressed. I've downloaded a pdf and I'll be printing it off and taking it with me next time I'm heading to the northeast. There are colour photos of each church, a regional map overview showing where churches are in relation to each other (great for planning an outing) address and contact details, website links, opening times, facilities (such as wheelchair access, cafes, and wcs) and, most important of all (to me), an overview of each church's historic interest.
There are also small sidebars about Christian heritage in the region, including details of the Lindisfarne Gospels, a glossary of terms related to churches, the best examples of stained glass in the area, and suggested church touring resources in other regions. Find out which churches in the northeast have churchyards of particular interest (for example, I had never heard of the unique fossil tree at Stanhope St Thomas). There is also information on long-distance trails linking heritage sites in the northeast.
I think this is an excellent resource if you - like me - are interested in historic churches. Pick up a free copy if you live in the region, or download a copy and print it off to take with you.
Resources:
Spirit in Stone website
Our guides to historic churches in County Durham, Northumberland
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