On Thursday, 6^th of February, we were invited by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle to a presentation of our silverware donation at the Mansion House, Jesmond, Newcastle. You may recall that we gifted this to Newcastle City Council back in September 2024 in recognition of the long relationship between the Council and Newcastle upon Tyne Unitarians – read the full history here: Handing Over the Silverware.

Since then, the Council have had the silverware polished and valued, and found a display space for it at the Mansion House in Jesmond. Traditionally the residence of the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, the Mansion House is now used as a venue for functions and weddings, and to display some of the city’s historic treasurers (others can be seen at the Silver Gallery at the Civic Centre). The Lord Mayor kindly invited us to see them being put on display, and twelve members and friends of our congregation attended the Mansion House, along with the Lord Mayor, Cllr Rob Higgins, and staff from the Lord Mayor’s Office.

As a reminder, the historic silver currency donated, dating back to 1852, was unearthed during construction works in the 1950s on the site of the former Unitarian church on New Bridge Street, which made way for the old City Library. The coins were owned by Newcastle upon Tyne Unitarian Church for many years until the congregation no longer had anywhere to display them, so they decided to give them to the council, along with a silver communion set of two chalices, two salvers, and a wine jug, formerly owned by Rev. George Harris, the congregation’s minister between 1845-1859.

The Lord Mayor of Newcastle hosted a reception at the Mansion House to thank the church leaders for the precious gifts. The Lord Mayor, Cllr Rob Higgins, said: “It’s a great honour to receive these on behalf of the council. They are part of our city’s heritage, and we hope to put them on display for the public to enjoy. They underscore the association between the Unitarian church and city council going back hundreds of years.”

Newcastle Unitarians’ Chairperson, Louise Reeve, said: “We wanted to celebrate the long association between our congregation, the city of Newcastle, and the Council, and are very happy that our historic items have been given a home on display at the Mansion House.”

Following the unveiling, we had tea and cakes, followed by a walk in the Mansion House grounds. David Venus, our Treasurer, commented: “It was nice to see David and Hazel from Stockton there, along with other members and colleagues – and the tea and cakes, afterwards, were exceptional!”

Here’s a link to an article about it on Newcastle City Council’s website: Historic coins gifted to the city council by church leaders and on their Facebook page: Historic silverware gifted to the city council by church leaders.

Thank you to Steve Brock for sharing photographs with us: Steve Brock Photography.