Where we’re meeting

What’s happening with our former home – the Church of the Divine Unity in Ellison Place

This has been sold to Northumbria University, and they will soon start to repair and refurbish it. It will become part of the University campus, and whilst they are still determining the exact plans for the building, it will most likely become a lecture theatre (the church hall), with the small rooms becoming spaces for seminars and workshops, opening to students in 2026. We hope to have a small display within the building about its history, and will discuss this with them in future. Currently, there are no plans to return to this building for worship.

What’s happened to the church’s historical items?

A full list of ‘what’s gone where’ is available from the Church Secretary (Louise Reeve) but, broadly speaking, records i.e. of births, deaths and marriages have been transferred to Tyne and Wear Archives. Large historical items such as portraits, have been donated to Harris Manchester College, the Unitarian College located in Oxford, to go on display there. We’ve retained smaller historical items such as the Robinson Book and Choppington lamp.

Where are we meeting now?

We are now meeting every Sunday at 11am in the Large Spiritual Commons room in the Student Central building which is part of Northumbia University, opposite the Civic Centre in the city centre of Newcastle.

We continue to have services led by a mixture of our own worship leaders and external worship leaders, and our usual mix of traditional services, miscellanies and discussions.

Spiritual Commons – how to find it and access

All are welcome, join us in person at the Large Spiritual Commons Room at Northumbria Student Central. This is the large brick building which houses the University’s Library, opposite Newcastle Civic Centre. If you have problems finding us on the day, please call: 07506 255 731. Below is a map showing the door to use. You can also use what3words as follows: ///wires.frame.deep. We will mark the side entrance to use with one of our blue banners. You will need to come to this entrance so that we can let you in, as the building is access-controlled with smartcards. Alternatively, if you find yourself at another door, press the intercom button and the library staff will let you in.

It is about ten minutes’ walk from the Haymarket Metro and bus station, as shown on the map below, and the building has ‘Student Central’ written on the side of it. You can park in the car parks at the Civic Centre and also near the City Hall (opposite Costa Coffee), both of which have disabled bays if you have a blue badge. There are cycle racks outside the building, and it has level access, with accessible toilets. Here are the details for parking and public transport:

Next steps

Alongside the change in our worship space, we are moving to a more ‘fellowship’ model and away from being a traditional ‘church’. Unitarian Fellowships are groups of Unitarians and fellow-thinkers who gather regularly for worship, discussion and contemplation, take action on social issues and support each other on our spiritual journeys. These groups are led by their members. This is effectively how we have been running as an organisation for several years, as we have not been able to offer people rites of passage services, youth groups, social activities, or a facility for the local community use for some time, all of which are traditionally things that a church would provide. It’s not impossible that we might move back to being a more ‘full-service’ organisation in future, but this is very difficult to do without a paid minister and a building we own – and the resources to sustain both. We want to be clear both to our members and people who might want to join us about what we can offer.

I am happy to discuss this with anyone who has questions – If anyone wants to talk to me about this, you’re welcome to do in person, by email at: info@newcastleunitarians.org.uk, or call: 07506 255 731.

All are welcome here!

Louise Reeve

Chairperson and Secretary, Newcastle upon Tyne Unitarians.