Church of St Thomas the Martyr, Gothic church building in Haymarket, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
The Church of St Thomas the Martyr is a Gothic Revival church built in dark stone, located in the Haymarket area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has a tall nave with pointed arches and a tower that stands out clearly in the university district.
The current building was put up by architect John Dobson between 1827 and 1830, replacing a medieval chapel that had stood on the same site. It was his first church commission and helped establish his name in the city.
The church is dedicated to Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered in the 12th century. His name appears in the full title of the building and remains well known to people in the area.
The church is open on most weekdays and holds regular services. It sits close to the Haymarket bus station and metro stop, making it easy to reach on foot from the city centre and the university.
The dark color of the outer walls came from soot and dust produced by the coal mining industry that shaped the region for generations, earning the building the local nickname of the black church. This coloring was not a design choice but a slow result of the air in the city.
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