WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Here is something you might not know about Jesmond, Newcastle’s trendiest suburb: its name is a portmanteau comprising the words ‘Jesus’ and ‘mound’. Now flocked to by students for its nightlife, accommodation, and abundant choice of restaurants, Jesmond was once an important place of pilgrimage.  

Legend has it that in the Middle Ages, an apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared, carrying the baby Jesus in what is now known as Jesmond Dene. News of the sighting travelled quickly, and Jesmond became known as a holy place, drawing pilgrims from all over the country. In response to this, St Mary’s Chapel was built in the 12th Century. According to Visit Jesmond, the chapel was likely built to house religious relics, and to act as a slipper chapel where visitors could leave their shoes before walking barefoot to St Mary’s Rock, where she was rumoured to have appeared.  

While the chapel has had various owners over the centuries, it was returned to the people of Newcastle with the Dene in the late 1800s by Lord Armstrong, a British Engineer. Unfortunately, of its beautiful sandstone structure, complete with chancel arch, only ruins are left today. However, now in the care of Urban Green Newcastle the chapel remains a popular site of religious significance that still attracts those in need of a moment’s peace or prayer.