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National Gazetteer (1868) - Newcastle upon Tyne, St John

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"ST. JOHN, a parish in the W. division of Castle ward, county Northumberland, 2 miles W. of Newcastle, of which town it forms a suburb. The parish is situated on the Tyne, near the line of the Carlisle railway, and contains the townships of Benwell, Elswick, and Westgate. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Durham, value £300, in the patronage of the Vicar of Newcastle. The church of St. John is an ancient structure formerly belonging to Tynemouth Priory. There is also a district church, dedicated to St. James, at Benwell. The several Dissenting bodies have places of worship, and there are National schools. Some of the oldest collieries in England are situated in: this parish. At Benwell, supposed to be the Roman Condercum, numerous Roman antiquities, as urns, coins, inscriptions, &c., have been found.
"WESTGATE, a township in the parish of Newcastle upon Tyne St. John, W. division of Castle Ward, county Northumberland. It is the north-western suburb of the town of Newcastle. The population of the township in 1861 was 21,272."
[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson (c)2003]