Transforming St. Cuthbert's
For hundreds of years St. Cuthbert's has been Darlington's "Lady of the North" — a beautiful building that serves the life of the whole town. But a lack of facilities, poor access and a challenging interior layout are seriously limiting the amount of activity that can take place here, such that new forms of worship are difficult to develop, creative arts events are difficult to stage, hospitality is difficult to provide, and our heritage is largely hidden or locked away. As a much-loved church which serves the whole town, St. Cuthbert's needs to be transformed for the future.
Vision for the future
Thanks to an initial investment from the national Church of England, we are now embarking on a £2.5 million project to transform the interior of St. Cuthbert's. We want to ensure that our space is not only aesthetically pleasing but also accessible and equipped to offer a wide range of activities and events. We see a future where there is uplifting worship and exploration of the Christian faith, inspiring music and theatre, welcoming hospitality, high-quality spaces for conferences and meetings, engaging heritage experiences, and community outreach and service. Our intention is to introduce much improved access, a welcome area at the entrance to the building, key hospitality facilities, a new floor across the nave and transepts, flexible seating, and high-quality audiovisual and lighting installations.
Improve and Transform
Main Goals:
- Maintain and develop St. Cuthbert's as a place of worship, mission and ministry.
- Improve the visitor welcome by expanding the use of the building for church and community.
- Build on the church's role as a concert and arts venue.
- Maintain, promote and interpret the church's heritage in an engaging way, enabling the church's heritage assets to help bring in income.
- Enable the church to offer excellent corporate hospitality.
- Respond to the church's civic role and its place in the town.
How we will achieve this:
Get involved
The national Church of England has given us an initial investment of £1.5 million towards the transformation of St. Cuthbert's. In order to complete this work, we need to raise a further £1million. If you would like to donate towards this project, or to discuss ways to partner with us in the future of St. Cuthbert's, please contact the church office: [email protected]
