St. Elisabeth's Church

Local mill-owner Sir William Houldsworth commissioned Alfred Waterhouse in the 1870s. Construction took place between 1881 and 1883, paid for entirely by Houldsworth, with consecration on 4 August 1883 by Bishop James Fraser. The church could hold 750 people and was named after Houldsworth's wife. Described by Pevsner as "a superb job, big-boned, with nothing mean outside or in", Six of the bells were dedicated by Bishop Francis Cramer-Roberts on May Day 1897. Pillars supporting the nave's roof were transported from the nearby canal to the site on the backs of elephants from Belle Vue Zoo. There is a marble screen with four figures on top, possibly the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke…

St Elisabeth's was used as a set for the wedding of Ashley Peacock and Maxine Heavey in the TV soap opera Coronation Street. The church also featured as the setting for the BBC children's drama Clay broadcast on CBBC. Extensive modifications to the vestry and interior of the church were required to change it into a Catholic church in 1960s Tyneside. It was based on the novel Clay by David Almond and starred Imelda Staunton.