Annual General Meeting
St George's Church and Church Hall, Cullercoats
Saturday 9th May 2026
Photo ©Chris Downs
This year our Annual General Meeting event will be based at St. George's Church, Cullercoats (built 1882-4), a striking landmark dominating the coastline from Tynemouth to Whitley Bay. This fine example of High Victorian Gothic Revival (listed Grade 1) was designed by John Loughborough Pearson, a lad from Co. Durham who went on to run a successful London office and whose best-known work is Truro Cathedral. Funded by the Duke of Northumberland, St. George's is particularly unusual for its stone vaulting and displays a superb range of stained glass windows by Kempe & Tower as well as a set by the late Leonard Evetts.
We will gather in the morning over tea/coffee in the church hall before a talk by Stuart and Sandra Barlow on the history of Cullercoats and Tynemouth, highlighting some of its architectural heritage. The formal AGM will follow a buffet lunch. Then Hugh Dixon will present a talk about J.L. Pearson and we will have time to enjoy the church itself.
In mid-afternoon we will move on to Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade's Watch House Museum, erected 1886-7 to a design by C.T. Gomoszynski, the borough engineer. Magnificently restored in 2014, the building contains a treasure trove of artefacts from over 150 years of maritime history.
PROGRAMME
Attendance at the AGM, tea/coffee/biscuits and the talks are all free of charge.
Optional lunchtime buffet £17.50
11.00 a.m. Tea/Coffee/Biscuits in St. George's church hall (over the road to north of the church)
Please note that this single-storey building is fully accessible and has an accessible toilet
11.30 a.m. Talk by Sandra and Stuart Barlow on Cullercoats and Tynemouth
12.15 p.m. Buffet lunch (from Olivia's Kitchen of Gateshead) - for those who have paid!
1.15 p.m. AGM in the church hall
1:45-2:45 Talk on J.L. Pearson by Hugh Dixon and time in the church
3:00-4:00 (approx.) Visit to Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade Watch House Museum
AGM flyer as circulated to members (includes map) and Booking form to be returned by Friday 1st May at the very latest.