St Mark's Church, Newport

St Mark's Church
St Mark's Church
The Church of St Mark the Evangelist
	51°35′22.5″N 3°00′10.1″W / 51.589583°N 3.002806°W
Location	Newport
Country	Wales
Denomination	Church in Wales
Previous denomination	Church of England (before 1920)
History
Status	Active
Founded	20 July 1872
Dedication	St Mark the Evangelist
Consecrated	4 July 1874
Architecture
Functional status	Parish church
Heritage designation	Grade II (Cadw)
Architect(s)	Habershon, Pite, Fawckner
Style	Neo-gothic
Years built	1872–74
Completed	July 1874
Construction cost	£6,000 (approx)
Specifications
Number of floors	2 (balcony at West end)
Number of spires	1 (tower)
Bells	One
Administration
Province	Wales
Diocese	Monmouth
Archdeaconry	Newport
Deanery	Newport North West
Parish	Newport North West Ministry Area
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Cherry Vann
Vicar(s)	Vacant (Ministry Area Leader)
Priest in charge	Frances Jones
Assistant priest(s)	Richard Mulcahy

The Church of St Mark (Welsh: Eglwys Sant Marc ) is a Church in Wales (Anglican) church located on Gold Tops, in the Allt-yr-yn area of Newport, Wales. It is a Newport landmark and is part of the Newport North West Ministry Area.

History

The Victorian church was built in the 1870s due to the growing population of St Woolos parish and of Newport as a whole. The land upon which the church was built belonged to Charles Morgan, 1st Baron Tredegar but was donated to the church on condition that a total of £4,000 be collected for the building work by the end of 1870. Even though the target was not reached by £1,000, the foundation stone was laid by Lady Tredegar on 20 July 1872. The church building was completed by 1874 and consecrated by the Bishop of Llandaff, the Right Reverend Dr Alfred Ollivant on 4 July 1874.^[1] Due to the proximity of the church to Newport Civic Centre, it has been used for various civic services, such as Scout and Guide events.^[2]

Recent years

The area immediately around St Mark's has changed from residential to business, and the wider changes in church attendance meant that by 2013 there were fears that the church might have to close after the retirement of the then Vicar, Canon Andrew Willie.^[3] During Canon Willie’s incumbency the heating system was renewed, the church redecorated, masonry work refurbished and repointed where necessary, and the fine three manual organ by Conacher was rebuilt by Nicholson's of Malvern. Quilted banners depicting the life of St Mark were commissioned: these were designed and made by church members, Mr Terry Wooff [who was also a Lay Reader in the parish], his wife Ida, and Mrs Myrna Brown. They hang on the balcony. Plaques relating to the history of the City of Newport, which were in danger of being lost, were recovered and placed in the church.

The Church Hall on Queen's Hill was sold and the money raised, together with the proceeds of parish fundraising events, was used to revamp the interior of the church including provision of a buttery kitchen, secure vestry space and a meeting room. This work was completed in the summer of 2013. Canon Willie retired in 2013 but the church remained open for worship, and in 2014 the Revd Dr Paul Thompson was appointed. The parish went full circle by becoming joined again with the Cathedral and Canon Thompson built on the groundwork done by his predecessors.^[4]

Present Day

Under the new constitutional arrangements for cathedrals in the Church in Wales, Newport Cathedral became a separate entity and in 2020 St Mark's became part of the Newport North West Ministry Area.^[5] The area includes the churches and communities of:

All Saints, Brynglas
St David, Bettws
St Mark, Gold Tops
St Mary, Malpas
St Stephen, Pillgwenlly

on the western side of the River Usk in the city.

Notable clergy

John Roland Lloyd Thomas, later Dean of Monmouth and subsequently Principal of St David's College, Lampeter, was Vicar from 1949 to 1952^[6]
Raymond Ellis Evans, later Dean of Monmouth, was Vicar in 1952 to 1953^[7]
Noël Debroy Jones, later Bishop of Sodor and Man, was assistant curate from 1957 to 1960^[8]
Gareth Lewis, later Dean of Monmouth, was vicar from 1978 to 1982^[9]
Kenneth Sharpe, later Archdeacon of Newport, was vicar from 1982 to 1997^[10]