About

St. James’ Heritage and Environment Group

St James’ Heritage and Environment Group is an independent volunteer-run organisation based in the west end of Newcastle. It was originally set up in 2010 in partnership with St James’ Church, Benwell, to support the restoration and improvement of the church building and adjacent graveyard.  Its main achievement in the early years was to transform the historic parish graveyard from an overgrown rubbish dump to an attractive green space which is an asset to the local community as well as a haven for a variety of wildlife. The Group’s work soon expanded to include running events, activities and projects aimed at exploring and sharing the history of the local area, and producing books, heritage guides and films.

In 2020 the Group became a registered charity.  It remains wholly volunteer-run, and has continued to maintain and improve the graveyard and carry out research about the people buried there, as well as to run an extensive programme of events and activities and produce publications and resources intended to explore and celebrate the history of the west end of Newcastle.

Contact us

  • Visit: St James’ graveyard any Wednesdays between 10am to 1pm.
  • Write: St James’ Heritage & Environment Group c/o Sunnybank Centre, 12/14 Sunnybank Avenue, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 6SD
  • Email: stjamesbenwell@gmail.com
  • Website: https://stjamesheritage.com

Join us

  • Our activities and publications are free of charge. You can opt to join our emailing list to receive information about what we are doing.
  • You can also become a member to support our work. Membership costs £3 a year or £15 for life membership.
  • We welcome donations to support our work.
  • We welcome volunteers to help with any aspects of our work from helping in the graveyard, to serving refreshments at events, or carrying out research.

Our work through the years

We produce two newsletters a year which are circulated to all members free of charge.  Copies of current newsletters can be obtained on request.

Click here to see our newsletters …