About St Cuthbert's House

An ancient building ...

 

 

 

 

 

St Cuthbert's House was built in 1810 as a Presbyterian Church. We have a fascinating book, written in 1910 by the (then) Minister, detailing the ‘first 100 years’. It’s a charming and important historical document, and it’s available for you to browse during your stay.

We bought the church, and the adjoining manse next door, which became our family home in 1998, when the church closed its doors. The small congregation which was meeting there up to that point still meets together in the Parish church, just a few strides down the road. They will give you a very warm welcome if you visit them, especially if you tell them where you’re staying!

The old manse has been a beautiful and happy place to bring up our growing (grown!) family of four children.

The church building was in poor condition, quite dilapidated. We wanted to bring it to life so that it might continue to ‘tell the story’ which it had become part of over 200 years. It remains the most prominent building in the village of North Sunderland (which is now really a part of Seahouses, rather than a distinct community), and we wanted it to continue to welcome visitors, whether they be casual passers-by, pilgrims, or searchers…

And so eventually we began the painstaking job of re-designing and renovating the church. There are too many episodes in the ‘planning permission’ saga, but perhaps we can tell you some of those over a glass of wine...

 

Work began in summer of 2007, and was completed in time to welcome our first visitors in May 2008. The bedrooms and the main meeting space have been named after some of the Celtic Christian men and women who first brought the gospel to Northumbria, and to Britain - Cuthbert, Bede, Oswald, Brigid, Hild, Aidan - and Columba, who never came here but who 'started it all' in some ways, from his monastery on the island of Iona...

We have retained much of the charm and character - like the pulpit - now a ‘balcony’ viewing area - the communion table, and some of the original pillars and panelling. Loads of original timber, including the floorboards, were carefully removed and have been re-integrated into the new construction, by expert local tradesmen who really care about such things.

It means a lot to us that those workmen had real connections to this place, and cared about what was happening here. David's family is mentioned as founder-members of the church in 1810, in that history booklet, and Billy (who was 72 the year he worked with us here) had many stories about being in here as a child in the village.

So, what does the ‘new’ house have? Click here to start your tour…