Stained Glass of Percy Bacon & Brothers

St Paul's Church on Newport Road viewed from the north west, early 20th century. Colourised postcard in the author's collection. PD Image.

Church plan 1871. Signed Austin & Johnson. Lambeth Palace Library. PD Image.

St Paul's Church, Newport Road, Middlesbrough. Early 20th century colourised postcard in the author's collection. PD Image.

Posted 22 December 2025.

St Paul's was built in 1870/71 to designs by Robert J. Johnson of Austin & Johnson, architects of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The design was unapologetically High Gothic, and described in one article published in 1952 as, "Probably the most representative of the Victorian adventure in Ruskinian Gothic...".¹ Judging from the available photographs and drawings, the church would have dominated the area, dwarfing the nearby neat rows of terraced houses, and sending a message proclaiming the dominance of the Church of England. However, it has to be said that the result is not easy on the eye. Perhaps "ugly" is rather too strong a description (though the word perfectly reflects my opinion on the matter), but "bulky", or "unduly massive" is not. The church was eloquently described in an article in the Daily Gazette reporting on the laying of the foundation stone by Mrs Hustler on 25^th June 1870:²

The church was built on a large plot of land donated by the Hustler family of Acklam Hall. The plot, bounded by Newport Road, St Paul's Road, Lees Road, and Glebe Road (see map below), was large enough to accommodate a substantial vicarage and a school. It was consecrated in December 1871.³

In 1941, during a bombing raid on the town, a number of bombs landed near to the church destroying the vicarage and school. Although the church survived, its foundations had been badly shaken. However, it appears the most severe damage was slow to manifest itself, as over time the brickwork deteriorated to the extent that in 1963 the vicar, the Rev Francis Sparks reported that the stonework in the tower had virtually turned to dust and that parts of the building were in imminent danger of crashing down.⁴ In 1966 the decision was finally made to close the church, and it was demolished the following year. The site is now occupied by modern housing. There are a number of photos of the church on the My Town, My Future website.

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The east window by Victor Milner, 1909. Postcard (c1913) in the author's collection. PD Image.

The east window by Henry Victor Milner, 1909. Postcard (c1913) in the author's collection. PD Image.

It appears to have taken a number of years for any stained glass to be installed in St Paul's. The earliest reference to any stained glass being installed in St Paul's appears in 1898. An article in the Yorkshire Evening Press reports on the dedication service given by the Archbishop of York, for, "five stained glass memorial windows". The windows were in memory of Mr Bertram, for many years a Sunday School teacher at St Paul's, Mr Hugh Joy, Miss Robinson, Mr Allan Roberts, and Mr and Mrs Henry Roberts. The article goes on to report that these five windows by Percy Bacon "& Co." [sic] of London, were the first in a series of twelve windows commemorating northern saints, and which were to eventually fill the windows of the side aisles. This is the only reference yet found which provides a clue as to the subject matter.

The earliest reference to funds being raised to glaze the east window appear in 1909, and one assumes that only plain glass had been used until that time.⁵ At the "annual bazaar" in aid of the parish fund of St Paul's held on the 10th February 1909, Victor Milner is mentioned as the designer of the east window. The east window was dedicated on 6th November 1909, the subject being the "Te Deum".⁶

Victor Milner would revisit St Paul's in 1912 to install two windows in the south chapel, the subjects being The Annunciation to the Virgin, and Presentation in the Temple.⁷ These were dedicated to the Revs Arthur Kaye, and Henry Wilkinson, past vicars of St Paul's.⁸

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It is not entirely clear what happened to the stained glass in St Paul's when the building was demolished in 1967, and further research will be needed to track down what might still exist. There are a couple of intriguing references to the glass having been removed and installed in York Minster. Firstly Pevsner mentions a number of windows in that cathedral are "glass from redundant St Paul's, Middlesbrough, by H. Victor Milner 1909: St Peter, St Mary the Virgin, St John the Evangelist, St James the Great, above St Augustine, St Alban, St Stephen, St Ambrose. These figures seem to agree with the figures in the east window illustrated above, so it is very likely that it was the east window panels which were moved to York. In "A Bibliography of Stained Glass" by David Evans, published in 1982, under the heading York Minster Nave Clerestory Glass, he writes: "Stained glass from the redundant St Paul's Church, Middlesbrough, placed in the clerestory immediately to the right of the east window." As neither mentions northern saints - the reported subject matter of the Percy Bacon windows - it is not entirely clear if the Bacon windows were saved.

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1. Cleveland Standard - Friday 26 September 1952, p2.
2. Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough - Monday 27 June 1870, p3.
3. Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough - Friday 15 December 1871, p3.
4. Church Long Gone, by Paul Delplanque. The Free Library.
5. Cleveland Standard, February 1909. Report on the ongoing attempt to raise £400 for the east window in St Paul's.
6. Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser - Saturday 06 November 1909, p3.
7. Yorkshire Evening Press - Saturday 14 September 1912, p2.
8. Middlesbrough Standard, 20th April 1912, p3.