All Saints' Church

All Saints’ Church stands in Monkwearmouth, a district on the north bank of the River Wear in Sunderland. It was built in 1849 to serve a new parish created five years earlier when the old parish church, St Peter’s, could no longer hold the growing congregation. The church became widely known when the Rev Alexander Boddy served as its vicar from 1884 to 1922. Under his ministry All Saints’ became the recognised birthplace of modern British Pentecostalism. The church’s significance lies in its role in religious history rather than in grand architecture. It returned to the parish of Monkwearmouth after the Second World War, when the city’s parishes were reorganised. The building itself is a plain Gothic Revival church typical of the 19th century. Its modest scale reflects the modest means of the early congregation. Inside, the nave is lined with simple arcades and a west gallery. The east window is filled with clear glass, letting in steady northern light. The font stands near the door, its plain bowl set on a square pedestal. Outside, the churchyard holds a few weathered headstones and a line of mature lime trees. The low stone wall around the yard separates the quiet precinct from the surrounding streets.