The spire of St Agnes’ Church has towered above the estate since it was built in 1967, paid for by money left by Agnes Spencer, philanthropist and the widow of Marks and Spencer founder, Thomas Spencer.
Its design is a nod to the local steel industry and its bell is from 1715 – making at least part of the tower older than most of Middlesbrough.
But the church closed its doors in 2019 and with the site earmarked for redevelopment, its future is uncertain.
Now the Save our Spire campaign is calling for Middlesbrough Council to add the spire to its list of locally important historic buildings – the Local List.
Luke Henman, who founded the Save our Spire campaign said:
“I’ve heard so many stories from residents – of christenings and weddings, of little kids trying and failing to climb it, and of people using it to find their way home when they were lost.
There’s so much history attached to our spire – we can’t afford to lose that. That’s why our first step is to call on the Council to recognise the value of the spire by putting it on its list of locally important historic buildings. We will still need to make sure a proper plan for the spire’s future comes forward, but it’s a start.”
Local Councillor Craig Wright (Lab, Ladgate) said:
“The spire is an icon of Easterside and I’m really proud to be supporting the campaign. Luke and I have met with Council officers to discuss options and I’ve been helping to deliver a postcard to raise awareness of the campaign.
The community is really behind this. Together, we can secure the spire’s future and breathe new life into the centre of the estate.”
You can keep up-to-date with the campaign by searching for Save our Spire on Facebook.
