The Name Above the Door of the Old Holy Jesus Hospital in Newcastle The lower stone has a Latin inscription which has been translated: "Hospital for poor people by the expense of the citizens and leaders of Newcastle upon Tyne in the year of salvation 1683...", followed by 1 Cor. 13:13 "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." Image: Bill Henderson, Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Holy Jesus Hospital was opened in 1682 on the site of an older Friary, on land called the Manors. Image: Andrew Curtis, Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Mary Magdalene Hospital, Newcastle, c. 1910 Image: Newcastle City Library Photographic Collection, Flickr

St Mary Magdalene and Holy Jesus Trust

Providing housing for poorer people
Founded: 1250

Charity Details
Full Name: St Mary Magdalene and Holy Jesus Trust
Field: Community Services
Founded: 1250
Headquarters: Newcastle, NE2 4NN
Charity No: 225979

History and Activities
This ancient trust is one of the charities administered by the freemen of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is one of the many almshouse charities that have remained active over centuries in the UK. Its roots are in the St Mary Magdalene Hospital, which was founded in Newcastle in 1250. No early documentation has survived, and its first known charter was granted by James I in 1611. The trust was merged by Act of Parliament in 1959 with a second Newcastle almshouse charity, the Holy Jesus Hospital, founded in 1682. By 1937 the centuries-old Holy Jesus Hospital had become dilapidated and was replaced by newly built homes at Spital Tongues.

When St Mary Magdalene Holy Jesus merged in 1959, the opportunity was taken to consolidate within the new charity the assets of the Thomas Davison, Ann Davison and Sir Walter Blackett charities. It was at this time the construction of the bungalows and other buildings on the present site in Claremont Road began. Today the charity provides 98 units of sheltered accommodation for elderly freemen, their relatives and widows.

In the accounting year 2016/17, the charity had an income of £1,396,000, of which 30% came from rents, which are charged at well below the commercial rate, and 70% from the £34 million endowment from which the trust benefits.

Vital Statistics (year to 31/03/2017)

Total Income (TI):	£1,396,600
Philanthropic Income (PI):	£978,500
PI as % of TI:	70.1%
Employees:	14
Volunteers:	0
Charitable Spending:	£1,100,600
Investments at Year End:	£33,951,300

Website
http://www.mmhjtrust.com/

References

Charities Commission. (2018). St Mary Magdalene and Holy Jesus Trust – Report and Financial Statements 2017, Available here (Accessed: 19/09/2018).

Middlebrook, S. (1950). Newcastle: Its growth and achievement, Newcastle: Newcastle Journal and North Mail, p.31, p.86, p.98, p.125, p.160, p.214, p.221, p.151, p.152, p.200.

The St. Mary Magdalene & Holy Jesus Trust. (2018), Available here (Accessed: 02/08/2018).